repair broken packages-"dpkg: error: conflicting actions -f (--field) and -r (--remove)"

Question

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. if more information will be needed, tell me and'll give.

the main problem is:

tzach@tzach-pc:~$ sudo apt-get install docky
[sudo] password for tzach: 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
docky is already the newest version.
You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 ca-certificates-java : Depends: openjdk-6-jre-headless (>= 6b16-1.6.1-2) but it is not going to be installed or
                                 java6-runtime-headless
 openjdk-7-jre-lib : Depends: openjdk-7-jre-headless (>= 7~b130~pre0) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt-get -f install' with no packages (or specify a solution).
tzach@tzach-pc:~$

and also:

tzach@tzach-pc:~$ sudo apt-get upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree 
Reading state information... Done
You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these.
**The following packages have unmet dependencies:
ca-certificates-java : Depends: openjdk-6-jre-headless (>= 6b16-1.6.1-2) but it is not installed or
java6-runtime-headless
openjdk-7-jre-lib : Depends: openjdk-7-jre-headless (>= 7~b130~pre0) but it is not installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try using *******

so we tryied the guide here in messege #9: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=947124

we run all the first 4 commands and the last one-"sudo apt-get autoremove" gave us:

tzach@tzach-pc:~$ sudo apt-get autoremove
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these.
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 **ca-certificates-java** : Depends: openjdk-6-jre-headless (>= 6b16-1.6.1-2) but it is not installed or
                                 java6-runtime-headless
 **openjdk-7-jre-lib** : Depends: openjdk-7-jre-headless (>= 7~b130~pre0) but it is not installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try using -f.

so we run the last command twice: sudo dpkg --remove -force --force-remove-reinstreq ca-certificates-java and sudo dpkg --remove -force --force-remove-reinstreq openjdk-7-jre-lib

but both of them gives:

tzach@tzach-pc:~$ sudo dpkg --remove -force --force-remove-reinstreq ca-certificates-java
[sudo] password for tzach: 
dpkg: error: conflicting actions -f (--field) and -r (--remove)

Type dpkg --help for help about installing and deinstalling packages [*];
Use `dselect' or `aptitude' for user-friendly package management;
Type dpkg -Dhelp for a list of dpkg debug flag values;
Type dpkg --force-help for a list of forcing options;
Type dpkg-deb --help for help about manipulating *.deb files;

Options marked [*] produce a lot of output - pipe it through `less' or `more' !

EDIT FOR green7-output of "sudo apt-get -f install":

tzach@tzach-pc:~$ sudo apt-get -f install
[sudo] password for tzach: 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree 
Reading state information... Done
Correcting dependencies... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
icedtea-7-jre-cacao icedtea-7-jre-jamvm java-common openjdk-7-jre-headless
tzdata-java
Suggested packages:
default-jre equivs sun-java6-fonts ttf-dejavu-extra fonts-ipafont-gothic
fonts-ipafont-mincho ttf-telugu-fonts ttf-oriya-fonts ttf-kannada-fonts
ttf-bengali-fonts
The following packages will be REMOVED:
ttf-mscorefonts-installer
The following NEW packages will be installed:
icedtea-7-jre-cacao icedtea-7-jre-jamvm java-common openjdk-7-jre-headless
tzdata-java
0 upgraded, 5 newly installed, 1 to remove and 355 not upgraded.
5 not fully installed or removed.
Need to get 0 B/29.6 MB of archives.
After this operation, 88.5 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y
debconf: DbDriver "config": /var/cache/debconf/config.dat is locked by another process: Resource temporarily unavailable
dpkg: warning: there's no installed package matching ttf-mscorefonts-installer:amd64
Setting up tzdata (2012e-0ubuntu0.12.04) ...
debconf: DbDriver "config": /var/cache/debconf/config.dat is locked by another process: Resource temporarily unavailable
dpkg: error processing tzdata (--configure):
subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
No apport report written because MaxReports is reached already
Errors were encountered while processing:
tzdata
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

EDIT2 FOR green7:

tzach@tzach-pc:~$ sudo apt-get remove --purge tzdata
[sudo] password for tzach:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
ca-certificates-java : Depends: openjdk-6-jre-headless (>= 6b16-1.6.1-2) but it is not going to be installed or
java6-runtime-headless
libc6 : Depends: tzdata but it is not going to be installed
libc6:i386 : Depends: tzdata:i386
libical0 : Depends: tzdata but it is not going to be installed
openjdk-7-jre-lib : Depends: openjdk-7-jre-headless (>= 7~b130~pre0) but it is not going to be installed
python-dateutil : Depends: tzdata but it is not going to be installed
ubuntu-minimal : Depends: tzdata but it is not going to be installed
util-linux : Depends: tzdata (>= 2006c-2) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt-get -f install' with no packages (or specify a solution). 

EDIT3 FOR green7:

tzach@tzach-pc:~$ sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre-headless
[sudo] password for tzach:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
openjdk-7-jre-headless : Depends: tzdata-java but it is not going to be installed
Depends: java-common (>= 0.28) but it is not going to be installed
Recommends: icedtea-7-jre-cacao (= 7~u3-2.1.1~pre1-1ubuntu3) but it is not going to be installed
Recommends: icedtea-7-jre-jamvm (= 7~u3-2.1.1~pre1-1ubuntu3) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt-get -f install' with no packages (or specify a solution).

some things in the text also supposed to be bolded. but not critic (: Thanks for the editing!

Thanks a lot for your assistance.

Solution 1

Try This

sudo mv /var/lib/dpkg/info/tzdata.prerm ~/tzdata.prerm

sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata --force

sudo dpkg --purge --force-all tzdata

Solution 2

Try

rm /var/lib/apt/lists/* -vf  
apt-get update 

Solution 3

I had a little bit different issue with package, but solved it by this:

sudo dpkg --remove <conflicted-package-name>
sudo apt-get install -f

And it's fixed.

Solution 4

Try removing the package tzdata which might be causing the problem:

sudo apt-get remove --purge tzdata

Solution 5

to remove a package misconfigured or improperly installed can run the following

sudo aptitude purge $(dpkg -l|grep ^rc|awk '{ print $2 }')

View more solutions

Comments

[green]

Did you try sudo apt-get -f install?

[Tom Regner]

You're missing a dash in "-force", this is interpreted as the equivalent of "-f -o -r c -e" -- do you get the same error (conflicting actions...) with "--force"?

[yinon]

OK. I tried and it's showing a a similar error. I edited and put the output.

[green]

Try sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre-headless

[yinon]

I prefer to solve it even that it sound easier. If the solution will be here, me and many others would be able to use it and "have fun" (:

[yinon]

run it. the output (I edited) is now a bit different but still similar. Thanks for your answers.

[Xylo]

That was solution for me, looks same here, so sorry bro.

[green]

can you please come on IRC? So that you can try it in real time?

[yinon]

Sorry to not be here for a while. At first I thought that it hav'nt worked but finally, after some time the problem fixed!! Now everything Is okey. Thanks! you are a great man!