[SOLVED] Cancel an apt-get installation

[Tiekyl]

Hey all,

I've searched around the forums and google for "cancel apt installation" and whatnot, and most of the posts seem to be talking about how to fix it, and tell you to dpkg --configure -a ..

I started trying to install flash through the apt system, and I forgot that the servers never seem to work for me. I found my old .tar.gz file, and installed it, but now I'm stuck with it trying to install. Is there anyway to just tell it that I don't want to install anymore?

Thanks,

Katie

[drs305]

You can try running this command:

sudo apt-get autoclean

and/or emptying /var/cache/apt/archives/partial
To do that, open a file manager using the gksudo command, such as:

gksudo nautilus /var/cache/apt/archives/partial

Delete the files within "partial" but not the folder itself.

[Tiekyl]

Well, the autoclean doesnt work, it said it was locked, and the partial directory was empty..

-Thanks though

[drs305]

With an aborted tar.gz installation, do you still have the installation folder? Sometimes there is a 'postinst' folder with a removal script. Or there might be another script that would apply. If the folder exists, you could also try to rename/delete it.

By the way, keeping installation folders after a tar.gz install is a good thing since even with a successful install it is often the only method of cleanly uninstalling an app that isn't registered with dpkg.

[Tiekyl]

Sorry about the slow replys, been incessently restarting to try to fix this. It wasnt an aborted .tar.gz install though, it was through apt that I was having problems. The server just isn't responding to me.

[drs305]

Here's my next brainstorm, now that I understand it's a hung apt install. This may work if the entire aptitude system isn't locked. Make sure no other synaptic is running.

First, trying the usual options:

sudo killall aptitude
sudo killall synaptic
sudo aptitude purge appname && sudo aptitude remove appname && sudo aptitude clean && sudo aptitude autoclean

When that doesn't work
Generate a list of installed packages and see if you can find the one you attempted to install:

sudo dpkg --get-selections >~/Desktop/bad-install 
gedit ~/Desktop/bad-install

If you find the troublemaker, check the status. Either change it to 'deinstall' or remove it completely. Then run:

sudo dpkg --clear-selections
sudo dpkg --set-selections <~/Desktop/bad-install 	
sudo apt-get -u dselect-upgrade

Maybe that will clear it. If nothing else, it bumps your thread. Good luck.

[Tiekyl]

Yay! It finally worked, thank you so much. Everything didnt work until the clearing of it out of the conf file, or whatever it was. Its re-updating now, but I'm very happy now ^_^ Thanks!

[drs305]

Yay! It finally worked, thank you so much. Everything didnt work until the clearing of it out of the conf file, or whatever it was. Its re-updating now, but I'm very happy now ^_^ Thanks!

I'm just curious - how was the app's status listed in the generated file?

Glad you finally got this resolved.

[unutbu]

Everything didnt work until the clearing of it out of the conf file

It sounds like the package was never truly purged.
That would mean you might have fragments of the package's files on your hard drive just taking up space. If you want to get rid of them, try

sudo apt-get install packagename
sudo apt-get purge packagename

Edit: drs305, please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not familiar with the command
"sudo apt-get -u dselect-upgrade"
If a package has been marked "deinstall" does it mean the package has already been deinstalled, or that it should be deinstalled if currently installed?

If Tiekyl simply erased that line from ~/Desktop/bad-install, wouldn't "apt-get dselect-upgrade" simply do nothing? I doubt it would remove the package.

[drs305]

unbuntu,

the problem was that the app would never complete an install. he tried, or at least i suggested, using purge but apparently it couldn't break through and get it done for some reason.

creating a list of the current status of all packages was my last attempt at getting dpkg/apt to forget trying to complete the installation. one of the reasons i asked about what the generated list contained was that i would like to know whether it was listed as deinstall, install or something else. i am fairly certain deinstall is a status for packages awaiting removal and would probably be found by synaptic's residual config filter.

if you run the command and then inspect the file there are very few, if any, packages marked deinstall. i constantly add and remove apps to try to figure out what's happening on other reader's computers and my list would contain dozens if not hundreds of old apps if it retained them in history.

you are correct that the final command in the sequence would do nothing about removing the package. the solution was not a clean uninstall. your suggestion to run the install and purge was something i was going to recommend after he got all his updates completed and i did some further investigation. i just didn't have the heart to ask him to try it again so soon. i was also a bit concerned about how it would affect his install via the tar.gz installation. although dpkg wouldn't have registered that installation i wasn't sure if a fresh install/removal via apt would find and remove any of his other files.

as for deselect-upgrade command, that is just the command i suggested to try to get apt to accurately reflect and update the status of things. since he removed a line from the generated list without going through the normal procedures i suggested this line in hopes it would reset the list to accurately reflect the status of the packages.