RPM Error: Could not get lock /var/lib/dpkg/lock in CentOS 7

If you’ve encountered the RPM error: Could not get lock /var/lib/dpkg/lock while installing packages on CentOS 7, don’t despair. This problem can be solved with a few simple steps.

This error usually occurs when another process has already locked access to the /var/lib/dpkg/lock file, which is used to manage package installation and updates. To fix this, you need to terminate that process or wait for it to finish.

The first step is to check for active processes that might be using the /var/lib/dpkg/lock file. You can do this using the command ps aux | grep dpkg. This command will output a list of all processes related to package management.

If you find a process that is locking the /var/lib/dpkg/lock file, you can terminate it using the command sudo kill -9 PID, where PID is the process ID. After terminating the process, retry installing or updating packages.

If the problem persists after terminating the process, it is possible that the /var/lib/dpkg/lock file remained locked due to a system failure. In this case, you can try deleting the file using the command sudo rm /var/lib/dpkg/lock.

After deleting the /var/lib/dpkg/lock file, try installing or updating packages. If that doesn’t help, try rebooting the system and try again.

Don’t panic if you encounter the RPM error: Could not get lock /var/lib/dpkg/lock in CentOS 7. By following the simple steps described above, you can quickly and easily solve this problem and continue installing the necessary packages.