Error with dpkg – Screen turns black after attempting to run dpkg –configure -a

I’m having an issue with dpkg that started two days ago when trying to run apt upgrade. I’m getting the following error message:

E: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run 'sudo dpkg --configure -a' to correct the problem.

When I try to run sudo dpkg --configure -a, I see a message about initframes, but the screen turns black immediately afterward. My computer stays on, but I’m not sure if it’s just the graphical interface that crashes or something else. I’ve encountered a similar issue before due to Nvidia drivers, but this time I’m unsure.

Here are the steps I’ve already tried to resolve the issue:

Ran sudo apt update -f to fix pending installations, but I still get the dpkg execution error.
Tried apt remove, autoremove, and purge—same issue with dpkg.

Recreated the dpkg file using the following commands:

sudo rm /var/lib/dpkg/available
sudo touch /var/lib/dpkg/available
sudo sh -c 'for i in /var/lib/apt/lists/*_Packages; do dpkg --merge-avail "$i"; done'

After this, I ran apt update and then apt upgrade, but the same error occurred.

The last thing I installed before this issue was Podman and Podman Desktop. I noticed that Podman Desktop stopped showing my containers and images, and the interface freezes after a few seconds. I haven’t been able to uninstall it because apt commands aren’t working.

I’ve also tried running the commands in a TTY session, but the same black screen issue happens.

Specs:

Last installed packages: Podman, Podman Desktop

I’ve searched online and consulted ChatGPT, but I haven’t found a solution that works. Any help or guidance would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!