Unmet dependencies, "E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)"

[herdpoisoningmedia]

Update manager will not let me go any further.

I get the details:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:

libhx509-5-heimdal: Depends: libc6 (>= 2.14) but 2.15-0ubuntu10.4 is installed
Depends: libcomerr2 (>= 1.34) but 1.42-1ubuntu2 is installed
libhx509-5-heimdal:i386: Depends: libc6 (>= 2.8) but 2.15-0ubuntu10.4 is installed
Depends: libcomerr2 (>= 1.34) but 1.42-1ubuntu2 is installed

I run sudo apt-get install -f and get:

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Correcting dependencies... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
libhx509-5-heimdal:i386
The following packages will be upgraded:
libhx509-5-heimdal:i386
1 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 140 not upgraded.
8 not fully installed or removed.
Need to get 0 B/127 kB of archives.
After this operation, 1,024 B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y
dpkg: error processing libhx509-5-heimdal:i386 (--configure):
libhx509-5-heimdal:i386 1.6~git20120311.dfsg.1-2 cannot be configured because libhx509-5-heimdal:amd64 is in a different version (1.6~git20120311.dfsg.1-2ubuntu0.1)
dpkg: error processing libhx509-5-heimdal (--configure):
libhx509-5-heimdal:amd64 1.6~git20120311.dfsg.1-2ubuntu0.1 cannot be configured because libhx509-5-heimdal:i386 is in a different version (1.6~git20120311.dfsg.1-2)
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of libkrb5-26-heimdal:
libkrb5-26-heimdal depends on libhx509-5-heimdal (>= 1.4.0+git20110226); however:
Package libhx509-5-heimdal is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing libkrb5-26-heimdal (--configure):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of libkrb5-26-heimdal:i386:
libkrb5-26-heimdal:i386 depends on libhx509-5-heimdal (>= 1.4.0+git20110226); however:
Package libhx509-5-heimdal:i386 is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing libkrb5-26-heimdal:i386 (--configure):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of libheimntlm0-heimdal:i386:
libheimntlm0-heimdal:i386 depends on libkrb5-26-heimdal (>= 1.4.0+git20110226); however:
Package libkrb5-26-heimdal:i386 is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing libheimntlm0-heimdal:i386 (--configure):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configurNo 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.
No apport report written because MaxReports is reached already
ation of libheimntlm0-heimdal:
libheimntlm0-heimdal depends on libkrb5-26-heimdal (>= 1.4.0+git20110226); however:
Package libkrb5-26-heimdal is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing libheimntlm0-heimdal (--configure):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of libgssapi3-heimdal:
libgssapi3-heimdal depends on libheimntlm0-heimdal (>= 1.4.0+git20110226); however:
Package libheimntlm0-heimdal is not configured yet.
libgssapi3-heimdal depends on libkrb5-26-heimdal (>= 1.4.0+git20110403); however:
Package libkrb5-26-heimdal is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing libgssapi3-heimdal (--configure):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of libgssapi3-heimdal:i386:
libgssapi3-heimdal:i386 depends on libheimntlm0-heimdal (>= 1.4.0+git20110226); however:
Package libheimntlm0-heimdal:i386 is not configured yet.
libgssapi3-heimdal:i386 depends on libkrb5-26-heimdal (>= 1.4.0+git20110403); however:
Package libkrb5-26-heimdal:i386 is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing libgssapi3-heimdal:i386 (--configure):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
Errors were encountered while processing:
libhx509-5-heimdal:i386
libhx509-5-heimdal
libkrb5-26-heimdal
libkrb5-26-heimdal:i386
libheimntlm0-heimdal:i386
libheimntlm0-heimdal
libgssapi3-heimdal
libgssapi3-heimdal:i386
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

I have been trying to work through this without begging for help for a few weeks, but figured I should prostrate myself at the altar of community support and beg for assistance before I reformat and reinstall. Any suggestions?

