Package mysql-server-5.6 is not configured yet

Question

I had an issue installing MySQL 5.6 on Ubuntu 15.10. Basically loading the db server failed for the mentioned reason.

mysql-server depends on mysql-server-5.6; however:
Package mysql-server-5.6 is not configured yet.

Answer 1

To overcome this I had to combine the solutions mentioned in the following two posts:

upgrade-mysql-server-issue

unable-to-install-mysql-server-in-ubuntu

See also related:

package-mysql-server-5-5-is-not-configured-yet

Solution

IMPORTANT: This process will destroy all existing databases as Michael Hampton correctly notes. Make sure that you have backups before you start!

Clean out the old mysql installation:

sudo apt-get purge mysql*
sudo apt-get autoremove
sudo apt-get autoclean
sudo rm -rf /var/log/mysql
sudo rm -rf /var/log/mysql.*
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/mysql

Prepare re-installation of mysql:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Resinstall mysql:

sudo apt-get install mysql-server --fix-missing --fix-broken

Enjoy! PS: Doing it without the rm commands did not work!