package linux-image failed to install : post-installation script returned error exit status 137. /usr/sbin/update-grub killed with SIGKILL

I´ve assigned this bug to the linux package. Thank You for making Ubuntu better.

The relevant message is
=====
Setting up linux-image-2.6.31-17-generic (2.6.31-17.54) ...
Running depmod.
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-17-generic
Running postinst hook script /usr/sbin/update-grub.
Killed
User postinst hook script [/usr/sbin/update-grub] exited with value 137
=====

It seems that you've killed the install process with SIGKILL. Was it deliberate ? Could you please describe what occured ? Thanks.

I did not deliberately kill anything, just update with update manager as usual.

It is not yet solved: Every time I install a new package with synaptic, it tries again to install that linux-image and obtain the same error.

  Same problem over here, In Karmic, when updating linux-image 2.6.31-17.54 with Update Manager as usual I restarted the computer and a Kill signal appeared while shutting down; after when it restart, appear a command window inside the GRUB and anything else.

   As Jean-Baptiste Lallement mention maybe the installation process was kill. What can I dot to reinstall the linux image?.

   Thanks for your help!

I looks like it hits only amd64 arch.

I have checked that if I manually run as root update-grub or grub-mkconfig (with any output file), they get killed too before any output. Reinstalling grub-pc or grub-common does not change anything.

Could you please edit the file /usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig and add an 'x' at the end of the first line.
change
#! /bin/sh -e
to
#! /bin/sh -ex

The open a terminal and run
(sudo /usr/sbin/update-grub 2>&1)>update-grub.log

And attach the file update-grub.log to this report. Thanks.

I added the "x." There is no update-grub.log. My computer does not appear
to be using grub 2, but the old grub. I upgraded from 9.04 to 9.10 (not a
clean install) and I don't think grub was ever upgraded to the new version.

On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 6:54 AM, Jean-Baptiste Lallement <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Could you please edit the file /usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig and add an 'x' at
> the end of the first line.
> change
> #! /bin/sh -e
> to
> #! /bin/sh -ex
>
> The open a terminal and run
> (sudo /usr/sbin/update-grub 2>&1)>update-grub.log
>
> And attach the file update-grub.log to this report. Thanks.
>
> ** Changed in: grub2 (Ubuntu)
> Status: New => Incomplete
>
> --
> package linux-image failed to install : post-installation script returned
> error exit status 137. /usr/sbin/update-grub killed with SIGKILL
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/504173
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of a duplicate bug.
>
> Status in “grub2” package in Ubuntu: Incomplete
> Status in “linux” package in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> In Karmic, when updating linux-image 2.6.31-17.54 with Update Manager as
> usual
>
> ProblemType: Package
> Architecture: amd64
> Date: Thu Jan 7 10:08:41 2010
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
> ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error
> exit status 137
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release amd64 (20091027)
> NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia wl
> Package: linux-image-2.6.31-17-generic 2.6.31-17.54
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-16.53-generic
> SourcePackage: grub2
> Title: package linux-image-2.6.31-17-generic 2.6.31-17.54 failed to
> install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned
> error exit status 137
> Uname: Linux 2.6.31-16-generic x86_64
>
> To unsubscribe from this bug, go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/504173/+subscribe
>

This is the result. It seems that SIGKILL occurs after grub-probe.

Is the following command killed too ?
$ sudo grub-probe -v --target=device /

What's the output ?

closing linux task since it's obviously a grub2 issue.

grub-probe -v is killed too, and gives this output:

sudo grub-probe -v --target=device /
grub-probe: info: the size of hd0 is 976773168
grub-probe: info: the size of hd0 is 976773168
grub-probe: info: the size of hd0 is 976773168
Killed

Additionally, I applied this update and run these commands without problems inside a virtualbox with karmic amd64 (with same grub), so probably it is hardware-specific. Mine is a DELL Precision M6400.

One last thing before reporting it upstream.
Could you install strace:
$ sudo apt-get install strace
and run as root
$ strace -f -tt grub-probe -v --target=device / 2>&1 | tee grub-probe.strace.log

Attach the file grub-probe.strace.log to this report.
Thanks.

Here is the result of

sudo strace -f -tt grub-probe -v --target=device / 2>&1 | tee grub-probe.strace.log

Thanks for your help. For the sake of completness please also provide you hardware specs.
sudo lshw > /tmp/lshw.log
and attach the resulting file.

The bug has been submitted upstream.
Setting status to confirmed.

After rebooting to the 2.6.31-15 kernel, I was able to update-grub and apply the update. Now with kernel -17 everything works also. So it seems linked to the -16 kernel only, for some reason.

I'm forwarding this question from upstream:
Do you use lvm? If you do it was recently fixed

No, I do not use lvm. I insist in the fact that it was a problem reproducible in 2.6.31-16 kernel only. grub2 has not given me any problem with any other kernel.