apt problems

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Wed, Apr 14, 2004 at 01:05:55PM -0400, David J Patrick wrote:
> Lennart Sorensen wrote:
> >dpkg -r --force-depends xlibs
> >apt-get -f install
> >
> Taking Lennarts' dire warning, and seemingly cautionary approach to 
> heart, I have executed the dpkg -r and apt-get -f commands  suggested.
> Unfortunately, 40+ packages complained of "Depends: xlibs (> 4.1.0) but 
> it is not going to be installed" and I find myself in the same place, 
> with a few more things broken. Do you suppose this is what is meant by 
> "unstable" ?
> And now to the tactic put forth by Fraser and Tim ? Even though Lennart 
> warns of incurable apt-guk ?
> 
> Hey, is this fixable ? Or is it time for a new distro ? Something 
> debian-based ? Ark 1.0rc11 ?
> Or re-install with pure debian nothing-newer-than-testing, via Bonzai or 
> the debian installer floppies.
> I just don't know anymore.
> If I can't mend this tattered web of dependancies I gotta do something !
> "It just works" seems long ago and far away.
> (shuffles off, hands in pockets, leaving a cloud of dust ;-)

Some files were moved a little while ago in the X packages, and it
caused this problem.  It's known (it's annoying), and it can be worked
around, using the commands I listed above (although you may have to
remove a couple of packages to get the install to go.)

If you do: dpkg --force-depends -r xlibs

Then apt-get -f install should complain about some things that depends
on it.  If it fails to run then something else is conflicting too, maybe
xlibs-dev.  Whatever it says is causing a problem, you can remove using
the same dpkg command.  This is anything causing an overwrite problem.

I managed to upgrade X on my system a month ago or so which encountered
this, and it didn't take too many steps to get around it.

Lennart Sorensen
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