From: Dan Brosemer <odin@linuxfreak.com>
To: Gregg C <debian_user@hotmail.com>
CC: debian-user@lists.debian.org
Subject: Re: old versions
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 00:42:10 -0400
On Wed, Aug 23, 2000 at 04:52:14AM -0400, Gregg C wrote:
> Package is in a very bad inconsistent state - you should
> reinstall it before attempting a removal.
About 7-8 months ago, I was getting similar problems doing some upgrades
with Potato. I haven't seen the problem since. My "solution" isn't for
the
faint of heart but you may find it useful.
What I did was hand-edit the /var/lib/dpkg/status file (now everyone's
going
to scream at me) to change the status of the package to 'purge ok
not-installed', then I hand-ran the prerm script (in
/var/lib/dpkg/info/<pkgname>.prerm) then deleted all the files that the
package installed: 'cat /var/lib/dpkg/info/<pkgname>.list|xargs rm -f',
'cat
/var/lib/dpkg/info/<pkgname>.list|xargs rmdir' and ran the postrm script
(I'm sure you can guess where to find it by now).
Then I installed the package again... no problems.
I never investigated _why_ I was getting these errors, but they have not
plagued me since.
I make no guarantees about the solution above except that I guarantee that
it's a bad solution that worked for me a few times. It may not work for
you, and I'm not responsible if you accidentally delete your whole
filesystem with it. (putting a -r in the rm statement will do just that).
Hope this helps, and hope you don't have to resort to this.
-Dan
--
"... the most serious problems in the Internet have been caused by
unenvisaged mechanisms triggered by low-probability events; mere human
malice would never have taken so devious a course!" - RFC 1122 section
1.2.2
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