user deletion problem

[Rashkae]

On 10/13/2011 10:38 AM, PM wrote:
>> That user is no longer listed in /etc/passwd?
>>
> Here is the complete history and error details:
>
> myfamily at myfamily-desktop:~$ userdel -f linuxworld
> userdel: cannot lock /etc/passwd; try again later.
> myfamily at myfamily-desktop:~$ sudo userdel -f linuxworld
> [sudo] password for myfamily:
> userdel: cannot lock /etc/gshadow; try again later.
>
> The error I am getting is this one. And the user to be deleted is
> 'linuxworld'
>
http://xkcd.com/149/

Admittedly, the error message isn't very intuitive.