apt-get error caused by Tex Live 2012

[John John Doe]

I am running TeX Live 2012 on Ubuntu Precise. For the installation I followed this tutorial (http://weblog.avp-ptr.de/20120710/how-to-manually-install-tex-live-2012/). Yesterday, I updated the packages (about 40 items) for Tex Live 2012 using the following tool.

$ sudo tlmgr --gui

The updates have been installed successfully and everything still worked.

Today, I noticed that apt-get outputs errors when I run sudo apt-get install something or sudo apt-get autoremove. Here is the console output of the latter command.

$ sudo apt-get autoremove
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
3 not fully installed or removed.

After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Setting up texlive-base (2009-15) ...
mktexlsr: Updating /var/lib/texmf/ls-R-TEXMFMAIN...
mktexlsr: Updating /var/lib/texmf/ls-R-TEXLIVE...
mktexlsr: Updating /var/lib/texmf/ls-R...
mktexlsr: Done.

texconfig: unknown option `paperconf' given as argument for `texconfig dvips'
texconfig: try `texconfig dvips' for help
texconfig: unknown option `paperconf' given as argument for `texconfig dvipdfmx'
texconfig: try `texconfig dvipdfmx' for help
texconfig: unknown option `paperconf' given as argument for `texconfig xdvi'
texconfig: try `texconfig xdvi' for help
texconfig: unknown option `paperconf' given as argument for `texconfig pdftex'
texconfig: try `texconfig pdftex' for help
texconfig: unknown option `paperconf' given as argument for `texconfig dvips'
texconfig: try `texconfig dvips' for help

dpkg: error processing texlive-base (--configure):
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of texlive-latex-base:
 texlive-latex-base depends on texlive-base (>= 2009-1); however:
  Package texlive-base is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing texlive-latex-base (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of texlive-bibtex-extra:
 texlive-bibtex-extra depends on texlive-latex-base (>= 2009-1); however:
  Package texlive-latex-base is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing texlive-bibtex-extra (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured

No apport report written because the error message indicates its a followup
error from a previous failure.
No apport report written because the error message indicates its a followup
error from a previous failure.

Errors were encountered while processing:
 texlive-base
 texlive-latex-base
 texlive-bibtex-extra

LaTeX itself still works fine as far as I can see.

Note: Just in case the following has something to do with the main problem. I also noticed a while ago that the man path does no longer point to the usual folders. The MANPATH problem (http://askubuntu.com/questions/60765/how-do-i-add-a-directory-to-manpath-or-infopath) has been described before. However, I could not solve it on my machine.

$ echo $MANPATH
/usr/local/texlive/2012/texmf/doc/man

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: texlive-base 2009-15
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-30.48-generic 3.2.27
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-30-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu13
Architecture: amd64
Date: Tue Sep 11 10:29:27 2012
ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Release amd64 (20120425)
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: texlive-base
Title: package texlive-base 2009-15 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Apport retracing service (apport)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this crash and helping to make this software better. This particular crash has already been reported and is a duplicate of bug #987096, so is being marked as such. Please look at the other bug report to see if there is any missing information that you can provide, or to see if there is a workaround for the bug. Additionally, any further discussion regarding the bug should occur in the other report. Please continue to report any other bugs you may find.

[Norbert Preining (preining)]

Hi everyone,

two remarks only

On Di, 11 Sep 2012, Apport retracing service wrote:
> *** This bug is a duplicate of bug 987096 ***
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/987096

No, this is not a duplicated.

At the OP:

On Di, 11 Sep 2012, John John Doe wrote:
> I am running TeX Live 2012 on Ubuntu Precise. For the installation I

You are running non Debian/Ubuntu packges but installed upstream.

> followed this tutorial (http://weblog.avp-ptr.de/20120710/how-to-
> manually-install-tex-live-2012/). Yesterday, I updated the packages

Which is about as unclear as possible.

> $ sudo tlmgr --gui

Which is not a Debian/Ubuntu program.

> texconfig: unknown option `paperconf' given as argument for `texconfig dvips'

Well, you have messed up system installation from Ubuntu and your
private TeX Live upstream installation, and broke it. Not surprising
if you don't know what you are doing.

It seems to me that you have added the TeX Live path (.../2012/x64_64-linux)
to the *FRONT* of the PATH of *root* (or all users).

Well, that will break... since upstream texconfig does not understand
the paperconf, this is a Debian/Ubuntu thing.

But this is as expected, you shouldn't do this for root ...

Assume for a moment that we in TeX Live ship a binary called 'ls'
that destroys your partition table and deletes your user data etc?
Now then you let it run as root .... and ther we go.

PLease someone closes this bug, it is a misconfiguration done by the user,
and has nothing to do with either Debuan/Ubuntu, nor with TeX Live
upstream. THere is nothing we can do on any of these sides.

Best wishes

Norbert
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norbert Preining preining@{jaist.ac.jp, logic.at, debian.org}
JAIST, Japan TeX Live & Debian Developer
DSA: 0x09C5B094 fp: 14DF 2E6C 0307 BE6D AD76 A9C0 D2BF 4AA3 09C5 B094
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