Re: xbase installation problem

[Ian Jackson <ian@chiark.chu.cam.ac.uk>]

Stephen Early writes ("Re: xbase installation problem"):
> [schneider@mx300e.ids-mannheim.de? wrote:]
> > I upgraded to tar 1.11.8-1, but it made no difference... :-(
> > Still this stupid error message about an existing symlink to console!
> > Seems like I have to install the whole system once again. :-((

No, the problem is that your dpkg is very out of date.

Recent versions of dpkg no longer use `tar' (which is incidentally
still full of bugs and infelicities even at version 1.11.8).

> No, you shouldn't have to install everything again.

It is very rare IME for the solution to a broken Debian system to be
`install everything again'.  Usually running `dpkg --install' on the
right .deb files will fix it.  In this case,
  dpkg --install dpkg-1.0.5.deb
  dpkg --install xbase-*.deb

Ian.

(PS: I said this earlier to just debian-user, but you didn't seem to
see it.)