Nice one.

If you're up for it, we can now get rid of those residual configurations.

If so, let's first confirm the situation:

A reminder that this useful command shows all the packages on your system that are not completely installed or uninstalled. It's handy to add to your list of useful terminal commands, if you're keeping one (if not, I would recommend doing so).

john@john-HP-Compaq-6200-Pro-SFF-PC:~$ dpkg -l | grep -v "^ii"
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Architecture Description


rc chromium-browser 58.0.3029.110-0ubuntu0.16.04.1281 amd64 Chromium web browser, open-source version of Chrome
rc cups 2.1.3-4ubuntu0.3 amd64 Common UNIX Printing System(tm) - PPD/driver support, web interface
rc cups-filters 1.8.3-2ubuntu3.1 amd64 OpenPrinting CUPS Filters - Main Package
rc fonts-unfonts-core 1.0.3.is.1.0.2-080608-10ubuntu1 all Un series Korean TrueType fonts
rc fonts-wqy-microhei 0.2.0-beta-2 all Sans-serif style CJK font derived from Droid
rc hplip 3.16.3+repack0-1 amd64 HP Linux Printing and Imaging System (HPLIP)
rc imagemagick 8:6.8.9.9-7ubuntu5.9 amd64 image manipulation programs -- binaries
rc indicator-printers 0.1.7+15.04.20150220-0ubuntu2 amd64 indicator showing active print jobs
rc libasyncns0:i386 0.8-5build1 i386 Asynchronous name service query library
rc libcapi20-3:amd64 1:3.27-1 amd64 ISDN utilities - CAPI support libraries
rc libcapi20-3:i386 1:3.27-1 i386 ISDN utilities - CAPI support libraries
rc libexif12:i386 0.6.21-2 i386 library to parse EXIF files
rc libflac8:i386 1.3.1-4 i386 Free Lossless Audio Codec - runtime C library
rc libgssapi-krb5-2:i386 1.13.2+dfsg-5ubuntu2 i386 MIT Kerberos runtime libraries - krb5 GSS-API Mechanism
rc libieee1284-3:i386 0.2.11-12 i386 cross-platform library for parallel port access
rc libjbig0:i386 2.1-3.1 i386 JBIGkit libraries
rc libjson-c2:i386 0.11-4ubuntu2 i386 JSON manipulation library - shared library
rc liblcms2-2:i386 2.6-3ubuntu2 i386 Little CMS 2 color management library
rc libldap-2.4-2:i386 2.4.42+dfsg-2ubuntu3.2 i386 OpenLDAP libraries
rc libogg0:i386 1.3.2-1 i386 Ogg bitstream library
rc libopenal1:i386 1:1.16.0-3 i386 Software implementation of the OpenAL audio API (shared library)
rc libpulse0:i386 1:8.0-0ubuntu3.9 i386 PulseAudio client libraries
rc libsamplerate0:i386 0.1.8-8 i386 Audio sample rate conversion library
rc libsasl2-modules:i386 2.1.26.dfsg1-14build1 i386 Cyrus SASL - pluggable authentication modules
rc libspeexdsp1:i386 1.2~rc1.2-1ubuntu1 i386 The Speex extended runtime library
rc libssl1.0.0:i386 1.0.2g-1ubuntu4.12 i386 Secure Sockets Layer toolkit - shared libraries
rc libwrap0:i386 7.6.q-25 i386 Wietse Venema's TCP wrappers library
rc libxcomposite1:i386 1:0.4.4-1 i386 X11 Composite extension library
rc libxinerama1:i386 2:1.1.3-1 i386 X11 Xinerama extension library
rc libxrandr2:i386 2:1.5.0-1 i386 X11 RandR extension library
rc libxt6:i386 1:1.1.5-0ubuntu1 i386 X11 toolkit intrinsics library
rc linux-image-4.10.0-27-generic 4.10.0-27.30~16.04.2 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.10.0-28-generic 4.10.0-28.32~16.04.2 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.10.0-30-generic 4.10.0-30.34~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.10.0-32-generic 4.10.0-32.36~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.10.0-33-generic 4.10.0-33.37~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.10.0-35-generic 4.10.0-35.39~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.10.0-37-generic 4.10.0-37.41~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.10.0-38-generic 4.10.0-38.42~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.10.0-40-generic 4.10.0-40.44~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.10.0-42-generic 4.10.0-42.46~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.13.0-26-generic 4.13.0-26.29~16.04.2 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.13.0-31-generic 