Thanks for the replies and the advice. I am starting to figure out how to use rpm and have been using it to identify which packages the missing files (failed dependencies) belong to. This has allowed me to download the correct packages.
I appreciate the help. This little learning experience is good. It might be a bit frustrating but at least there are ways to correct a failed install unlike Microsoft where an install just fails.
Sincerely, Jeff Biss
Andrew Pasquale wrote:
On Mon, Jan 27, 2003 at 09:52:44PM -0600 or thereabouts, Jeff Biss wrote:Hello All,
I searched all over and found nothing that covered this problem. I just
hope I didn't miss it. Here's my question:
I have attempted to install some RPMs and had them fail with the failed
dependencies error message. Some packages can be found on Red Hat such
as Pythonxxx.rpm but there are files that cannot be found such as
libxxx.xx.x. Sometimes the files are on my machine yet the RPM fails to
find them even after I "fix" the manager database.
Here is the procedure to fix corrupted rpm databases:
(excerpted from http://www.rpm.org/hintskinks/repairdb/)
Hangs are often caused by stale locks. Fix by doing:
rm -f /var/lib/rpm/__db*
Otherwise,
All that needs repairing is /var/lib/rpm/Packages, the indices can/will
be rebuilt with rpm --rebuilddb later.
Save a copy just in case:
cd /var/lib tar czvf /tmp/rpmdb.tar.gz rpm
Verify integrity with
cd /var/lib/rpm db_verify Packages
If there are any errors, repair by doing
mv Packages Packages-ORIG db_dump Packages-ORIG | db_load Packages
Read all the headers in Packages by doing
rpm -qa
If you segfault here, make an entry at http://bugzilla.redhat.com and
I'll tell you what to do.
Rebuild the indices
rpm --rebuilddb1. Where do I find the missing files/programs? The RPM downloads did not
list entire categories of RPMs such as System libraries.
One nice resource is rpmfind.net. You can search for libraries and it
will tell you what package contains the file you are missing.2. Where is the documentation that explicitly details the procedure for
providing one's system with all requisite files/programs?
I'm not sure what you are looking for here. The "requisite"
programs vary depending on what kind of install you have.
Here is a reference guide from RH that covers some basics of RPM:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7-Manual/ref-guide/ch-rpm.html
Also, read the man pages:
$man rpm3. How do I point the RPM to files on my system it claims are not there?
(I have regenerated the database and this still happens)
If you already have installed the proper version of the package, try
reinstalling the package over the old version:
# rpm -ivh --force <package_name>
If none of this helps, you could try posting on the rpm mailing list.
Although RPM is certainly not perfect, it does provide dependency
checking. Dependency management, while it seems more trouble than it
is worth sometimes, is critical to maintaining a properly functioning
system.
Many people recommend apt-rpm for package management. You might want to
check out this option.