[ubfan1]

Looks like a bad depends got entered:
libhx509-5-heimdal:i386: Depends: libc6 (>= 2.8) but 2.15-0ubuntu10.4 is installed
2.8 ???? Both i386 and 64bit should be the 2.15 version. File a bug against the package?
You do have all the other ia32 libraries and multiarch packages installed don't you?

[herdpoisoningmedia]

I apparently did not have ia32-libs installed, so I installed through Synaptic, but am still getting the same error. I seem to have all the multiarch files in Synaptic except binutils-multiarch.

As far as filing a bug report, it looks like there is an update available in the install manager already, but I cannot install it as I get this same error with anything I try to update through the install manager.

(I did just notice that I can install at least some things through Synaptic, so I will try that and see if it somehow works)

[ubfan1]

Specifically I was thinking of the ia32-libs-multiarch package (which for some reason does not seem to show in the apt-cache pkgnames output:
apt-cache show ia32-libs-multiarch
Package: ia32-libs-multiarch
Priority: extra
Section: universe/libs
Installed-Size: 39
Maintainer: Ubuntu Developers <ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com>
Original-Maintainer: Debian ia32-libs Team <pkg-ia32-libs-maintainers@lists.alioth.debian.org>
Architecture: i386
Source: ia32-libs
Version: 20090808ubuntu36
...
Description-en: Multi-arch versions of former ia32-libraries
This package depends on i386 versions of packages that were removed from
ia32-libs and transitioned to multi-arch. This allows applications using
ia32-libs in previous Ubuntu releases to continue functioning without missing
libraries.

[herdpoisoningmedia]

Here is my output for apt-cache show ia32-libs-multiarch
Package: ia32-libs-multiarch
Priority: extra
Section: universe/libs
Installed-Size: 39
Maintainer: Ubuntu Developers <ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com>
Original-Maintainer: Debian ia32-libs Team <pkg-ia32-libs-maintainers@lists.alioth.debian.org>
Architecture: i386
Source: ia32-libs
Version: 20090808ubuntu36
Depends: bluez-alsa, libgettextpo0, gstreamer0.10-plugins-base, gstreamer0.10-plugins-good, gtk2-engines, gtk2-engines-murrine, gtk2-engines-pixbuf, gtk2-engines-oxygen, gvfs, ibus-gtk, libacl1, libaio1, libao4, libasound2, libasound2-plugins, libasyncns0, libattr1, libaudio2, libcanberra-gtk-module, libcap2, libcapi20-3, libcups2, libcupsimage2, libcurl3, libdbus-glib-1-2, libesd0, libfontconfig1, libfreetype6, libgail-common, libgconf-2-4, libgdbm3, libglapi-mesa, libglu1-mesa, libgphoto2-2, libgphoto2-port0, libgtk2.0-0, libmpg123-0, libncursesw5, libnspr4, libnss3, libodbc1, libopenal1, libpulse-mainloop-glib0, libqt4-dbus, libqt4-network, libqt4-opengl, libqt4-qt3support, libqt4-script, libqt4-scripttools, libqt4-sql, libqt4-svg, libqt4-test, libqt4-xml, libqt4-xmlpatterns, libqtcore4, libqtgui4, libqtwebkit4, librsvg2-common, libsane, libsdl-mixer1.2, libsdl-image1.2, libsdl-net1.2, libsdl-ttf2.0-0, libsdl1.2debian, libsqlite3-0, libssl0.9.8, libssl1.0.0, libstdc++5, libstdc++6, libxaw7, libxml2, libxp6, libxslt1.1, libxss1, libxtst6, odbcinst1debian2, libpulsedsp, xaw3dg
Recommends: libgl1-mesa-glx, libgl1-mesa-dri
Suggests: libpam-ldap, libpam-winbind, libnss-ldap
Filename: pool/universe/i/ia32-libs/ia32-libs-multiarch_20090808ubuntu36_i386.deb
Size: 4682
MD5sum: 326c052b5fe589b730fa67499a463384
SHA1: e296b805dc98cd7ac307b838f9a5e977b13931c8
SHA256: 171b4f9078df3b73228862e728278e59b621ed46c161151695 8fd68c68239ae4
Description-en: Multi-arch versions of former ia32-libraries
This package depends on i386 versions of packages that were removed from
ia32-libs and transitioned to multi-arch. This allows applications using
ia32-libs in previous Ubuntu releases to continue functioning without missing
libraries.
Multi-Arch: foreign
Description-md5: 2dfb3546bc498438a76638f4fcd00b0c
Bugs: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+filebug
Origin: Ubuntu

