Proxmox update error "Sub-process /usr/share/proxmox-ve/pve-apt-hook returned an error code (1)"

Problem

During a proxmox update (e.g. from proxmox version 6 to 7) you receive the following error:

[...]
100% [608 zstd 34.1 kB/630 kB 5%] 1,337 kB/s 0s
100% [Working] 1,337 kB/s 0s

Fetched 255 MB in 2min 30s (1,702 kB/s)
W: (pve-apt-hook) !! WARNING !!
W: (pve-apt-hook) You are attempting to remove the meta-package 'proxmox-ve'!
W: (pve-apt-hook)
W: (pve-apt-hook) If you really want to permanently remove 'proxmox-ve' from your system, run the following command
W: (pve-apt-hook) touch '/please-remove-proxmox-ve'
W: (pve-apt-hook) run apt purge proxmox-ve to remove the meta-package
W: (pve-apt-hook) and repeat your apt invocation.
W: (pve-apt-hook)
W: (pve-apt-hook) If you are unsure why 'proxmox-ve' would be removed, please verify
W: (pve-apt-hook) - your APT repository settings
W: (pve-apt-hook) - that you are using 'apt full-upgrade' to upgrade your system
E: Sub-process /usr/share/proxmox-ve/pve-apt-hook returned an error code (1)
E: Failure running script /usr/share/proxmox-ve/pve-apt-hook
root@proxmox1:~#
root@proxmox1:~# 

 

Solution

 

Proxmox VE 6.x is based on Debian 10.x which is called “buster”.
Proxmox VE 7.x is based on Debian 11.x which is called “bullseye”.  

1. Check if your /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list file and /etc/apt/sources.list file still have "buster" (proxmox version 6) in them and replace it with "bullseye". E.g. with sed -i -e 's/buster/bullseye/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-install-repo.list
   
2. Run apt update again
3. Run apt dist-upgrade again
   

Update Proxmox 6.x to latest 6.4

Update a Proxmox 6.x system to latest 6.4 using the guide https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Downloads#Update_a_running_Proxmox_Virtual_Environment_6.x_to_latest_6.4:

Proxmox VE 6.x is based on Debian 10.x which is called “buster”.

1. Make sure you have a backup of all VMs, Containers, Proxmox itself etc.
2. Login via SSH/CLI
3. Check your sources.list file, should look like this:
   
   cat /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib
# security updates
deb http://security.debian.org buster/updates main contrib


4. Check the enterprise repository:
   
cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list
   

   When running Proxmox VE 6.x with No-Subscription use:
   

   deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve buster pve-no-subscription

   When running Proxmox VE 6.x with a subscription use:
   
deb https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/pve buster pve-enterprise

   
5. Check Proxmox version using:
   
pveversion -v
   
   
6. Update your repository and packages:
   
apt update

If you get any errors, your sources.list (or your system or network) has a problem.
7. Now upgrade the packages:
   
apt dist-upgrade


8. Reboot to activate the new Kernel, to check if you got all packages, run 'pveversion -v' and compare your output (all packages should have equal or higher version numbers): 
9. Check Proxmox version using
   
   pveversion -v 
   
   

Example:

root@prxmx053b:~#
root@prxmx053b:~# cat /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib
# security updates
deb http://security.debian.org buster/updates main contrib
root@prxmx053b:~#
root@prxmx053b:~#
root@prxmx053b:~# apt update
Hit:1 http://security.debian.org buster/updates InRelease
Hit:2 http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve buster InRelease
Hit:3 http://deb.debian.org/debian buster InRelease
Hit:4 http://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates InRelease
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
242 packages can be upgraded. Run 'apt list --upgradable' to see them.
root@prxmx053b:~#
root@prxmx053b:~#
root@prxmx053b:~# apt dist-upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
[...]
root@prxmx053b:~#
root@prxmx053b:~# pveversion -v
proxmox-ve: 6.4-1 (running kernel: 5.4.73-1-pve)
pve-manager: 6.4-15 (running version: 6.4-15/af7986e6)
pve-kernel-5.4: 6.4-20
pve-kernel-helper: 6.4-20
pve-kernel-5.4.203-1-pve: 5.4.203-1
pve-kernel-5.4.73-1-pve: 5.4.73-1
ceph-fuse: 12.2.11+dfsg1-2.1+deb10u1
corosync: 3.1.5-pve2~bpo10+1
criu: 3.11-3
glusterfs-client: 5.5-3
ifupdown: 0.8.35+pve1
ksm-control-daemon: 1.3-1
libjs-extjs: 6.0.1-10
libknet1: 1.22-pve2~bpo10+1
libproxmox-acme-perl: 1.1.0
libproxmox-backup-qemu0: 1.1.0-1
libpve-access-control: 6.4-3
libpve-apiclient-perl: 3.1-3
libpve-common-perl: 6.4-5
libpve-guest-common-perl: 3.1-5
libpve-http-server-perl: 3.2-5
libpve-storage-perl: 6.4-1
libqb0: 1.0.5-1
libspice-server1: 0.14.2-4~pve6+1
lvm2: 2.03.02-pve4
lxc-pve: 4.0.6-2
lxcfs: 4.0.6-pve1
novnc-pve: 1.1.0-1
proxmox-backup-client: 1.1.14-1
proxmox-mini-journalreader: 1.1-1
proxmox-widget-toolkit: 2.6-2
pve-cluster: 6.4-1
pve-container: 3.3-6
pve-docs: 6.4-2
pve-edk2-firmware: 2.20200531-1
pve-firewall: 4.1-4
pve-firmware: 3.3-2
pve-ha-manager: 3.1-1
pve-i18n: 2.3-1
pve-qemu-kvm: 5.2.0-8
pve-xtermjs: 4.7.0-3
qemu-server: 6.4-2
smartmontools: 7.2-pve2
spiceterm: 3.1-1
vncterm: 1.6-2
zfsutils-linux: 2.0.7-pve1
root@prxmx053b:~#
root@prxmx053b:~# reboot