Ubuntu

upgrade from 16.04 unmet dependencies

Asked by Rodney

Desktop. upgrading from 16.04 to 18.04
I now have:

rodney@RodneyPc:~$ sudo apt update
Hit:1 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic InRelease
Hit:2 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security InRelease
Hit:3 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates InRelease
Hit:4 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu bionic InRelease
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
2515 packages can be upgraded. Run 'apt list --upgradable' to see them.

rodney@RodneyPc:~$ sudo apt dist-upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
You might want to run ‘apt-get -f install’ to correct these.
The following packages have unmet dependencies.
 libglib2.0-bin : Depends: libglib2.0-0 (= 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6) but 2.48.2-0ubuntu4.6 is installed
 libglib2.0-dev : Depends: libglib2.0-0 (= 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6) but 2.48.2-0ubuntu4.6 is installed
 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings : Depends: libproxy1v5 (= 0.4.15-1ubuntu0.2) but 0.4.11-5ubuntu1.2 is installed
 mailutils : Depends: libmailutils5 but it is not installed
             Depends: libreadline7 (>= 6.0) but it is not installed
 python3-distutils : Depends: python3 (>= 3.6.7-1~) but 3.5.1-3 is installed
 python3-lib2to3 : Depends: python3 (>= 3.6.7-1~) but 3.5.1-3 is installed
 systemd : Depends: libsystemd0 (= 229-4ubuntu21.29) but 237-3ubuntu10.44 is installed
 udev : Depends: libudev1 (= 229-4ubuntu21.29) but 237-3ubuntu10.44 is installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try using -f.

rodney@RodneyPc:~$ sudo dpkg --audit
The following packages have been unpacked but not yet configured.
They must be configured using dpkg --configure or the configure
menu option in dselect for them to work:
 libglib2.0-bin Programs for the GLib library
 libglib2.0-dev:amd64 Development files for the GLib library
 libglib2.0-dev-bin Development utilities for the GLib library
 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings:amd64 automatic proxy configuration management library (G
 mailutils GNU mailutils utilities for handling mail
 python3-distutils distutils package for Python 3.x
 python3-lib2to3 Interactive high-level object-oriented language (2to3, ve

The following packages are only half installed, due to problems during
installation. The installation can probably be completed by retrying it;
the packages can be removed using dselect or dpkg --remove:
 systemd-shim shim for systemd

rodney@RodneyPc:~$ sudo apt-get -f install
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Correcting dependencies... failed.
The following packages have unmet dependencies.
 libglib2.0-bin : Depends: libglib2.0-0 (= 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6) but 2.48.2-0ubuntu4.6 is installed
 libglib2.0-dev : Depends: libglib2.0-0 (= 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6) but 2.48.2-0ubuntu4.6 is installed
 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings : Depends: libproxy1v5 (= 0.4.15-1ubuntu0.2) but 0.4.11-5ubuntu1.2 is installed
 mailutils : Depends: libmailutils5 but it is not installed
             Depends: libreadline7 (>= 6.0) but it is not installed
 python3-distutils : Depends: python3 (>= 3.6.7-1~) but 3.5.1-3 is installed
 python3-lib2to3 : Depends: python3 (>= 3.6.7-1~) but 3.5.1-3 is installed
 systemd : Depends: libsystemd0 (= 229-4ubuntu21.29) but 237-3ubuntu10.44 is installed
 udev : Depends: libudev1 (= 229-4ubuntu21.29) but 237-3ubuntu10.44 is installed
E: Error, pkgProblemResolver::Resolve generated breaks, this may be caused by held packages.
E: Unable to correct dependencies

what can I do?

many thanks

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Rodney
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Revision history for this message
Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#1

How did you initiate the release-upgrade, and was there any problem reported during that action?