Package: ia32-libs-multiarch
Priority: extra
Section: universe/libs
Installed-Size: 39
Maintainer: Ubuntu Developers <ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com>
Original-Maintainer: Debian ia32-libs Team <pkg-ia32-libs-maintainers@lists.alioth.debian.org>
Architecture: i386
Source: ia32-libs
Version: 20090808ubuntu35
Depends: bluez-alsa, libgettextpo0, gstreamer0.10-plugins-base, gstreamer0.10-plugins-good, gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3, gtk2-engines, gtk2-engines-murrine, gtk2-engines-pixbuf, gtk2-engines-oxygen, gvfs, ibus-gtk, libacl1, libaio1, libao4, libasound2, libasound2-plugins, libasyncns0, libattr1, libaudio2, libcanberra-gtk-module, libcap2, libcapi20-3, libcups2, libcupsimage2, libcurl3, libdbus-glib-1-2, libesd0, libfontconfig1, libfreetype6, libgail-common, libgconf-2-4, libgdbm3, libglapi-mesa, libglu1-mesa, libgphoto2-2, libgphoto2-port0, libgtk2.0-0, libmpg123-0, libncursesw5, libnspr4, libnss3, libodbc1, libopenal1, libpulse-mainloop-glib0, libqt4-dbus, libqt4-network, libqt4-opengl, libqt4-qt3support, libqt4-script, libqt4-scripttools, libqt4-sql, libqt4-svg, libqt4-test, libqt4-xml, libqt4-xmlpatterns, libqtcore4, libqtgui4, libqtwebkit4, librsvg2-common, libsane, libsdl-mixer1.2, libsdl-image1.2, libsdl-net1.2, libsdl-ttf2.0-0, libsdl1.2debian, libsqlite3-0, libssl0.9.8, libssl1.0.0, libstdc++5, libstdc++6, libxaw7, libxml2, libxp6, libxslt1.1, libxss1, libxtst6, odbcinst1debian2, libpulsedsp, xaw3dg
Recommends: libgl1-mesa-glx, libgl1-mesa-dri
Suggests: libpam-ldap, libpam-winbind, libnss-ldap
Filename: pool/universe/i/ia32-libs/ia32-libs-multiarch_20090808ubuntu35_i386.deb
Size: 4554
MD5sum: cda17f80e8c2c7e8ed79390c6462d184
SHA1: 108d0a21f7889331105afeb0a86dad9f3da2d90c
SHA256: 93045368d952407c927000ec582b573bf27b367cc13a06d8a9 a6f786dd7818e4
Description-en: Multi-arch versions of former ia32-libraries
This package depends on i386 versions of packages that were removed from
ia32-libs and transitioned to multi-arch. This allows applications using
ia32-libs in previous Ubuntu releases to continue functioning without missing
libraries.
Multi-Arch: foreign
Description-md5: 2dfb3546bc498438a76638f4fcd00b0c
Bugs: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+filebug
Origin: Ubuntu


Looks like I have an older version (35 instead of 36)
I am admittedly in over my head here, so if this is not what you were asking for I apologize (and thank you for the help)

[ubfan1]

Looks like the md5sums are the same, so they're the same. The apt-cache show ... shows what's available, not what's installed. What does the dpkg -l | grep multi show? I have things like:
un ia32-libs-multiarch <none> (no description available)
ii krb5-multidev 1.10+dfsg~beta1-2ubuntu0 Development files for MIT Kerberos without Heimdal conflict
un libgl1-mesa-glx-no-multi <none> (no description available)
ii multiarch-support 2.15-0ubuntu10.4 Transitional package to ensure multiarch compatibility
But I've never done anything with Kerberos or Heimdal.

