OOPS. I hit return after typin rm -rf it deleted everything in /home. So I restored my system and now this happens:

bmike1@bmike1-desktop:~$ sudo apt install gparted
[sudo] password for bmike1:          
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree      
Reading state information... Done
The following additional packages will be installed:
  gparted-common
Suggested packages:
  gpart reiser4progs udftools
E: Could not get lock /var/cache/apt/archives/lock. It is held by process 84872 (synaptic)
N: Be aware that removing the lock file is not a solution and may break your system.
E: Unable to lock directory /var/cache/apt/archives/
bmike1@bmike1-desktop:~$

it happened before and as a solution killed the roces. It happened again so I must find a solution. WIll someone share their wisdom?

--