** Help Needed **

[tacubuntuforums]

I believe that trying to revert the situation would include replacing the installed packages too (because I don't know what's there and what incongruencies there might be)

Is there any way to know which packages have been installed today?

If I go to

/var/cache/apt/archives/

y can see the downloaded packages in the cache since the system's birth, because I haven't deleted anything. But can I list by creation time or show the creation time?

[RAV TUX]

Edited thread title to:

** HELP NEEDED **

[tacubuntuforums]

To make things worse I am starving and slept little yesterday.... pff!

I can think of many things but I can't know which are right or which steps make the safest path.

What about just updating the whole system while I have network? or upgrading?

But I don't know how should I do it?

first update, then upgrade? using testing, or going back to just stable?

(Debian has, for each version: stable, testing and unstable subversions)
I had always used stable until now that I wantes a package from testing.

Thinking about what you said..The problem is that those are the packages I had installed, but maybe others have been removed and besides maybe some of the recently installed ones (I still don't know which are they) will cause trouble (is this possible? in which cases?)

I'm thinking of two main ways of restoring this mess:
1) whith an intelligent, wise upgrade ...but how?
2) trying to have a list of all packages removed, all installed ones and trying to rebuild the puzzle. (when I'm able to think more clearly again)

[teaker1s]

still think your best way if synaptic is available to use it with recommended packages as dependencies. it allows you to see broken packages and either reinstall or remove. I think your panicing too much as apt-get/synaptic/aptitude etc all use the same info to tell whats installed.

[tacubuntuforums]

I know that all package managers work with the same database and sources. That's not what troubles me.
What I don't see clearly is exactly how to use it. Exactly what steps to do.

If I start downloading the removed packages in the list (I don't know if they were deleted because thre was an incompatibility...which I doubt),

(a)Should I use the "testing" sources or just "stable". As I said I had always used stable, but now some packages have been downloaded now ( but I don't know which ones. How can I know? Is there any creation date?)

(b) Should I remove things first?
(c) What about configurations? what should I do about them? If I install a removed package which left the configuration files (has not been "purged") will it respect the configuration?

[teaker1s]

again as I said before if you can install synaptic it will tell you what packages it needs to remove when you install the list of the now removed packages. and if you select recommended as dependencies-what ever you reinstall will not break your system with incompatible packages or missing dependencies

[tacubuntuforums]

OK, I'll do that.

The first decision is how to work with synaptic. With what sources.list.

If I want to have as many packages as possible from the "stable" repository, but I have ,in this last disastrous operation, installed a number of packages (i still don't know which ones and how many, but i believe they were a lot) from the "testing". Can I be at ease using synaptic with "stable".

apt-get -f install synaptic

right?

[teaker1s]

synaptic won't work while terminal has apt-get running in any form due to lock. - terminals will need closing first.

I'd recommend you went for stable for sources.
Synaptic preferences will allow you to select upgrade packages under distribution -I'd select stable or what ever you consider most suitable to what your system was before this issue.

[tacubuntuforums]

Sorry: the lock was: sudo missing. uuuuuh! I'm so terribly tired!

Yes, there's the trouble:

Also, should I use -f option or first download the package initrd-tools the kernel needs?


$sudo apt-get install synaptic
...
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
kernel-image-2.6.8-2-386: Depends: initrd-tools (>= 0.1.63) but it is not going to be installed
synaptic: Depends: libapt-inst-libc6.3-6-1.1
Depends: libapt-pkg-libc6.3-6-3.11
Depends: libatk1.0-0 (>= 1.12.1) but 1.8.0-4 is to be installed
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.3.6-6) but 2.3.2.ds1-22sarge4 is to be installed
Depends: libcairo2 (>= 1.2.0) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libgcc1 (>= 1:4.1.0) but 1:3.4.3-13sarge1 is to be installed
Depends: libglade2-0 (>= 1:2.5.1) but 1:2.4.2-2 is to be installed
Depends: libglib2.0-0 (>= 2.10.0) but 2.6.4-1 is to be installed
Depends: libgtk2.0-0 (>= 2.8.0) but 2.6.4-3.1 is to be installed
Depends: libncurses5 (>= 5.4-5) but 5.4-4 is to be installed
Depends: libpango1.0-0 (>= 1.12.3) but 1.8.1-1 is to be installed
Depends: libstdc++6 (>= 4.1.0) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libvte4 (>= 1:0.12.1) but 1:0.11.12-1 is to be installed
Depends: libxfixes3 but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libxinerama1 but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libxml2 (>= 2.6.26) but 2.6.16-7 is to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt-get -f install' with no packages (or specify a solution).


Close terminals?
I have just one graphic terminal. Thje other one is waiting "enter"
gnome-terminal package has been removed!

[tacubuntuforums]

As far as I see, in three removed packages, the config files are still there.
Do you know it they will they be overwritten if I reinstall the packages?