package initramfs-tools 0.99ubuntu13 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1

[Carla Sella]

I launched an apt-get update and apt-get upgrade and got an error.
Do not know exactly what caused it.
I launched apt-get clean and again apt-get update and apt-get upgrade, now everything seems fine.

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: initramfs-tools 0.99ubuntu13
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-24.38-generic 3.2.16
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-24-generic i686
ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu8
AptOrdering:
 initramfs-tools: Configure
 linux-image-3.2.0-24-generic: Configure
Architecture: i386
Date: Wed Jun 6 08:18:23 2012
DpkgTerminalLog:
 Setting up initramfs-tools (0.99ubuntu13) ...
 cp: not writing through dangling symlink `/etc/initramfs-tools/modules'
 dpkg: error processing initramfs-tools (--configure):
  subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
DuplicateSignature:
 Setting up initramfs-tools (0.99ubuntu13) ...
 cp: not writing through dangling symlink `/etc/initramfs-tools/modules'
 dpkg: error processing initramfs-tools (--configure):
  subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release i386 (20110427.1)
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: initramfs-tools
Title: package initramfs-tools 0.99ubuntu13 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to precise on 2012-04-27 (39 days ago)

[Carla Sella (carla-sella)]

Sorry, I was wrong, I get this output from apt-get upgrade:

root@carlaVM:/home/carla# apt-get upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following packages will be upgraded:
  linux-image-3.2.0-24-generic
1 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
2 not fully installed or removed.
Need to get 37.7 MB of archives.
After this operation, 1,024 B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? Y
Get:1 http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main linux-image-3.2.0-24-generic i386 3.2.0-24.39 [37.7 MB]
Fetched 37.7 MB in 2min 20s (269 kB/s)
Setting up initramfs-tools (0.99ubuntu13) ...
cp: not writing through dangling symlink `/etc/initramfs-tools/modules'
dpkg: error processing initramfs-tools (--configure):
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of linux-image-3.2.0-24-generic:
 linux-image-3.2.0-24-generic depends on initramfs-tools (>= 0.36ubuntu6); however:
  Package initramfs-tools is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing linux-image-3.2.0-24-generic (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
No apport report written because the error message indicates its a followup error from a previous failure.
                                                                                                          Errors were encountered while processing:
 initramfs-tools
 linux-image-3.2.0-24-generic
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

[Adam Conrad (adconrad)]

Is there a reason, by any chance, that you replaced /etc/initramfs-tools/modules with a symlink? And, if you're sure that you're not the one who did it, can you "ls -l /etc/initramfs-tools/modules" to see where it points to, and maybe we can hunt down if some other package did something silly?

[Carla Sella (carla-sella)]

Yes I found out that /etc/initramfs-tools/modules was a broken link, so I removed it and I made a correct link and the problem is solved now.
I canceled this link:
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 53 Jun 20 07:50 modules -> /etc/initramfs-tools/modules.BeforeVMwareToolsInstall
and made a new one to:
/etc/initramfs-tools/modules.AfterVMwareToolsInstall

Probably the problem was related to moving a VM from VMWare to Virtualbox.
Thank you.