Learn how to fix the Ubuntu error “An error occurred, please run Package Manager”. Our Server Management Support team is here to help you with your questions and concerns.

How to Fix Ubuntu error “An error occurred, please run Package Manager”

If you use Ubuntu, you may have come across one variation or the other of the following message at some point in time:

An error occurred, please run Package Manager from the right-click window or apt-get in a terminal to see what is wrong.

These error messages may be due to several different causes. Today, we are going to identify and resolve the issue with a little help from our Experts.

Unmet Dependencies

Unmet dependencies are the most common cause of this error. When installing a package, it relies on other packages to function correctly. If these dependencies are not met, it will trigger this error.

Fix:

1. Run the following command to resolve any unmet dependencies:

   sudo apt-get -f install
2. If the above step did not work, update and upgrade packages as seen here:

   sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
3. Furthermore, if specific packages are causing the error, we can reinstall them:

   sudo apt-get install --reinstall package_name

Broken Package Cache

A corrupted or outdated package cache can also cause this error. This can occur if the system was interrupted during a previous update or if the cache became corrupted.

Fix:

1. First, run this command to clear the package cache:

   sudo apt-get clean
2. Then, rebuild the cache by running this:

   sudo apt-get update
3. If the error still occurs, delete the old lists directory and recreate it as seen here:

   sudo rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/apt/lists/partial

Broken Repository Configuration

In some cases, issues with the configured software repositories can also cause the error.
If a repository is no longer accessible or its version information is outdated, it will cause package management problems.

Fix:

1. First, open the Software & Updates program and check the “Other Software” tab for any broken or outdated repository entries.
2. Then, update the repository to match the current Ubuntu version or remove the problematic repository.
3. After that, refresh the package lists:

   sudo apt-get update

Snap Package Issues

If we use Snap packages, sometimes it can cause an error.

Fix: In this case, we have to refresh Snap packages:

sudo snap refresh --list
sudo snap refresh

By methodically working through the potential causes, we can identify and fix the underlying issue causing the “An error occurred, please run Package Manager” message.

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Conclusion

In brief, our Support Experts demonstrated how to fix the Ubuntu error “An error occurred, please run Package Manager”.