apt-get fails to simulate a upgrade, when running as non-root user, fix available in debian package

[Allo]

see http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=498799

it would be nice, if this could be fixed for precise as well.

[Allo (allo)]

If you wonder how this is relevant: it breaks upgrading via cron-apt.

[David Kalnischkies (donkult)]

The patch for the debian bugreport is (obviously) in ubuntu, too. You can easily confirm this by looking at the version of apt in ubuntu (whichever release you are using). It is well past 0.7.15 - as long as you are not on a years old no longer supported release of ubuntu, but i doubt that.
$ apt-cache policy apt
(the maintainers of apt in ubuntu and debian are more or less the same, so patches for bugs are usually not present in only one of them)

You will not come around telling us the actual error message you are seeing and what you mean with "breaks upgrading via cron-apt". The more details you include the more likely it is that someone is able to help you.

[Allo (allo)]

Okay ... the mail cron-apt mails after trying to upgrade:

CRON-APT RUN [/etc/cron-apt/config]: Wed May 16 04:00:01 CEST 2012
CRON-APT SLEEP: 44, Wed May 16 04:00:45 CEST 2012
CRON-APT ACTION: 3-download
CRON-APT LINE: /usr/bin/aptitude -o Acquire::http::Dl-Limit=2000 dist-upgrade -d -y -o APT::Get::Show-Upgraded=true
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
Reading extended state information...
Initializing package states...
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  encfs{a} librlog5{a}
The following packages will be upgraded:
  devscripts fonts-opensymbol gdb gir1.2-networkmanager-1.0
 [...]
79 packages upgraded, 2 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 21.9 MB/135 MB of archives. After unpacking 1993 kB will be used.
Writing extended state information...
Get: 1 http://pi.wiss-stud/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main libsasl2-modules amd64 2.1.25.dfsg1-3ubuntu0.1 [63.2 kB]
Get: 2 http://pi.wiss-stud/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main libsasl2-2 amd64 2.1.25.dfsg1-3ubuntu0.1 [69.1 kB]
[...]
Fetched 21.9 MB in 10s (2116 kB/s)
E: Failed to write temporary StateFile /var/lib/apt/extended_states.tmp
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
Reading extended state information...
Initializing package states...
Writing extended state information...

[Daniel Hartwig (wigs)]

On 16 May 2012 13:25, Allo <email address hidden> wrote:
> Okay ... the mail cron-apt mails after trying to upgrade:
>
> CRON-APT RUN [/etc/cron-apt/config]: Wed May 16 04:00:01 CEST 2012
> CRON-APT SLEEP: 44, Wed May 16 04:00:45 CEST 2012
> CRON-APT ACTION: 3-download
> CRON-APT LINE: /usr/bin/aptitude -o Acquire::http::Dl-Limit=2000 dist-upgrade -d -y -o APT::Get::Show-Upgraded=true

> [...]
> Fetched 21.9 MB in 10s (2116 kB/s)
> E: Failed to write temporary StateFile /var/lib/apt/extended_states.tmp

This is aptitude, not apt-get. You have encountered this issue:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/975793

>
> Bug description:
>  see http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=498799
>

That bug is unrelated.