What is the output of the commands

uname -a
lsb_release -crid
sudo dpkg --configure -a
apt-cache policy libglib2.0-bin libglib2.0-0 libglib2.0-dev python3-distutils python3 python3-lib2to3

Revision history for this message
Rodney (rodney-atkins) said : 		#2

The upgrade said it had failed. I have to manually reboot at the end.

rodney@RodneyPc:~$ uname -a
Linux RodneyPc 4.4.0-201-generic #233-Ubuntu SMP Thu Jan 14 06:10:28 UTC 2021 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

rodney@RodneyPc:~$ lsb_release -crid
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS
Release: 18.04
Codename: bionic

rodney@RodneyPc:~$ sudo dpkg --configure -a
[sudo] password for rodney:
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of mailutils:
 mailutils depends on libmailutils5; however:
  Package libmailutils5 is not installed.
 mailutils depends on libreadline7 (>= 6.0); however:

dpkg: error processing package mailutils (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of libglib2.0-dev:amd64:
 libglib2.0-dev:amd64 depends on libglib2.0-0 (= 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6); however:
  Version of libglib2.0-0:amd64 on system is 2.48.2-0ubuntu4.6.

dpkg: error processing package libglib2.0-dev:amd64 (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of libproxy1-plugin-gsettings:amd64:
 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings:amd64 depends on libproxy1v5 (= 0.4.15-1ubuntu0.2); however:
  Version of libproxy1v5:amd64 on system is 0.4.11-5ubuntu1.2.

dpkg: error processing package libproxy1-plugin-gsettings:amd64 (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of python3-lib2to3:
 python3-lib2to3 depends on python3 (>= 3.6.7-1~); however:
  Version of python3 on system is 3.5.1-3.

dpkg: error processing package python3-lib2to3 (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of libglib2.0-bin:
 libglib2.0-bin depends on libglib2.0-0 (= 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6); however:
  Version of libglib2.0-0:amd64 on system is 2.48.2-0ubuntu4.6.

dpkg: error processing package libglib2.0-bin (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of python3-distutils:
 python3-distutils depends on python3 (>= 3.6.7-1~); however:
  Version of python3 on system is 3.5.1-3.
 python3-distutils depends on python3-lib2to3 (>= 3.6.4); however:
  Package python3-lib2to3 is not configured yet.

dpkg: error processing package python3-distutils (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of libglib2.0-dev-bin:
 libglib2.0-dev-bin depends on python3-distutils; however:
  Package python3-distutils is not configured yet.

dpkg: error processing package libglib2.0-dev-bin (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
Errors were encountered while processing:
 mailutils
 libglib2.0-dev:amd64
 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings:amd64
 python3-lib2to3
 libglib2.0-bin
 python3-distutils
 libglib2.0-dev-bin

rodney@RodneyPc:~$ apt-cache policy libglib2.0-bin libglib2.0-0 libglib2.0-dev python3-distutils python3 python3-lib2to3
libglib2.0-bin:
  Installed: 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6
  Candidate: 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6
  Version table:
 *** 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     2.56.1-2ubuntu1 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
libglib2.0-0:
  Installed: 2.48.2-0ubuntu4.6
  Candidate: 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6
  Version table:
     2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
     2.56.1-2ubuntu1 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
 *** 2.48.2-0ubuntu4.6 100
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
libglib2.0-dev:
  Installed: 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6
  Candidate: 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6
  Version table:
 *** 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     2.56.1-2ubuntu1 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
python3-distutils:
  Installed: 3.6.9-1~18.04
  Candidate: 3.6.9-1~18.04
  Version table:
 *** 3.6.9-1~18.04 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     3.6.5-3 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages
python3:
  Installed: 3.5.1-3
  Candidate: 3.6.7-1~18.04
  Version table:
     3.6.7-1~18.04 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
     3.6.5-3 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
 *** 3.5.1-3 100
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
python3-lib2to3:
  Installed: 3.6.9-1~18.04
  Candidate: 3.6.9-1~18.04
  Version table:
 *** 3.6.9-1~18.04 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     3.6.5-3 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main i386 Packages

Revision history for this message
Rodney (rodney-atkins) said : 		#3

how did I upgrade:

from terminal

sudo apt-get update
sudo do-release-upgrade

Revision history for this message
Rodney (rodney-atkins) said : 		#4

I took a pic

Errors were encountered while processing:
mailutls
libg....
pyth...
..
..
===list of packages ====

upgrade complete
The upgrade has completed but there...... {not on photo}
process.

