Hi Folks, I have hit yet another instance of having an attempt to install a Debian package run into a dead end. For the sake of another package, I need mencoder (I already have mplayer) on a Debian Etch system (regularly upgraded). So I start up Synaptic, search for mencoder (which comes up in the search list), and mark it for installation. First result: NOT AUTHENTICATED: libpostproccvs51 To be installed: libfribidi0 liblzo2-2 libpostproccvs51 and I then choose to Mark these. Result: mencoder: Depends: libdvdnav4 but it is not going to be installed Depends: libmpcdec3 but it is not installable Depends: libtwolame0 but it is not installable This "not going to be installed" and "not installable" is a block which I frequently encounter. No reasons are given as to why "it is not going to be installed" nor why "it is not installable", which leaves me clueless as to what to do about it! There is no visible "help" button in this situation. Is there any work-round for this situation? While I like Debian when using what can be installed on it, I find this situation very irritating, and I'm beggining to get fed up with it. Enough to drive me to use Ubuntu! (Which I find too glitzy and "user-oriented" [yuk] for myh taste, but at least it seems to do this kind of thing effortlessly). Comments? With thanks, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding@manchester.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 23-Sep-09 Time: 19:30:31 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
Ted Harding wrote: [...]
So I start up Synaptic, search for mencoder (which comes up in the search list), and mark it for installation. First result: [...] No reasons are given as to why "it is not going to be installed" nor why "it is not installable", which leaves me clueless as to what to do about it! There is no visible "help" button in this situation.
Try the same installation selection from aptitude in a root shell? When aptitude can't install something, it should explain why in the bottom half of the screen, let you ask for the Next possible solution (the . key I think) or drill down and override it manually.
Is there any work-round for this situation? While I like Debian when using what can be installed on it, I find this situation very irritating, and I'm beggining to get fed up with it.
I suspect the irritation is more with synaptic than debian. I've not encountered similar problems on my debian test laptop to know how well/badly synaptic handles difficult dependencies. I could try installing mencoder, but I suspect our starting points differ and it wouldn't tell us much.
Enough to drive me to use Ubuntu! (Which I find too glitzy and "user-oriented" [yuk] for myh taste, but at least it seems to do this kind of thing effortlessly).
Comments?
Please don't use Ubuntu as a stick to beat Debian with. I've supported customers with both and Ubuntu occasionally gets similar things wrong too. I feel it depends which approach you like more than there being a signficant difference in quality. Hope that helps, -- MJ Ray (slef) LMS developer and webmaster at | software www.software.coop http://mjr.towers.org.uk | .... co IMO only: see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html | .... op
(Ted Harding) wrote:
NOT AUTHENTICATED: libpostproccvs51
To be installed: libfribidi0 liblzo2-2 libpostproccvs51
and I then choose to Mark these. Result:
mencoder: Depends: libdvdnav4 but it is not going to be installed Depends: libmpcdec3 but it is not installable Depends: libtwolame0 but it is not installable
Is it simply that you don't have the universe/multiverse repositories enabled in your /etc/apt/sources.lst certainly libdvdnav and libtwolame belong in there because they are potentially patent encumbered. If this is the case then once enabling them you will need to run apt-get update to refresh the list of available packages. Or you can do this from synaptic via settings/repositories
On 23-Sep-09 20:15:40, Wayne Stallwood wrote:
(Ted Harding) wrote:
NOT AUTHENTICATED: libpostproccvs51
To be installed: libfribidi0 liblzo2-2 libpostproccvs51
and I then choose to Mark these. Result:
mencoder: Depends: libdvdnav4 but it is not going to be installed Depends: libmpcdec3 but it is not installable Depends: libtwolame0 but it is not installable
Is it simply that you don't have the universe/multiverse repositories enabled in your /etc/apt/sources.lst certainly libdvdnav and libtwolame belong in there because they are potentially patent encumbered.
If this is the case then once enabling them you will need to run apt-get update to refresh the list of available packages.
Or you can do this from synaptic via settings/repositories
Thanks, Wayne. Maybe you can help me get over the stile here. universe/multiverse did not come up in the available repositories under synaptic, so presumably I need to edit /etc/apt/sources.list myself. But I'm not sure of how to format this. As an example, I have lines like deb http://security.debian.org/ etch/updates main deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ sarge main contrib non-free deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org etch main therein. What should the line[s] be to add universe/multiverse? With thanks, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding@manchester.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 23-Sep-09 Time: 21:36:07 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
Ted Harding wrote:
presumably I need to edit /etc/apt/sources.list myself. But I'm not sure of how to format this. As an example, I have lines like
deb http://security.debian.org/ etch/updates main deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ sarge main contrib non-free deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org etch main
therein. What should the line[s] be to add universe/multiverse?
universe/multiverse are ubuntu names. debian doesn't call them that. Why does the middle line say sarge? Shouldn't there be a line like that saying etch? I'd expect running a mixed sarge-etch machine like that would cause the missing dependency problems. The etch bits are asking for packages that are in the main etch repository, but the above only knows about the main sarge repository which doesn't have all the packages in the required versions. The current stable code name is lenny, too, but read the upgrading instructions in the release notes before changing it over. http://www.uk.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/release-notes/ch-upgrading.en.... Hope that helps, -- MJ Ray (slef) LMS developer and webmaster at | software www.software.coop http://mjr.towers.org.uk | .... co IMO only: see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html | .... op
participants (3)
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MJ Ray -
Ted.Harding＠manchester.ac.uk -
Wayne Stallwood