Upgrade from 11.10 to Precise: resolvconf 1.63ubuntu7 fails to configure with "cp: cannot create regular file `/run/resolvconf/resolv.conf': No such file or directory"

[machak]

error after upgrade from 11.10

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: resolvconf 1.63ubuntu7
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-16.25-generic 3.2.6
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-16-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
ApportVersion: 1.91-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
Date: Wed Feb 15 20:38:25 2012
DuplicateSignature:
 Setting up resolvconf (1.63ubuntu7) ...
 cp: cannot create regular file `/run/resolvconf/resolv.conf': No such file or directory
 dpkg: error processing resolvconf (--configure):
  subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Release amd64 (20111012)
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: resolvconf
Title: package resolvconf 1.63ubuntu7 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to precise on 2012-02-15 (0 days ago)

[Brian Murray (brian-murray)]

How did you go about installing Ubuntu 11.10? Did you install from a usb stick, if so what software did you use to make that disk?

Additionally, could you please add the log files in /var/log/dist-upgrade to your bug report? Thanks in advance!

[Thomas Hood (jdthood)]

(Apologies if I'm using "Confirmed" incorrectly. I mean that it seems clear now that this is a real bug. On the other hand we don't yet know exactly what the bug is. Switch the status back if I've misunderstood.)

Please also provide the output of the "mount" command .

[Thomas Hood (jdthood)]

I was able to reproduce the reported behavior by rebooting in the middle of the upgrade, after resolvconf has been unpacked and its preinst run, but before its configuration files have been installed and the package configured. Then the /run/resolvconf that was created in resolvconf.preinst gets lost but the resolvconf upstart job has not been enabled yet (i.e., the file is still called '/etc/init/resolvconf.conf.dpkg-new') so /run/resolvconf is not created on boot either. Then in resolvconf.postinst the line

        cp -a /etc/resolv.conf /run/resolvconf/resolv.conf

which comes *before*

        invoke-rc.d resolvconf start || exit $?

fails with "cp: cannot create regular file `/run/resolvconf/resolv.conf': No such file or directory".

The installation continues and at the end prints that resolvconf failed configuration. Then a new apt operation retries the configuration step resulting in another failure exactly like the one reported here (#933035).

Whether or not both this report (#933035) and its duplicate (#927300) were submitted for systems that were rebooted between preinst and conffile-installation of resolvconf, there is at least one bug. Resolvconf.postinst should not rely upon the presence of /run/resolvconf/interface but should create it, because such reboots are physically possible and the package shouldn't be broken by them. A

    mkdir -p /run/resolvconf/interface

command is needed early in the "configure" code in resolvconf.postinst.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

it is incomplete, because we need more information from the submitter to make any headway here.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

(we can guard against the possibility of a reboot between preinst and postinst easily enough, but it's not really clear that this is the cause of the bug people are seeing.)

[Thomas Hood (jdthood)]

> (we can guard against the possibility of a reboot between
> preinst and postinst easily enough[...])

Fix for this has been committed: http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-branches/ubuntu/precise/resolvconf/precise/revision/47

[Thomas Hood (jdthood)]

machak: Can you reproduce this error with the latest Precise (including resolvconf 1.63ubuntu8)?

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for resolvconf (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]