package mysql-server-5.1 5.1.37-1ubuntu5.1 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1

I looked at the related bugs and tried some of the proposed solutions but to no avail. On another site someone mentioned renaming my.cnf which might force the server to run on internal defaults. That alone let me restart the server and open the administrator. shut down the server and opened the renamed my.cnf file. I commented out the line referring to skip-bdb

I also added custom names for the error log and the slow-query log (that line lacked an equal sign in the original cnf file). I suspect that the skip-dbd line was the issue as once this file was saved back to my.cnf the server and the administrator started fine and I can see my newly named log files in the administrator.

ProblemType: Package
Architecture: i386
Date: Sun May 9 08:12:33 2010
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
MySQLConf.etc.mysql.conf.d.mysqld.safe.syslog.cnf:
 [mysqld_safe]
 syslog
MySQLVarLibDirListing: ['mysql', 'debian-5.0.flag', 'ibdata1', 'ib_logfile0', 'ib_logfile1', 'mysql_upgrade_info', 'code_library', 'cms', 'test', 'gotomydata', 'cts', 'mynotes', 'mysqld-slow.log', 'AccountManagement', 'calendar', 'cts2', 'sycamore_content', 'meetings', 'cms2', 'debian-5.1.flag', 'error_log.err']
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
Package: mysql-server-5.1 5.1.37-1ubuntu5.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-21.59-generic
SourcePackage: mysql-dfsg-5.1
Title: package mysql-server-5.1 5.1.37-1ubuntu5.1 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-21-generic i686