cannot install mysql-server in ubuntu16.0.4

Question

sudo apt-get install mysql-server fail it blocks at this point

var/lib/dpkg/info/mysql-server-5.7.postinst: line 143: /usr/share/mysql-common/configure-symlinks: No such file or directory

which I found the solution to this bug is comment the line 143 in the /var/lib/dpkg/info/mysql-server-5.7.postinst file.

but my problem is I cannot find the /var/lib/dpkg/info/mysql-server-5.7.postinst file .. not to say comment one line in it .

so how to do to get rid of stuck situation

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ps: I have installed mariadb and uninstall it by the steps I googled

---

update:

I have followed the steps given by the first answer, and it still prompted that error before

surprisingly, this time I can sudo vim /var/lib/dpkg/info/mysql-server-5.7.postinst file and I comment the line 143 , however.. it report another error

ERROR: Unable to start MySQL server:
2017-11-26T08:51:57.033255Z 0 [Note] mysqld (mysqld 5.7.20-0ubuntu0.16.04.1-log) starting as process 22612 ...
2017-11-26T08:51:57.034651Z 0 [ERROR] You have enabled the binary log, but you haven't provided the mandatory server-id. Please refer to the proper server start-up parameters documentation
2017-11-26T08:51:57.035603Z 0 [ERROR] Aborting

Solution 1

I solved this problem by removing mariadb's deb sources and purging mysql-common and then reinstalling it.

do: sudo apt edit-sources and look for anything containing mariadb like: deb [arch=amd64,arm64,ppc64el] http://ftp.nluug.nl/db/mariadb/repo/10.3/ubuntu bionic main

comment it out by putting a # in front of it. then run

sudo apt update
sudo apt purge mysql-common
sudo apt install mysql-common

after that you can install mysql-server properly via sudo apt install mysql-server

if it ever dissapears from the repo the script was:

#!/bin/sh
set -e

case "$1" in
  install)
    variant="$2"
    my_cnf_path="$3"
    update-alternatives --install /etc/mysql/my.cnf my.cnf "$my_cnf_path" 200
  ;;
  remove)
    variant="$2"
    my_cnf_path="$3"
    update-alternatives --remove my.cnf "$my_cnf_path"
  ;;
esac
```

Solution 2

Just purge all mysql packages and reinstall:

sudo apt-get remove --purge *mysql*
sudo apt-get autoremove
sudo apt-get autoclean
sudo apt-get install mysql-server mysql_secure_installation

Solution 3

I fixed the problem by adding a blank file that the install script was looking for and then giving rwx permissions for everyone. Probably not the best way but it worked for me.

    sudo touch /usr/share/mysql-common/configure-symlinks
    sudo chmod 777 /usr/share/mysql-common/configure-symlinks
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get upgrade

Comments

[Yaron]

if you'll edit your answer and add some information to the set of commands you publish as answer, will improve its quality.

[doUWannaBuildASnowMan]

＠e200　no ..it doesn't work. it still prompt this error /var/lib/dpkg/info/mysql-server-5.7.postinst: line 143: /usr/share/mysql-common/configure-symlinks: No such file or directory

[Andrew Bainbridge]

@e200: I had a different failure installing mysql-server. And your advice fixed it. The error was, "Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock'".

[Eleandro Duzentos]

@AndrewBainbridge Sometimes this happens when you clean up your logs.

[Eleandro Duzentos]

If my answer helps you, you can upvote it. ;)

[Andrew Bainbridge]

@e200 - I can't upvote your answer since I don't know that it answers the original question! I've upvoted your comment instead :-)

[userabuser]

OMFG... Finally. If you've been dancing with Maria and want to switch back to MySQL & have persistent Package mysql-server-5.* is not configured yet errors or any combination there of make sure to remove her source. Thanks.

[Akhil Surapuram]

@bigibas123 thanks for your answer. it really helped.

[dgo]

Finally! I've tried several other methods, but this was the first one that did it. Thanks!

[Liso]

First time knowing edit-sources, seriously helpful +1.

[xaa]

ohh I was blocked for a long time with the dpkg mysql-server-5.7 error on WSL. I think ´apt remove --purge *mysql*´ made the difference. apt will also remove other xxx-mysql packages (as using * before mysql in the command). I was worry about that but this is the solution !! thank you.

[cosmicraga]

Worked even in Ubuntu 20.04 and after trying for an hour all other methods which all failed. Thanks.