[Bug 2110594] Re: Upgrade error window says: Can't install ''

[Nick Rosbrook]

** Description changed:

+ [Impact]
+ 
+ On upgrade, if a user does not have a package listed in the
+ Distro.MetaPkgs section of DistUpgrade.cfg, they may be presented with
+ an error saying:
+ 
+ Can't install ''
+ It was impossible to install a required package. Please report this as a bug using 'ubuntu-bug ubuntu-release-upgrader-core' in a terminal.
+ 
+ This happens in particular with minimal desktop installations, because
+ ubuntu-desktop-minimal is not listed in Distro.MetaPkgs (this is likely
+ a historical oversight, and addressing this is out of scope here).
+ 
+ It is important to note that:
+ 
+ (1) This only presents on graphical upgrades; on non-graphical frontends, the error is logged and ignored
+ (2) When the error window is closed, the upgrade continues unaffected.
+ 
+ Nonetheless, this error is confusing and alarming to users, and is
+ enough for some users to decide to cancel the upgrade.
+ 
+ [Original Description]
+ 
  25.04 Upgrade error window says:
  Can't install ''
  It was impossible to install a required package. Please report this as a bug using 'ubuntu-bug ubuntu-release-upgrader-core' in a terminal.
  
  ProblemType: Bug
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 24.10
  Package: ubuntu-release-upgrader-core 1:24.10.14
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 6.11.0-25.25-generic 6.11.11
  Uname: Linux 6.11.0-25-generic x86_64
  ApportVersion: 2.30.0-0ubuntu4.2
  Architecture: amd64
  CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
  CrashDB: ubuntu
  CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
  Date: Tue May 13 18:09:46 2025
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2022-04-28 (1111 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS "Jammy Jellyfish" - Release amd64 (20220419)
  PackageArchitecture: all
  ProcEnviron:
-  LANG=en_US.UTF-8
-  PATH=(custom, no user)
-  SHELL=/bin/bash
-  TERM=xterm-256color
-  XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
+  LANG=en_US.UTF-8
+  PATH=(custom, no user)
+  SHELL=/bin/bash
+  TERM=xterm-256color
+  XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
  RebootRequiredPkgs: Error: path contained symlinks.
  SourcePackage: ubuntu-release-upgrader
  UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to oracular on 2025-05-13 (0 days ago)
  VarLogDistupgradeTermlog:

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2110594

Title:
  Upgrade error window says: Can't install ''

Status in ubuntu-release-upgrader package in Ubuntu:
  Triaged
Status in ubuntu-release-upgrader source package in Plucky:
  Triaged

Bug description:
  [Impact]

  On upgrade, if a user does not have a package listed in the
  Distro.MetaPkgs section of DistUpgrade.cfg, they may be presented with
  an error saying:

  Can't install ''
  It was impossible to install a required package. Please report this as a bug using 'ubuntu-bug ubuntu-release-upgrader-core' in a terminal.

  This happens in particular with minimal desktop installations, because
  ubuntu-desktop-minimal is not listed in Distro.MetaPkgs (this is
  likely a historical oversight, and addressing this is out of scope
  here).

  It is important to note that:

  (1) This only presents on graphical upgrades; on non-graphical frontends, the error is logged and ignored
  (2) When the error window is closed, the upgrade continues unaffected.

  Nonetheless, this error is confusing and alarming to users, and is
  enough for some users to decide to cancel the upgrade.

  [Original Description]

  25.04 Upgrade error window says:
  Can't install ''
  It was impossible to install a required package. Please report this as a bug using 'ubuntu-bug ubuntu-release-upgrader-core' in a terminal.

  ProblemType: Bug
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 24.10
  Package: ubuntu-release-upgrader-core 1:24.10.14
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 6.11.0-25.25-generic 6.11.11
  Uname: Linux 6.11.0-25-generic x86_64
  ApportVersion: 2.30.0-0ubuntu4.2
  Architecture: amd64
  CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
  CrashDB: ubuntu
  CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
  Date: Tue May 13 18:09:46 2025
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2022-04-28 (1111 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS "Jammy Jellyfish" - Release amd64 (20220419)
  PackageArchitecture: all
  ProcEnviron:
   LANG=en_US.UTF-8
   PATH=(custom, no user)
   SHELL=/bin/bash
   TERM=xterm-256color
   XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
  RebootRequiredPkgs: Error: path contained symlinks.
  SourcePackage: ubuntu-release-upgrader
  UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to oracular on 2025-05-13 (0 days ago)
  VarLogDistupgradeTermlog:

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