Edward Buck wrote:

> Madhusudan Singh wrote:
>
>> I used the --purge option and tried to install as above (apt-get
>> install ...) . I now get : (and there is no my.cnf in /etc/mysql after
>> the installation fails).
>>
>> WARNING: /etc/mysql/my.cnf cannot be read. See README.Debian.
>> Starting MySQL database server: mysqld...failed.
>> Please take a look at the syslog.
>
> If you want a clean system for reinstalling, purge ALL mysql packages.
> The file /etc/mysql/my.cnf comes with the package mysql-common. Remove
> that and all other packages (mysql-server, mysql-client, etc.) and then
> try again.
>
> Good luck.
> Ed

If you look over the thread, I already did that.

I found the solution. The option --reinstall.