There is no reason to remove the base package - on older systems it retains ownership of /dev. Just let it stay there. Bruce -- Bruce Perens K6BP Bruce@Pixar.com 510-215-3502 Finger bruce@master.Debian.org for PGP public key. PGP fingerprint = 88 6A 15 D0 65 D4 A3 A6 1F 89 6A 76 95 24 87 B3