My thanks to all those who suggested resolutions. dpkg --configuring the packages one by one didn't work, and it was necessary to uninstall and then reinstall all 38 packages which were still in state iU, iW or iF.
Some of the packages had quite wide-ranging dependencies so I had to use "dpkg -r --force-depends", not something I normally like to do. It's still somewhat concerning that dpkg can get itself into this sort of state where the only way out is to remove and reinstall substantial numbers of packages. I'm sorry that I didn't think to save the dpkg database in its faulty state for further tests. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
