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I can't seem to remove a package.

I've tried dpkg --purge and apt-get purge. Neither seem to actually remove the package, however. The package is mfc8840dlpr (1.1.2-1).

Is there any way I can make this question clearer, or more specific?

Someone seems to have solved a similar problem, as follows, but it doesn't have much about how to actually remove the package:

How to fix a dpkg broken by the Brother MFC-7340 deb driver

Has anyone else come across this problem with a Brother printer driver .deb installation?

The output from my attempts follows:

(Reading database ... 471289 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing mfc8840dlpr (1.1.2-1) ...
/var/lib/dpkg/info/mfc8840dlpr.postrm: 3: /var/lib/dpkg/info/mfc8840dlpr.postrm: /etc/init.d/lpd: not found
dpkg: error processing package mfc8840dlpr (--remove):
 subprocess installed post-removal script returned error exit status 127
Errors were encountered while processing:
 mfc8840dlpr
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

$ dpkg --purge mfc8840dlpr
dpkg: error: requested operation requires superuser privilege

$ sudo dpkg --purge mfc8840dlpr
(Reading database ... 471289 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing mfc8840dlpr (1.1.2-1) ...
/var/lib/dpkg/info/mfc8840dlpr.postrm: 3: /var/lib/dpkg/info/mfc8840dlpr.postrm: /etc/init.d/lpd: not found
dpkg: error processing package mfc8840dlpr (--purge):
 subprocess installed post-removal script returned error exit status 127
Errors were encountered while processing:
 mfc8840dlpr

$ sudo dpkg --purge mfc8840dlpr

$ sudo apt-get purge mfc8840dlpr
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree   
Reading state information... Done
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  mfc8840dlpr:i386
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 to remove and 12 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y
(Reading database ... 471289 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing mfc8840dlpr (1.1.2-1) ...
/var/lib/dpkg/info/mfc8840dlpr.postrm: 3: /var/lib/dpkg/info/mfc8840dlpr.postrm: /etc/init.d/lpd: not found
dpkg: error processing package mfc8840dlpr (--remove):
 subprocess installed post-removal script returned error exit status 127
Errors were encountered while processing:
 mfc8840dlpr
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

1 Answer 1

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I just installed the package and could reproduce the problem.

This command has solved the problem:

sudo rm /var/lib/dpkg/info/mfc8840dlpr.*

This removes the installation files the mfc8840dlpr package, which will prevent any further automatic attempts to complete installation. This will also leave the system in a state of thinking that the mfc8840dlpr package is installed, when really it is perhaps not.

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  • I will try this out and report the results. Apr 22, 2015 at 14:56
  • My new output: cryptobin.org/j51973j7 (passphrase:QR7HHcT1tlm2Zv3vCNw50wILEHUaTqDfDMu20TOWEy/31NrB8D6e4mUKggbI8xmG) Apr 22, 2015 at 15:45
  • Wow! How did you reproduce this???
    – Fabby
    Aug 17, 2015 at 15:17
  • @Fabby simply install the package and you would have the same problem :)
    – A.B.
    Aug 17, 2015 at 15:48

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