How can I fix E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (2)?

I received this error after trying to download the icedtea plugin. After trying

sudo apt-get upgrade

I got the same exact error:

Preconfiguring packages ...
dpkg: unrecoverable fatal error, aborting:
 unable to open files list file for package `linux-sound-base': No such device or address
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (2)

I've already tried looking for solutions, but each one seems to be unique to the issue. Any suggestions?

Solution 1:

Try first:

sudo rm /var/lib/dpkg/available 
sudo touch /var/lib/dpkg/available  
sudo sh -c 'for i in /var/lib/apt/lists/*_Packages; do dpkg --merge-avail "$i"; done'

Dangerous, if previous instruction does not solve the problem...

sudo dpkg --configure -a
sudo apt-get -f install
sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

Last may cause huge traffic load.

Solution 2:

I know this is an old post but I got the same error. I fixed the problem with this command:

sudo dpkg --configure -a