Ubuntu

Add/Remove Programs will not start

Asked by meszaros24

I just installed Ubuntu 9.04 and I have been trying everything for the last two hours but Add/remove programs will not open.

When I try to open add/remove programs from the applications list the task bar at the bottom of the screen shows "starting add/remove programs" but it disappears right away. This happens every time. I would appreciate any help.

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meszaros24
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Shane Fagan (shanepatrickfagan) said : 		#1

Are all of the updates installed?

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Tom (tom6) said : 		#2

I've been having similar troubles with 9.04 but hopefully this bug will vanish soon with some updates. In the meantime i find that rebooting the machine is about the only way to get it working again. Before doing that try Synaptic Package Manager, from the top taskbar click on

System - Administration - Synaptic

Oh, and during a reboot you migh try the "recovery mode" and do "clear some space" and "fix broken packages"

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

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Andy Ferguson (teknostatik) said : 		#3

Try and open it from the command line by typing: /usr/bin/gnome-app-install in a terminal window.

Post any terminal output here.

Regards,

Andy

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meszaros24 (fenderphatstrat) said : 		#4

Thanks for getting back so quick guys, I just did a fresh install, figured it would be my best bet as I had just installed Ubuntu 9.04 anyways and it takes maybe 20 minutes and it solved my problem. Thanks again for the support - Jeff

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Tom (tom6) said : 		#5

Nicely done. Recovery Mode is not quite the same as the Windows equivalent in 2 crucial ways

1. It doesn't just wipe your drive
2. It provides some handy tools for 'spring cleaning' your system, about once a month is good
3. It gives access to a command-line which can be very useful :)

20minutes to fix a problem is good though :)) I hope you installed Ubuntu properly usng this type of style
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootFromCD
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot
as it combines the best of both operating systems rather than forcing Ubuntu to rely on wobbly Windows systems via the Wubi. If you did install Ubuntu inside Windows then section 8, part 8 here helps move your install onto its own proper linux space
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)