1

I was doing my quarterly updates of an Ubuntu 12 server. After an apt-get update succeeded I'm getting this error running apt-get anything.

Depends: linux-image-server (= 3.2.0.72.86) but it is not going to be installed

I don't understand why this linux image isn't going to be installed. The package exists, is downloadable, etc.

Katherine Villyard
  • 18,610
  • How about apt-get update -f ? – Nathan C Dec 08 '14 at 17:18
  • Nathan- I'm scared of the -f option in production without testing it first in a dev env. –  Dec 08 '14 at 17:28
  • 1
    Use apt-get upgrade -f --dry-run to see if it'll fix your problem, but I noticed Binary's answer fixed your problem anyway. The --dry-run flag will print what will happen but not actually make the changes. – Nathan C Dec 08 '14 at 17:33

1 Answers1

1

Check your /boot partition to see if its full. A frequent problem with Debian/Ubuntu systems is a full boot partition preventing apt from installing kernels, causing cryptic failures like this. This is what debian admins call "job security."

I believe that for your OS you should be running a 3.2.00* kernel. Do a uname -a to see what kernel you are running, and delete previous versions of the kernel. Be very careful not to delete the currently running version. There are multiple files for a given kernel, this command takes care of them all. 

sudo rm -rf /boot/*-3.2.0-{60,61,63,64,65}-*

Let me know if this works for you, otherwise we can try something else.

Binary
  • 174
  • 8
  • 1
    Yes /boot was 99% full. Deleting the old kernels worked. Thanks so much! Thanks for the awesome/fast reply! –  Dec 08 '14 at 17:20