LinuxQuestions.org - Can't get rid of error message in dpkg or apt-get

Hi,

I was trying to install a printer driver yesterday, and I failed. Worse, the failure seems to have upset dpkg and apt-get, and now regular package management tasks frequently aren't working.

Here are all the details I can remember:

The package which failed to install is dcp7065dnlpr, a Brother printer driver downloaded off their website.

The error message generated when I tried to install it with dpkg was (I think):

start: Unknown job: lpd

I tried dpkg -r, dpkg -P, and dpkg --remove-reinstreq (i.e. all the options which seemed relevant on the dpkg man page), to remove the broken package, but they all generated variants on the same theme:

dpkg: error processing dcp7065dnlpr (--remove):
Package is in a very bad inconsistent state - you should
reinstall it before attempting a removal.
Errors were encountered while processing:
dcp7065dnlpr

But trying to reinstall it didn't get anywhere. (I believe that the first time I tried this, there were some different error messages, along the lines of "start: Unknown job: lpd", and mentioning the prerm and postrm scripts, but I can't generate those again).

If I try dpkg -l | grep dcp7065dnlpr, I get:

rHR dcp7065dnlpr 2.1.0-1 Brother DCP-7065DN LPR driver

(or iHR, or PHR, on the first line, depending on whether I last used the -i/-r/-P option).

Similarly, if I try to do pretty much anything with apt-get, I now get error messages based around this package. e.g. apt-get install alarm-clock generates:

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
E: The package dcp7065dnlpr needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it.

Again, the promising-sounding options from the apt-get man page (-f, -m, --ignore-hold - didn't know what that meant but ignoring things sounded potentially helpful) don't help.

One last detail: there was a CUPS driver for the same printer installed at the same time. That one has been installed with no problems - just mentioning it in case it's relevant:

ii cupswrapperdcp7065dn 2.0.4-2 Brother DCP7065DN CUPS wrapper driver

Of course, in the long run, I want to get this printer working (and I might post about that in the relevant forum if I get stuck again), but in the short term, I'd just like to get this package cleaned up, and get everything working smoothly again. I get the feeling I'm missing something very basic, but googling/reading man pages hasn't helped me. If any of you can straighten me out, it'd be much appreciated.