[mythtv-users] upgrading from ( FC4 + apt-get ) to FC5

[chris at cpr.homelinux.net]

On Sun, Jul 09, 2006 at 04:47:55PM +0200, Franco wrote:
> >> The following packages will be REMOVED:
> >>   librpm4.4 pine tv-fonts xine
> >> This should NOT be done unless you know exactly what you are doing!
> >>   librpm4.4 (due to apt)

> If I type 'Yes, do as I say!' it will make both rpm and apt unoperable,
> but apt won't accept to perform any other operation until
> it is satisfied with the -f install.  It is a deadlock.

Sorry for jumping in late and missing most of the context, but it 
looks like you should be doing an 'apt-get dist-upgrade' rather 
than just installing or upgrading packages.  When you use 
dist-upgrade, apt invokes some extra logic for dealing with 
upgrades to critical packages (such as apt) as well as circular 
dependencies (which can't be upgraded using 'apt-get install' or 
'apt-get upgrade').  If often installs only the subset of the 
packages selected that are required to bridge the broken system 
state, so you follow it with a regular install to get the rest of 
them.

When using the -f option to apt-get you should probably also use -m 
and run the command once with -s to see what would happen.

Don't forget that programs resident in memory continue to operate 
even if their binaries are deleted from the disk.  That's why apt 
is able to upgrade itself.  If you're doing an upgrade or 
dist-upgrade then apt will automatically answer the "Yes, do as I 
say!" prompt for you because it knows that the system will only be 
broken for a few moments.  If apt is interrupted for some reason, 
you can always go to the cache and 'dpkg -i' the required packages.

BTW, there are some "you can't get there from here" problems you 
can face from time to time.  For example, there was no clean 
upgrade path from XFree86 to Xorg, so I had to uninstall MythTV in 
order to do the upgrade and then reinstall MythTV after the new X 
was running.