Update manager starts when the apt download lock isn't yet released

[Dario Bertini]

Binary package hint: update-manager

steps to reproduce:

-have selected "Download the updates but don't install them automatically" (i've also checked to check for updates every day)
-wait for updates to happen
-wait for updates to be downloaded in background
-when update-manager is launched, click on "install updates" (and eventually insert the password)
-a popup shows up, reading(in italian):

"E: Impossibile ottenere il lock /var/cache/apt/archives/lock - open (11 Risorsa temporaneamente non disponibile)
E: Impossibile bloccare la directory di scaricamento"

workaround: close update-manager, reopen it, click on "install updates"... it'll work fine

this is the error that happens when apt-get or synaptic, or "add/remove software" is running... but this isn't the case since by closing and reopening update-manager, which is the only one running, the problem goes away...

i guess that it's due to the fact that it's launched after downloads have been completed, but before the process that has done the downloads has released the apt lock...

due to the length of the second step to reproduce, i'm not 100% certain that this bug shows up with all updates, but i've definitely seen this bug more than 2 times...

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: amd64
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.04
NonfreeKernelModules: wl
Package: update-manager 1:0.111.9
PackageArchitecture: all
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=it_IT.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: update-manager
Uname: Linux 2.6.28-13-generic x86_64

[Marius Gedminas (mgedmin)]

When this happens to me

* I'm irritated, because *why are you asking me for permission to do a thing you then say you cannot do*, stupid software?

* I see /etc/cron.daily/apt running apt-get -qq -d dist-upgrade in the background

It's possible, and I would say likely, that it's not restarting update-manager that makes the problem go away, it's the delay that makes the background apt-get download finish.

[Bem Jones-Bey (ajani)]

I see this same problem on 9.10, and the apt-get is running in the background as well. When the apt-get finishes, update manager will install the updates with no problems, no restart is necessary.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Shannon (xrfang-gmail)]

The update manager should not start in this case. It should wait until all patches are downloaded, then pops up. Restart the update manager does NOT solve my problem, as described Dario.... It simply needs to wait until lock is released!

I am surprised to see this 2-year old bug is still alive. Hope it is fixed precisely for Precise release!