[Bug 1798369] Re: Reinstall Ubuntu (with preserving existing data) shows error message due to "Could not get lock /target/var/cache/apt/archives/lock"

[Brian Murray]

This process which reinstalls your existing applications has been
removed from ubiquity as it was broken and misleading in that it
frequently would not reinstall many of the applications which were
installed on the system. So in the interest of providing a better user
experience, by not creating expectations that would not be met, we have
removed that part of the "Reinstall Ubuntu" option.

** Changed in: ubiquity (Ubuntu)
       Status: Confirmed => Won't Fix

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Foundations Bugs, which is subscribed to ubiquity in Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1798369

Title:
  Reinstall Ubuntu (with preserving existing data) shows error message
  due to "Could not get lock /target/var/cache/apt/archives/lock"

Status in APT:
  New
Status in ubiquity:
  New
Status in apt package in Ubuntu:
  Invalid
Status in ubiquity package in Ubuntu:
  Won't Fix
Status in apt source package in Eoan:
  Invalid
Status in ubiquity source package in Eoan:
  Won't Fix

Bug description:
  When trying to reinstall an existing Ubuntu cosmic installation using
  latest 18.10 desktop images, the install shows an error dialog around
  the end of the installation with an "Error restoring installed
  applications". Looking at the syslog such a traceback can be seen:

  apt_pkg.Error: E:Could not get lock
  /target/var/cache/apt/archives/lock - open (11: Resource temporarily
  unavailable), E:Unable to lock directory
  /target/var/cache/apt/archives/

  After reproducing this on a live session, after chrooting into /target
  indeed any apt-get install operations result in the same lock-file
  error. The whole syslog of the reinstall attached to the bug.

  Test case:
   * Download latest cosmic image
   * Install cosmic on the whole disk (can be on a VM)
   * (optional) Boot into the system and leave a file in the home directory (to leave a trace, just in case)
   * Reboot and install cosmic using the first option in ubiquity: Reinstall Ubuntu
   * Finish configuration

  The install itself doesn't fail, but around the end of the
  installation process the error dialog appears. System is still
  bootable but left with old packages.

To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/apt/+bug/1798369/+subscriptions