On Sat Aug 02 2008 @ 2:09, JW wrote: > I sometimes have a hard time figuring out why apt keeps certain packages back. > For example the other day during an apt-get upgrade it was "keeping back" > openoffice (and all the OO componant packages). It was not requiring any > packages to be removed, it wasn't causing any major packages to be upgraded. > > How can I find out the *reason* why a package is kept back? A slightly different way to put what others have said: compare 'upgrade' and 'dist-upgrade' in 'man apt-get'. You will see that the upgrade command only upgrades things already on your system. It won't add new packages or remove old ones - even to upgrade an already installed package. When you get the "kept back" message, there is probably an upgrade that requires adding things and (or) removing things. Check what's going on, and then run 'apt-get dist-upgrade' to go ahead and do it. The 'dist-upgrade' command is poorly named, since it's not only for moving you from one major version of Debian to another (eg, Etch to Lenny). My guess would be that the newer version of OO required new packages that you didn't have installed yet. HTH, T
Attachment:
signature.asc
Description: Digital signature