Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/)-Ubuntu

Sometimes, we get an error when we are trying to use apt-get in Ubuntu–>

IMG-9870

Error-

E: Could not get lock /var/lib/dpkg/lock – open (11 Resource temporarily unavailable)
E: Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/) is another process using it?

You can delete the lock file using this commands:

# sudo rm /var/lib/apt/lists/lock

This line will delete your lock, You may also need to delete the lock file in the cache directory

# sudo rm /var/cache/apt/archives/lock
# sudo rm /var/lib/dpkg/lock

After that, try again apt-get and you will be able to access it.

16 thoughts on “Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/)-Ubuntu

    1. this is a sign that something else is installing or removing software and has locked the apt database while it performs the actions.

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