[herdpoisoningmedia]

Output of dpkg -l | grep multi

ii balazar3-3d 0.1-10 dungeon adventure game with multiplayer support - 3D version
ii balazar3-common 0.1-10 dungeon adventure game with multiplayer support - common files
ii basket 2.0~beta2-0ubuntu2 a multi-purpose note-taking application for KDE
ii empathy 3.4.2.3-0ubuntu1 GNOME multi-protocol chat and call client
ii empathy-common 3.4.2.3-0ubuntu1 GNOME multi-protocol chat and call client (common files)
ii festival 1:2.1~release-1ubuntu2 General multi-lingual speech synthesis system
ii gdb-multiarch 7.4-2012.04-0ubuntu2.1 The GNU Debugger (with support for multiple architectures)
ii gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse 0.10.21-1 GStreamer plugins from the "bad" set (Multiverse Variant)
ii ia32-libs-multiarch:i386 20090808ubuntu36 Multi-arch versions of former ia32-libraries
ii jackeq 0.5.9-2 routes and manipulates audio from/to multiple sources
ii jamin 0.97.14~cvs~81203-4 Audio mastering from a mixed down multitrack source with JACK
ii jokosher 0.11.5-5 simple and easy to use audio multi-tracker
ii kdemultimedia-kio-plugins 4:4.8.5-0ubuntu1 transparent audio CD access for applications using the KDE Platform
ii krb5-multidev 1.10+dfsg~beta1-2ubuntu0.3 Development files for MIT Kerberos without Heimdal conflict
ii libanyevent-perl 6.120-1 event loop framework with multiple implementations
ii libboost-thread1.46.1 1.46.1-7ubuntu3 portable C++ multi-threading
ii libgmerlin-avdec1 1.1.0~dfsg-3build1 general multimedia decoding library
ii libgrip0 0.3.5-0ubuntu1~12.04.1 provides multitouch gestures to GTK+ apps
ii libgstreamermm-0.10-2 0.10.9-1 C++ wrapper library for the multimedia library GStreamer (shared libraries)
ii libimage-exiftool-perl 8.60-2 Library and program to read and write meta information in multimedia files
ii libkephal4abi1 4:4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3 API for easier handling of multihead systems
ii liblqr-1-0 0.4.1-1.1 converts plain array images into multi-size representation
ii libm17n-0 1.6.3-1 multilingual text processing library - runtime
ii libmlt++3 0.7.6+git20120204-2 MLT multimedia framework C++ wrapper (runtime)
ii libmlt-data 0.7.6+git20120204-2 multimedia framework (data)
ii libmlt4 0.7.6+git20120204-2 multimedia framework (runtime)
ii libmpc2 0.9-4 multiple precision complex floating-point library
ii libmpfr4 3.1.0-3ubuntu2 multiple precision floating-point computation
ii libphonon4 4:4.7.0really4.6.0-0ubuntu1 multimedia framework from KDE - core library
ii libpurple-bin 1:2.10.3-0ubuntu1.3 multi-protocol instant messaging library - extra utilities
ii libpurple0 1:2.10.3-0ubuntu1.3 multi-protocol instant messaging library
ii libqtmultimediakit1 1.2.0-1ubuntu2 Qt Mobility MultimediaKit module
ii libsane-hpaio 3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2 HP SANE backend for multi-function peripherals
ii libtommath0 0.42.0-1 multiple-precision integer library [runtime]
ii libusbmuxd1 1.0.7-2ubuntu0.1 USB multiplexor daemon for iPhone and iPod Touch devices - library
ii libvlc5 2.0.8-0ubuntu0.12.04.1 multimedia player and streamer library
ii m17n-contrib 1.1.13-1 multilingual text processing library - contributed database
ii m17n-db 1.6.3-1 multilingual text processing library - database
ii megaglest 3.6.0.3-1ubuntu1 3D multi-player real time strategy game
ii multiarch-support 2.15-0ubuntu10.4 Transitional package to ensure multiarch compatibility
ii mx44 1.0-0ubuntu5 polyphonic, multichannel midi realtime software synthesizer
ii nautilus-sendto-empathy 3.4.2.3-0ubuntu1 GNOME multi-protocol chat and call client (nautilus-sendto plugin)
ii ogmtools 1:1.5-3ubuntu1 Tools for manipulating Ogg multimedia streams
ii phonon 4:4.7.0really4.6.0-0ubuntu1 multimedia framework from KDE - metapackage
ii pidgin 1:2.10.3-0ubuntu1.3 graphical multi-protocol instant messaging client for X
ii pidgin-data 1:2.10.3-0ubuntu1.3 multi-protocol instant messaging client - data files
ii postgresql-client-common 129ubuntu1 manager for multiple PostgreSQL client versions
ii python-mlt3 0.7.6+git20120204-2 multimedia framework (python bindings)
ii qtractor 0.5.4-1 MIDI/Audio multi-track sequencer application
ii usbmuxd 1.0.7-2ubuntu0.1 USB multiplexor daemon for iPhone and iPod Touch devices
ii vlc 2.0.8-0ubuntu0.12.04.1 multimedia player and streamer
ii vlc-nox 2.0.8-0ubuntu0.12.04.1 multimedia player and streamer (without X support)

