On Tue, 3 Aug 2021 10:05:39 -0400, Hendrik wrote in message
<20210803140539.4kor7lhfljf7to7b@???>:

> On Tue, Aug 03, 2021 at 02:33:08PM +0200, Arnt Karlsen wrote:
> > On Tue, 3 Aug 2021 06:49:33 -0400, Hendrik wrote in message
> > <20210803104933.5ics6nomqyctr6kr@???>:
> > >
> > > (I wasn't worried about postgresql failing; as far as I know, I
> > > don't use it.)
> >
> > ..you probably use(d) some service built upon it and/or some front
> > end of it. Welcome to the club. ;o)
>
> Still not worried. If there is such a service, I can sort it out
> later; perhaps with the instructions I got long ago during the
> upgrade for migrating data bases to the new version.
>
> What does worry me is that the upgrade froze while /var/lib/dpkg is
> locked, and I cannot resume it.

..is it hung dead, or can you kill it?
If you kill it, kill everything else that needs dpkg etc
lock files, before you remove those lock files.
Once they are gone, you should be able to resume your
upgrade with your standard tricks.

> I need to know how to resume the upgrade and get to the end.

..tried apt-get's --fix-broken (or -f ) option?
Or dpkg --configure -a ?

..next few ideas: dpkg's --force-remove-reinstreq, chk man dpkg for
details, in mad bad cases, chk dpkg --force-help , my nuclear war
way is pile up everything not included in --force-all.

> Right now my system is likely in a mixed ascii-beowulf state, with
> all the accompanying version skew.
>
> Will booting it even work?

..if you have all the basic bits intact, yes, otherwise
you're in for a chroot session, or a fresh install.

..if you at least can install things the dpkg -i way, you can use
busybox as an init the way minimalist and embedded distro people
does init with static busybox, should make life a fair bit easier
booting with "1 init=/path/to/the/static/busybox" or somesuch off
the grub command line.

..you want the static busybox, a messed up install of the standard
version of busybox using the standard system libraries, will be useless
because those standard system libraries will be messed up, and useless.

> Will it unlock dpkg? (likely not)

..pass. Depends on a lot of things, my big snip took
away your context, but see above on lock files.

> Will I be able to continue the upgrade later?
> If so, how?
>
> -- hendrik

--
..med vennlig hilsen = with Kind Regards from Arnt Karlsen
...with a number of polar bear hunters in his ancestry...
Scenarios always come in sets of three:
best case, worst case, and just in case.