apt-get dpkg error 5%dpkg

akhund_bilal · 02-09-2010, 04:48 PM

hi
when i try to install or remove any package i get this error

Quote:

(Reading database ... 5%dpkg: unrecoverable fatal error, aborting:
files list file for package `libsox-fmt-alsa' contains empty filename
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (2)

i'm using ubuntu 9.10
can't install or uninstall or update any thing coz of this error.
pls help me out..

PunksUndead · 02-09-2010, 06:02 PM

have you tried running sudo dpkg --configure -a

evo2 · 02-09-2010, 10:03 PM

Can you post your /var/lib/dpkg/info/libsox-fmt-alsa.list file?

Code:

cat /var/lib/dpkg/info/libsox-fmt-alsa.list

The last line is probably blank: delete it.

Evo2.

akhund_bilal · 02-10-2010, 04:36 AM

sorry for late reply
here are the contents of file

Quote:

root@akhund-laptop.akhund-laptop
root@akhund-laptop.akhund-laptop

Received: (nullmailer pid 12500 invoked by uid 0);
Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:40:32 -0000
From: root@akhund-laptop.akhund-laptop (Cron Daemon)
To: root@akhund-laptop.akhund-laptop
Subject: Cron <root@akhund-laptop> /usr/share/ebox-usersandgroups/slave-sync
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ANSI_X3.4-1968
X-Cron-Env: <SHELL=/bin/sh>
X-Cron-Env: <PATH=/usr/bin:/bin>
X-Cron-Env: <HOME=/root>
X-Cron-Env: <LOGNAME=root>
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:40:32 +0500
Message-Id: <1259584832.761298.12499.nullmailer@akhund-laptop>

Failed to contact configuration server; some possible causes are that you need to enable TCP/IP networking for ORBit, or you have stale NFS locks due to a system crash. See http://projects.gnome.org/gconf/ for information. (Details - 1: Not running within active session) at /usr/share/perl5/EBox/GConfModule.pm line 48.

evo2 · 02-10-2010, 05:04 AM

Wow, somehow that file has become completely corrupted. From the following page

http://packages.ubuntu.com/karmic/i3...-alsa/filelist

I think the contents should be:

Code:

/usr
/usr/lib
/usr/lib/sox
/usr/lib/sox/libsox_fmt_alsa.so
/usr/share
/usr/share/doc
/usr/share/doc/libsox-fmt-alsa
/usr/share/doc/libsox-fmt-alsa/AUTHORS
/usr/share/doc/libsox-fmt-alsa/NEWS.gz
/usr/share/doc/libsox-fmt-alsa/README.gz
/usr/share/doc/libsox-fmt-alsa/changelog.Debian.gz
/usr/share/doc/libsox-fmt-alsa/copyright

So please open up the file with a text editor an replace the contents with what I put in the code block above. Make sure you don't leave any blank lines.
That should fix this problem, but it is possible there will be other problems.

Evo2.

akhund_bilal · 02-10-2010, 05:15 AM

thanks for quick reply
now the error is changed

Quote:

dpkg: warning: files list file for package `kubuntu-default-settings' missing, assuming package has no files currently installed.

(Reading database ... 5%dpkg: unrecoverable fatal error, aborting:

failed in buffer_read(fd): files list for package `libgtkhex0': Is a directory

akhund_bilal · 02-10-2010, 05:16 AM

is there a way i can refresh all the conf files, just like a fresh instalation.

evo2 · 02-10-2010, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akhund_bilal

is there a way i can refresh all the conf files, just like a fresh instalation.

If you could reinstall the package, that would work, but your first post indicates that you are unable to do that. Having said that, it is probably worth trying to reinstall it directly with dpkg. Try the following:

Code:

wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/universe/s/sox/libsox-fmt-alsa_14.3.0-1build1_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i libsox-fmt-alsa_14.3.0-1build1_i386.deb

Evo2.

akhund_bilal · 02-10-2010, 05:30 AM

please do not mind for my english
evo2 it did not worked

Quote:

sudo dpkg -i libsox-fmt-alsa_14.3.0-1build1_i386.deb
(Reading database ...
dpkg: warning: files list file for package `kubuntu-default-settings' missing, assuming package has no files currently installed.
(Reading database ... 5%dpkg: unrecoverable fatal error, aborting:
failed in buffer_read(fd): files list for package `libgtkhex0': Is a directory

the above error came up with a new file

evo2 · 02-10-2010, 05:32 AM

Sorry I didn't see post #6, only post #7. Looks like kubuntu-default-settings.list has been deleted. You can recreate this file in the same way that you fixed libsox_fmt_als.list. However I'm worried that many of these files are missing or corrupt.
Did something strange happen to your /var directory/partition?

One way to recover these files in bulk is to copy them from another machine that has the same packages installed.

Evo2.

akhund_bilal · 02-10-2010, 05:37 AM

Quote:

One way to recover these files in bulk is to copy them from another machine that has the same packages installed.

you mean kubuntu default packages or including all the packages i have installed

evo2 · 02-10-2010, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akhund_bilal

you mean kubuntu default packages or including all the packages i have installed

All the packages that you have installed. One way to get that list is:

Code:

dpkg -l | grep ^ii | awk '{ print $2 }'

However that may fail since dpkg is having problems... If the above fails, you should be able to get a list of the packages with the following trick:

Code:

echo  /usr/share/doc/* | tr ' ' '\n' |  cut -f5 -d'/'

Evo2.

akhund_bilal · 02-10-2010, 05:51 AM

i think i have all messed up ubuntu that will not be possible to install all the packages on the other machine

any other way to do it?

if i reinstall all karmic then can i reinstall all the software in one go which i have installed here

evo2 · 02-10-2010, 06:08 AM

[QUOTE=akhund_bilal;3858800]i think i have all messed up ubuntu that will not be possible to install all the packages on the other machine
[quote]
It should not be that hard. Just get the list of packages using one of the methods I described in in my earlier post: you can put the list directly into a file with:

Code:

dpkg -l | grep ^ii | awk '{ print $2 }' > packages.txt

Then copy that file to the freshly installed machine, and on that fresh machine do:

Code:

sudo apt-get install $(cat packages.txt)

Assuming that works, you now have to copy all the .list files back to the broken machine.

On new machine

Code:

mkdir ~/listfiles
cd /var/lib/dpkg/info/
cp $(for p in $(cat packages.txt) ; do echo $p.list ; done ) ~/listfiles/

Now you have all the file you need to copy in a directory called ~/listfiles/
Next you have to copy them to your broken machine. This could be done with a usb stick or scp depending on your situation.

Quote:

if i reinstall all karmic then can i reinstall all the software in one go which i have installed here

Reinstalling is totally up to you, but you will loose anything you customized and everything in your home directory (unless it is on separate partition). Reinstalling all the packages is easy since you already have a list of them.

Evo2

akhund_bilal · 02-10-2010, 06:26 AM

thanks i am going for a fresh install both methods takes same time

thanks for your time i have learned many new things
thanks