(most of which is completely irrelevant I am pretty sure)

I am not even sure what Kerberos or Heimdal do (I have looked them up, but am still lost). I would just try to remove it, but Synaptec says to remove it it needs to also remove a zillion other things that I do use as they are dependent on it. (I'm guessing wildly that it has something to do with the Ubuntu Install Manager, and removing it would remove anything I installed through that.)

I should mention that reformatting and reinstalling is very much an option, so unless you enjoy a good puzzle, I can always just go that route ;)

[fmarinheiro]

Recently i had a similar problem but it was with a different package and this was the only way to fix it.

sudo dpkg --force-all -P <package>

[ubfan1]

Did you run apt-get update first?

[fmarinheiro]

Did you run apt-get update first?

I was having the same problem with libgssapi3-heimdal can't remember much more details but i think it was the same problem as you are having.

I did apt-get update than apt-get upgrade and got that gigantic stack of errors, after the i could not update the system nor install anything at all.

apt-get install -f gave me the same problem

Than i've run sudo dpkg --force-all -P libgssapi3-heimda and then my ubuntu started working normally again.

[herdpoisoningmedia]

I tried apt-get update and apt-get upgrade as well with the same errors
I will try the sudo dpkg --force-all -P libhx509-5-heimdal:i386
followed by the other packages and cross my fingers and post the results if I have not killed my system entirely (it sounds scary).

[herdpoisoningmedia]

w00h00!
I did
sudo dpkg --force-all -P libhx509-5-heimdal:i386
sudo apt-get install -f
And it worked!
I am now getting updated through update manager and my system seems all nice and happy now!!!
Thank you so very very very much!! You guys/gals rock!

[fmarinheiro]

w00h00!
I did
sudo dpkg --force-all -P libhx509-5-heimdal:i386
sudo apt-get install -f
And it worked!
I am now getting updated through update manager and my system seems all nice and happy now!!!
Thank you so very very very much!! You guys/gals rock!

Nice to know it worked.

I know it is a little drastic solution but the system wasn't working for me anyway.
I couldn't remove or install anything and took the chance :)