To continue please press [ENTER]

I pressed enter and had just the prompt. I rebooted.

the first issue reported was:
dpkg: dependency problems prevents configuration of python3-lib2to3:
pyhton3-lib2to3 depends on python3 (>=3.6.7-1~); however:
version of python3 on system is 3.5.1-3

other dependences are then listed.

Revision history for this message
Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#5

It seems that the release upgrade failed at a very unfavorable moment leading to the situation, that some packages are in the version for Ubuntu 16.04 and some in the version for Ubuntu 18.04, conflicting with each other.

I cannot predict how much effort it will need to repair this.
A new installation of Ubuntu might be easier and faster than a repair.

For a quick check, what output do you receive for the command

apt --simulate install libglib2.0-0 oython3 mailutils libmailutils5 mailutils libreadline7 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings -f

Revision history for this message
Rodney (rodney-atkins) said : 		#6

rodney@RodneyPc:~$ sudo apt --simulate install libglib2.0-0 python3 mailutils libmailutils5 mailutils libreadline7 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings -f
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
mailutils is already the newest version (1:3.4-1).
libproxy1-plugin-gsettings is already the newest version (0.4.15-1ubuntu0.2).
You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these:
The following packages have unmet dependencies.
 gedit-plugins : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 hplip : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 libglib2.0-0 : Breaks: libglib2.0-0:i386 (!= 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6) but 2.48.2-0ubuntu4.6 is to be installed
 libglib2.0-0:i386 : Breaks: libglib2.0-0 (!= 2.48.2-0ubuntu4.6) but 2.56.4-0ubuntu0.18.04.6 is to be installed
 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings : Depends: libproxy1v5 (= 0.4.15-1ubuntu0.2) but 0.4.11-5ubuntu1.2 is to be installed
 onboard : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3 : PreDepends: python3-minimal (= 3.6.7-1~18.04) but 3.5.1-3 is to be installed
           Depends: python3.6 (>= 3.6.7-1~) but it is not going to be installed
           Depends: libpython3-stdlib (= 3.6.7-1~18.04) but 3.5.1-3 is to be installed
 python3-apt : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-brlapi : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-cairo : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-cffi-backend : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-crypto : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-cryptography : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-cups : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-dbus : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-gdbm : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-gi : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-gi-cairo : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-lxml : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-markupsafe : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-pil : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-pycurl : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-renderpm : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-reportlab-accel : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-systemd : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-uno : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-virtkey : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3-xapian1.3 : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 rhythmbox : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 rhythmbox-plugins : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 systemd : Depends: libsystemd0 (= 229-4ubuntu21.29) but 237-3ubuntu10.44 is to be installed
 totem-plugins : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 udev : Depends: libudev1 (= 229-4ubuntu21.29) but 237-3ubuntu10.44 is to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt-get -f install' with no packages (or specify a solution).

Revision history for this message
Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#7

Sorry, typo error

apt --simulate install libglib2.0-0 python3 mailutils libmailutils5 libreadline7 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings -f

Revision history for this message
Rodney (rodney-atkins) said : 		#8

no problem. saw that - corrected and output above

Revision history for this message
Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#9

This is a long list (and most probably not yet showing all problems).
I am not optimistic that this can be repaired with reasonable effort.