4.13.0-31.34~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.13.0-32-generic 4.13.0-32.35~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.13.0-36-generic 4.13.0-36.40~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.13.0-37-generic 4.13.0-37.42~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-36-generic 4.8.0-36.36~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-44-generic 4.8.0-44.47~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-45-generic 4.8.0-45.48~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-46-generic 4.8.0-46.49~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-49-generic 4.8.0-49.52~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-51-generic 4.8.0-51.54~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-52-generic 4.8.0-52.55~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-53-generic 4.8.0-53.56~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-54-generic 4.8.0-54.57~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-56-generic 4.8.0-56.61~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-4.8.0-58-generic 4.8.0-58.63~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.10.0-27-generic 4.10.0-27.30~16.04.2 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.10.0-28-generic 4.10.0-28.32~16.04.2 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.10.0-30-generic 4.10.0-30.34~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.10.0-32-generic 4.10.0-32.36~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.10.0-33-generic 4.10.0-33.37~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.10.0-35-generic 4.10.0-35.39~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.10.0-37-generic 4.10.0-37.41~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.10.0-38-generic 4.10.0-38.42~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.10.0-40-generic 4.10.0-40.44~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.10.0-42-generic 4.10.0-42.46~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.10.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.13.0-26-generic 4.13.0-26.29~16.04.2 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.13.0-31-generic 4.13.0-31.34~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.13.0-32-generic 4.13.0-32.35~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.13.0-36-generic 4.13.0-36.40~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.13.0-37-generic 4.13.0-37.42~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.13.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-36-generic 4.8.0-36.36~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-44-generic 4.8.0-44.47~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-45-generic 4.8.0-45.48~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-46-generic 4.8.0-46.49~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-49-generic 4.8.0-49.52~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-51-generic 4.8.0-51.54~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-52-generic 4.8.0-52.55~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-53-generic 4.8.0-53.56~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-54-generic 4.8.0-54.57~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-56-generic 4.8.0-56.61~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-4.8.0-58-generic 4.8.0-58.63~16.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 4.8.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc odbcinst 2.3.1-4.1 amd64 Helper program for accessing odbc ini files
rc printer-driver-gutenprint 5.2.11-1 amd64 printer drivers for CUPS
rc remmina 1.1.2-3ubuntu1 amd64 remote desktop client for GNOME desktop environment
rc snap-confine 2.25 amd64 Transitional package for snapd
rc wine1.6 1:1.6.2-0ubuntu14.2 amd64 Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer (Binary Emulator and Library)
john@john-HP-Compaq-6200-Pro-SFF-PC:~$

