dpkg --clear-selections seems to empty most of the packages on my system ugh

[Mitchell Laks <mlaks@post.harvard.edu>]

Hi

I am setting up a server. I have done it in the past using 

dpkg --set-selections <server_install_list
apt-get dselect-upgrade

where server_install_list is a list of packages described below

after first doing a regular insinstall of the full desktop packages (i really dont need the whole desktop).

Now my server_install_list was made many years ago from packages on old versions of debian  

perhaps it was sarge or etch.

So I was playing around and looking at  the many packages that were renamed or no longer exist 

and i got the messages like

dpkg: warning: package not in database at line 1: aalib-bin

which made sense cause now it is called libaa-bin
(
and even more important there is no reason for that package, it is just there because i created 
 the list server_install_list from all the packages of my old sarge system, 

dpkg --get-selections > server_install_list

many years ago
and I didn't care to limit what 
junk was there long ago when I did that.
)

Now I also got messages like

dpkg: warning: package not in database at line 1: gpm

but clearly there still is a packages gpm.

So I googled around and found this page

http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=79006

and so I installed the 

dselect
package, which seems to be a new thing.

Then I googled and saw that I had to do 

dselect access
dselect update
which seems to be new from old days.


 
Now, I was playing around and I did


dpkg --clear-selections

then 

dpkg --set-selections <fixed_server_install_list

then apt-get dselect_upgrade

took out much of my system. That was quite unpleasant.

I saved the kernal :)

So then to rescue myself I installed tasksel and I installed the desktop system again.

Ok what is the approved method  to add a bunch of packages to the system
without getting munged??

Thanks
Mitcell