Before I recommend giving up and doing a new installation, try this command

apt --simulate install gedit-plugins hplip libglib2.0-0 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings libproxy1v5 libpython3-stdlib libsystemd0 libudev1 onboard python3 python3.6 python3-apt python3-brlapi python3-cairo python3-cffi-backend python3-crypto python3-cryptography python3-cups python3-dbus python3-gdbm python3-gi python3-gi-cairo python3-lxml python3-markupsafe python3-minimal python3-pil python3-pycurl python3-renderpm python3-reportlab-accel python3-systemd python3-uno python3-virtkey python3-xapian1.3 rhythmbox rhythmbox-plugins systemd totem-plugins udev libglib2.0-0:i386- -f

and report the output.

Revision history for this message
Rodney (rodney-atkins) said : 		#10

rodney@RodneyPc:~$ sudo apt --simulate install gedit-plugins hplip libglib2.0-0 libproxy1-plugin-gsettings libproxy1v5 libpython3-stdlib libsystemd0 libudev1 onboard python3 python3.6 python3-apt python3-brlapi python3-cairo python3-cffi-backend python3-crypto python3-cryptography python3-cups python3-dbus python3-gdbm python3-gi python3-gi-cairo python3-lxml python3-markupsafe python3-minimal python3-pil python3-pycurl python3-renderpm python3-reportlab-accel python3-systemd python3-uno python3-virtkey python3-xapian1.3 rhythmbox rhythmbox-plugins systemd totem-plugins udev libglib2.0-0:i386- -f
[sudo] password for rodney:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
libproxy1-plugin-gsettings is already the newest version (0.4.15-1ubuntu0.2).
libsystemd0 is already the newest version (237-3ubuntu10.44).
libsystemd0 set to manually installed.
libudev1 is already the newest version (237-3ubuntu10.44).
python3-xapian1.3 is already the newest version (1.3.4-0ubuntu1).
You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these:
The following packages have unmet dependencies.
 gedit-plugins : Depends: gedit-plugin-bookmarks but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-bracket-completion but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-character-map but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-code-comment but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-color-picker but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-color-schemer but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-commander but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-dashboard but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-draw-spaces but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-find-in-files but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-git but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-join-lines but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-multi-edit but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-smart-spaces but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-synctex but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-terminal but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-translate but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-word-completion but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: gedit-plugin-zeitgeist but it is not going to be installed
 hplip : Depends: hplip-data (= 3.17.10+repack0-5) but 3.16.3+repack0-1 is to be installed
         Depends: libhpmud0 (= 3.17.10+repack0-5) but 3.16.3+repack0-1 is to be installed
         Depends: libsane-hpaio (= 3.17.10+repack0-5) but 3.16.3+repack0-1 is to be installed
         Depends: printer-driver-hpcups (= 3.17.10+repack0-5) but 3.16.3+repack0-1 is to be installed
         Depends: libsane1 (>= 1.0.24) but it is not going to be installed
 indicator-session : Depends: systemd-services
 libatk1.0-0:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.41.1) but it is not going to be installed
 libcanberra-gtk-module:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.32) but it is not going to be installed
 libcanberra-gtk0:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.32) but it is not going to be installed
 libcroco3:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.16.0) but it is not going to be installed
 libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.37.6) but it is not going to be installed
 libgtk2.0-0:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.41.1) but it is not going to be installed
 libharfbuzz0b:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.31.8) but it is not going to be installed
 libpam-systemd : Depends: systemd (= 229-4ubuntu21.29)
 libpango-1.0-0:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.37.3) but it is not going to be installed
 libpangocairo-1.0-0:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.37.3) but it is not going to be installed