Thanks. Most of these seem to be older versions of packages than you should now have, or packages that you obviously decided to manually remove (e.g. hplip). They exist because the packages were removed with e.g. apt-get remove, not apt-get purge.

The final stage of getting rid of these packages is to purge them, e.g.

This would take you ages though, since you have so many of these residual configurations, so the following command searches for all the packages marked "rc" (those you listed above) and purges all of them:

Do quickly check the list of packages before pressing y to continue.

1 members found this post helpful.

john@john-HP-Compaq-6200-Pro-SFF-PC:~$ apt purge $(dpkg -l | grep '^rc' | awk '{print $2}')
E: Could not open lock file /var/lib/dpkg/lock - open (13: Permission denied)
E: Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/), are you root?

1 members found this post helpful.

By the way, I haven't mentioned it before but you should really enclose output here on LQ within CODE tags (go to the advanced editor, highlight the code that you want to put between CODE tags and click on the # symbol on the editor). The fact that you didn't do that when you posted the dpkg -l output above is why the width of this thread is now difficult to deal with.

So, I would advise you to go back to post #77 and edit it to either delete all the equals signs or place your output within CODE tags.

Darn, I keep on forgetting that for some reason you have a version of apt that doesn't include some of the commands I'm used to (or doesn't adequately ask for the user password).

Perhaps we need to look at that at some point.

So, using apt-get instead, make it:

1 members found this post helpful.

..........Removed and purged all of them ...... last lines incl'd
.....Removing linux-image-extra-4.8.0-58-generic (4.8.0-58.63~16.04.1) ...
Purging configuration files for linux-image-extra-4.8.0-58-generic (4.8.0-58.63~16.04.1) ...
Removing odbcinst (2.3.1-4.1) ...
Purging configuration files for odbcinst (2.3.1-4.1) ...
Removing printer-driver-gutenprint (5.2.11-1) ...
Purging configuration files for printer-driver-gutenprint (5.2.11-1) ...
Removing remmina (1.1.2-3ubuntu1) ...
Purging configuration files for remmina (1.1.2-3ubuntu1) ...
Removing snap-confine (2.25) ...
Purging configuration files for snap-confine (2.25) ...
Removing wine1.6 (1:1.6.2-0ubuntu14.2) ...
Purging configuration files for wine1.6 (1:1.6.2-0ubuntu14.2) ...

Excellent, you can add that command to your ever-expanding list of useful terminal commands.

If you want, you can use the up arrow in the terminal (perhaps several times) to show the dpkg command you used previously to list the non-fully-installed packages (no need to paste that output here though).

You should really try posting your output within CODE tags. Some output ends up displaying smileys if not enclosed within these tags.

Another command to add to your list is the following way of removing packages:

This not only purges the program in question (i.e. removes both it and its configuration), but also removes any orphan dependencies (programs that are installed as a dependency but are no longer needed when their parent package is removed). It's the way I remove packages using the command line.

For the apt command acting unusually (in my eyes at least), let's find out what version you are using:

1 members found this post helpful.

I don't understand how to use code tags for output posting
john@john-HP-Compaq-6200-Pro-SFF-PC:~$ sudo apt-cache policy apt
[sudo] password for john:
apt:
Installed: 1.2.26
Candidate: 1.2.26
Version table:
*** 1.2.26 500
500 http://mirror.it.ubc.ca/ubuntu xenial-updates/main amd64 Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
1.2.15ubuntu0.2 500
500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security/main amd64 Packages
1.2.10ubuntu1 500
500 http://mirror.it.ubc.ca/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 Packages

Step by step:

. Quote this post by pressing on the Quote button in the bottom RHS of the post (although you could just as easily create a new blank post).

. At the bottom of the Quick Reply window that opens, click on "Go Advanced".

. Type the words "This is some code" into the window (which is now called the "Reply to Thread" window) after the quoted text.

. Highlight those words you have just typed.

. Click on the # symbol on the icon bar near the top of the window (it should be the penultimate symbol on the second line of that bar).

. Click on the "Submit Reply" button at the bottom of the window.

Excellent. I've no idea why you opened straight up into the advanced "Reply to Thread" window and I didn't, but it worked.

I was a wee bit concerned by your system's inability back at the start to install inxi, so if we try that again then it will also test the usage of apt (which is up-to-date with the repository version - thanks for that output) rather than apt-get:

Note that the apt update makes sure that your computer knows all about the latest versions of software in the repositories before you install the package(s) you want.

First of all, note that you didn't need to put your reply in the last post within CODE tags. You only need to do that for output and code. However, at least it shows it's second nature for you now.

Secondly, it's inxi, not inixi.

But, overall, no, I meant what I typed. In a normal modern implementation of the apt package, those two commands I provided should be perfectly fine. They shouldn't need sudo as apt itself asks the user for their password if it requires permissions to change root-owned resources. I would like to see if they work on your system.

1 members found this post helpful.