Debian :: Full-upgrade Fails At Stopping Fancontrol

summary: `sudo aptitude full-upgrade` (to jessie) ran long time before hanging @

Code: Select allSetting up fancontrol (1:3.3.5-2) ...
Installing new version of config file /etc/init.d/fancontrol ...
[ ok ] Stopping fan speed regulator: fancontrol.

Killing the job produced damage detailed below. How best to proceed?

details:

I'm upgrading a 7-year-old 64-bit Clevo/System76 laptop to jessie. My first run of `sudo aptitude full-upgrade` ended after fetching packages, with the following lines ending the console spew:

Code: Select allGet: 2051 http://http.debian.net/debian/ jessie/main user-setup all 1.61 [196 kB]
Fetched 1,816 MB in 17min 38s (1,715 kB/s)
E: This installation run will require temporarily removing the essential package python:amd64 due to a Conflicts/Pre-Depends loop. This is often bad, but if you really want to do it, activate the APT::Force-LoopBreak option.
E: Internal Error, Could not early remove python:amd64 (2)

So I started a second run with `sudo aptitude -o APT::Force-LoopBreak=true full-upgrade`. I left it running overnight, checking back periodically to OK overwriting `/etc/*` files with package-maintainer's versions. Friday I checked the box ~0900 and found

Only GUI application running was `gnome-terminal`, with the upgrade running in a single tab. This was working as intended, since I closed all other apps, and all but one `gnome-terminal` tab, before starting the upgrade. desktop environment (DE)=Cinnamon (also as intended) mouse was non-responsive: swiping the touchpad produced no movement keyboard appeared non-responsive (but more on that below) internal fan was running apparently full-speed (certainly as loud as I've ever heard it) console spew ended with the following 3 lines:

Code: Select allSetting up fancontrol (1:3.3.5-2) ...
Installing new version of config file /etc/init.d/fancontrol ...
[ ok ] Stopping fan speed regulator: fancontrol.

I left it running in hope the upgrade would recover, but after 7 hours nothing had changed, so I attempted to kill the job. The following all failed:

invoking shutdown via desktop menu (neither mouse movement nor pressing Super key produced any change) C-c/Ctrl-c in the terminal tab (nothing changed in the GUI) A-F2/Alt-F2 (trying to run another `gnome-terminal` to run `sudo shutdown -Ph now`, but no dialog appeared) C-A-F1 (to goto tty1 and run `sudo shutdown -Ph now`, but again no change in GUI/X)

The good news is, the box did reboot after `A-SysRq-[REISUB]`, though only to tty1. From there, `sudo dpkg --audit` produces these results.

So obviously the upgrade is incomplete; how best to resume it, or to debug the current situation before resuming? I'd prefer to fix the problem with `fancontrol` before proceeding, since the previous `full-upgrade` was quite long-running.

FWIW I also recorded the packages that the previous/broken `aptitude full-upgrade` wanted to {add, remove, upgrade}, and note that package=`fancontrol` is one that `aptitude` wanted to upgrade. So I'd like to know if I should just

Configure unpacked-but-not-yet-configured packages as directed by `dpkg --audit` reconfigure only-half-configured packages as directed by `dpkg --audit` process triggers for packages awaiting processing of triggers as directed by `dpkg --audit` reinstall packages missing md5sums as directed by `dpkg --audit` create a list of packages to remove (from those listed in the previous upgrade) add `fancontrol` to that list run `sudo aptitude remove [list of packages]` from tty1 create a list of packages to add and upgrade (from those listed in the previous upgrade) delete `fancontrol` from that list run `sudo aptitude install [list of packages]` from tty1 rerun `sudo aptitude full-upgrade` from tty1 (hoping that cleans up any remaining upgrade work, and does not try to reinstall package=`fancontrol`)