Instructions to manually run 'sudo dpkg --configure -a'

Philip,

Open a terminal (Applications / Accessories / Terminal) then enter "sudo dpkg --configure -a"

Good luck,
George

If that doesn't work then in the same terminal run:

sudo fuser -vki /var/lib/dpkg/lock;sudo dpkg --configure -a

Should be ok. Make sure you have no updates running and do not have software centre open

Sam suggests this article as an answer to your question:
FAQ #52: “'dpkg --configure -a' problem when trying to run Synaptic”.

Hi :)

I was just wondering if this question has been solved yet? There are various ways of getting to a command-line
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal#Starting%20a%20Terminal

Once you get there you can check what commands do by using "-h" after a command. In this case that would be

sudo -h
dpkg -h

sometimes you need to use a "--help" instead of the "-h" but it will tell you when you try the "-h" tag. This is quite a useful way of checking answers given in a public forum ;) . Oh, once on the command-line try

sudo dpkg --configure -a

the "sudo" part will ask you for your normal user password and wont give you any stars as you type. I hope something here helps! Please let us know how this goes.
Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

@actionparsnip
You said "sudo fuser -vki ...."

What does "fuser" do?

When you use apt-get / software-centre etc. It locks the packages so no other apps can access them. If the process crashes and doesn't release the lock then you can get issues. The fuser command using those options will release the lock.

Ok, thanks.