 libpangoft2-1.0-0:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.37.3) but it is not going to be installed
 libproxy1-plugin-networkmanager : Depends: libproxy1v5 (= 0.4.11-5ubuntu1.2) but 0.4.15-1ubuntu0.2 is to be installed
 libpython3-stdlib : Depends: libpython3.6-stdlib (>= 3.6.7-1~) but it is not going to be installed
 librsvg2-2:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.37.3) but it is not going to be installed
 librsvg2-common:i386 : Depends: libglib2.0-0:i386 (>= 2.24.0) but it is not going to be installed
 mailutils : Depends: libmailutils5 but it is not going to be installed
             Depends: libreadline7 (>= 6.0) but it is not going to be installed
 onboard : Depends: onboard-common (< 1.4.1-2ubuntu1.1) but it is not going to be installed
           Depends: onboard-common (>= 1.4.1-2ubuntu1) but it is not going to be installed
           Depends: libhunspell-1.6-0 but it is not going to be installed
           Recommends: onboard-data (>= 1.4.1-2ubuntu1) but 1.2.0-0ubuntu5 is to be installed
 python3-apt : Depends: libapt-inst2.0 (>= 1.6.5~) but 1.2.32ubuntu0.2 is to be installed
               Depends: libapt-pkg5.0 (>= 1.6.5~) but 1.2.32ubuntu0.2 is to be installed
 python3-cryptography : Depends: python3-asn1crypto (>= 0.21.0~) but it is not going to be installed
                        Depends: python3-idna (>= 2.1) but 2.0-3 is to be installed
                        Depends: libssl1.1 (>= 1.1.1) but it is not going to be installed
 python3-gdbm : Depends: libgdbm5 (>= 1.14) but it is not going to be installed
 python3-minimal : PreDepends: python3.6-minimal (>= 3.6.7-1~) but it is not going to be installed
 python3-pil : Depends: libwebp6 (>= 0.5.1) but it is not going to be installed
               Depends: libwebpdemux2 (>= 0.5.1) but it is not going to be installed
               Depends: libwebpmux3 (>= 0.6.1-2) but it is not going to be installed
               Recommends: python3-olefile but it is not going to be installed
 python3-uno : Depends: libreoffice-core (= 1:6.0.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.10) but 1:5.1.6~rc2-0ubuntu1~xenial10 is to be installed
               Depends: libpython3.6 (>= 3.6.5) but it is not going to be installed
               Depends: uno-libs3 (>= 5.3.0~alpha) but 5.1.6~rc2-0ubuntu1~xenial10 is to be installed
 python3-xapian1.3 : Depends: python3 (< 3.6) but 3.6.7-1~18.04 is to be installed
 python3.6 : Depends: python3.6-minimal (= 3.6.9-1~18.04ubuntu1.3) but it is not going to be installed
             Depends: libpython3.6-stdlib (= 3.6.9-1~18.04ubuntu1.3) but it is not going to be installed
 rhythmbox : Depends: librhythmbox-core10 (= 3.4.2-4ubuntu1) but it is not going to be installed
             Depends: rhythmbox-data (>= 3.4.2-4ubuntu1) but 3.3-1ubuntu7 is to be installed
             Recommends: rhythmbox-plugin-alternative-toolbar but it is not going to be installed
 rhythmbox-mozilla : Depends: rhythmbox (= 3.3-1ubuntu7) but 3.4.2-4ubuntu1 is to be installed
 rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder : Depends: rhythmbox (= 3.3-1ubuntu7) but 3.4.2-4ubuntu1 is to be installed
 rhythmbox-plugin-magnatune : Depends: rhythmbox (= 3.3-1ubuntu7) but 3.4.2-4ubuntu1 is to be installed
 rhythmbox-plugin-zeitgeist : Depends: rhythmbox (< 3.4) but 3.4.2-4ubuntu1 is to be installed
 rhythmbox-plugins : Depends: libgrilo-0.3-0 (>= 0.3.0) but it is not going to be installed
                     Depends: liblirc-client0 but it is not going to be installed
                     Depends: librhythmbox-core10 (= 3.4.2-4ubuntu1) but it is not going to be installed
                     Depends: libtotem-plparser18 (>= 3.26.0) but 3.10.6-1ubuntu1 is to be installed
                     Depends: gir1.2-rb-3.0 (= 3.4.2-4ubuntu1) but 3.3-1ubuntu7 is to be installed
                     Breaks: rhythmbox-plugin-magnatune (< 3.3.1-2~) but 3.3-1ubuntu7 is to be installed
 systemd : Conflicts: upstart but 1.13.2-0ubuntu21.1 is to be installed
           Recommends: networkd-dispatcher but it is not going to be installed
 totem-plugins : Depends: libgtk-3-0 (>= 3.19.4) but 3.18.9-1ubuntu3.3 is to be installed
                 Depends: liblirc-client0 but it is not going to be installed
                 Depends: libtotem0 (>= 3.26.0-0ubuntu6.2) but 3.18.1-1ubuntu4 is to be installed
                 Depends: totem (= 3.26.0-0ubuntu6.2) but 3.18.1-1ubuntu4 is to be installed
                 Depends: gir1.2-totem-1.0 (= 3.26.0-0ubuntu6.2) but 3.18.1-1ubuntu4 is to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt-get -f install' with no packages (or specify a solution).

