[KLUG Members] Crash of RH7.2 - advice?

[Ralph M. Deal]

On 11 Dec 2001, Adam Williams wrote:

> >I've had an unfortunate problem in upgrading my RH7.1 to RH7.2.
> >[using BSware of course].  One rpm could not be loaded; then a crash
>
> DO you remember which one?

Yes.  It was a mount ... rpm update (subversion b to e?) This morning, I
tried manually updating mount and got NO response!  The older (7.1)
version was installed so I had to install with --force the newer version,
leaving two versions installed.

> >occurs after about 60% of the rpms have been loaded.  While I've saved
> >the crash data as suggested, I don't know how to use it.  When starting
> >the update, I am warned that my partitions are not what was expected but
> >that I could proceed.  I can get to my files in the rescue mode and can
> >update whatever rpm's I wish.  Actually the latter is a little dificult
> >since the new rpm's (pine for example) use more recent libraries but I
> >can't upgrade those since other programs depend on the older libraries.
> >My solution has been to force the installation of the new rpms,
> >leaving the old rpm's intact.  Not efficient use of disk space but so
> >far it works.
>
> You can force the "upgrade" of packages, and liberal use of --nodeps
> will let you put in new libraries regardless of "old" applications.

I didn't yet use --nodeps but will try.

> If the new kernel & kernel-BOOT packages were installed, completeing the
> upgrade by hand isn't that hard.

Good news!

> Do an rpm -qa | grep lib to see more or less all the libraries you can
> installed and upgrade those.  Some won't show up in that list like
> ncurses, etc... But sooner or later another package will ask for those.

neat.

> Don't forget you can do more than one package at a time, as in
> rpm -Uvh x.y.rpm a.b.rpm m.n.rpm  and this can be used to satisfy
> dependencies as well.

I LIKE that way of handling the dependencies problems.

> Then spin around and do the "applications",  with shells being first
> bash, etc...

I must have been working in the bash shell in the rescue mode, right?

> It really doesn't take that long, ~30 minutes.  I have to upgrade a
> couple of my larger machines this way as the installer takes one look at
> them and runs screaming of the end of a short pier.

Ah, mustn't let potentials users apprehensive about the installation
problems hear about this.

> >Right now I need to look at a gnumeric file.  I can't get into the
> >Xwindows mode so I can't run gnumeric.  I can transfer the file to a
> >floppy (alas, not a zip disk) and so take it to a non-crippled machine
> >but I have no access to another LINUX machine and I don't believe Excel
> >on my wife's more powerful system running ME will be able to read the
> >gnumeric file.
> >I may have to start a new installation but would appreciate any guidance
> >at this awkward moment.
>
> No hope of running another upgrade?  Although it would probably die at
> the same point,  if you manually install the package it gagged on it
> might work.

I've already tried twice but not with the new mount package.

Would it be a good idea to use the former loader, LILO, instead of the new
one (GRUB?)?

> The gnumeric file is zipped XML.  If you just want the raw data any XML
> parser should be able to show you that.

Such as Mozilla which I have installed on my wife's ME?  Wonder if there
is an MSwindows spreadsheet that uses XML?

VERY helpful, Adam.  I'll report on my progress.  Hope to make the meeting
tonight - might even have somthing new then.  Interesting process.

	Best,   Ralph