Revision history for this message
Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#11

The list of broken dependencies does not become shorter.
I suggest that you create backup copies of the files on the system that you want to keep, and then do a new installation (perhaps even with Ubuntu 20.04).

If you still want to try repairing this system, then I can give some suggestions:
remove all i386 packages,
remove not immediately necessary packages like rhythmbox, totem, hplip, gedit-plugins, ...
but I fear that at the end it will still need too much work to bring python back into a consistent status.

Revision history for this message
Rodney (rodney-atkins) said : 		#12

I feared the worse. many thanks for your help. this version of ubuntu started from 11.04 and been thru 12.04, 14.04 16.04.

I use ubuntu backup "Déjà Dup" of everything /home/rodney/* to remote disk
Ive extracted and copied off mysql dbs I need.
short of having to reinstall mysql/apache/tomcat.

I have a spare HD (b) that I'm going use clonzilla to copy this disk 16.04/18.04(a) on to HD (b). as a backup. Yes I should have done this first!! I will then have my files in two places (and if I have forgotten any).

Then I can fix this HD 16.04/18.04 with a fresh install.

how would I start the install of 18.04? gonna be off line a while....

Revision history for this message
Rodney (rodney-atkins) said : 		#13

I should point out I have:
Grub
sda1 168G NTFS windows7
sda2 42G NTFS window restore
sda3 322G Ext4 Ubuntu
sda4 468 NTFS

I could then install 18.04 into sda4 ?

Revision history for this message
Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#14

Installing Ubuntu 18.04 (if that is what you want) starts with downloading the .iso file and either burning a DVD or creating a bootable USB stick with it
see https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop for the steps to be done and https://releases.ubuntu.com/18.04.5/ for the repository with the 18.04 images

sda4 468 NTFS <- this most probably is a Windows partition! Are you sure that you want to overwrite it with Ubuntu?

Revision history for this message
Rodney (rodney-atkins) said : 		#15

ok, I have a cold storage HD and was able to restore sda3 to 8-02-2020. with the daily backups I have I was able to restore my own files, Appears that .mozilla isnt backed up. so bookmarks and passwords are lost. appaear deja dup doesnt back these up even though not excluded. 2nd restore in progress.

Ive done an update of the system (540MB download) and everything appears to running ok (as 16.04) . Im doing more checks atm.

The lesson here is to backup **FIRST** Ive spend close on 8 hrs (and counting) to recover. Whereas a backup and restore of clonezilla would have taken 2.

Revision history for this message
Rodney (rodney-atkins) said : 		#16

to close this off.
I restored from a cold storage HD from 3/8/2020 and used my backups to restore to 21/2/2021.
the only thing I seemed to have "lost" is profile from firefox. Is it now as of 3/8/2020. This is because the profile isnt in the backup I took.
This hasnt got to me 18.04. But I'm check everything out for a month or so before attempting again.

Many thanks to Manfred for assistance in trying to solve my issue.