How do you fix apt even when 'apt-get -f install' wont

[stukennedyuk]

I've managed to get some sort of 'dependancy that cannot be fixed that 'apt-get -f install' will not fix, the acyual message is below. Until this is resolved apt is broken and I cannot install anything else. I've tried all I could think of doing, 'update' 'remove' 'purge' 'put on hold' without any joy. I cannot be the first to break it!

Follows:-

root@Home:/home/stuart# apt-get -f install
Reading Package Lists... Done
Building Dependency Tree... Done
Correcting dependencies... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
libxcursor-dev
The following NEW packages will be installed:
libxcursor-dev - putting on hold added this, I cannot remove it!
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 513 not upgraded.
7 not fully installed or removed.
Need to get 0B/27.3kB of archives.
After unpacking 135kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y - yes please for the nth time!!!!!
(Reading database ... 118015 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking libxcursor-dev (from .../libxcursor-dev_1.0.2-2_i386.deb) ...
dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/libxcursor-dev_1.0.2-2_i386.deb (--unpack):
trying to overwrite `/usr/X11R6/include/X11/Xcursor/Xcursor.h', which is also in package xlibs-dev
Errors were encountered while processing:
/var/cache/apt/archives/libxcursor-dev_1.0.2-2_i386.deb
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
root@Home:/home/stuart#

Stu.....

[Stephen]

I've managed to get some sort of 'dependancy that cannot be fixed that 'apt-get -f install' will not fix, the acyual message is below. Until this is resolved apt is broken and I cannot install anything else. I've tried all I could think of doing, 'update' 'remove' 'purge' 'put on hold' without any joy. I cannot be the first to break it!

Follows:-

root@Home:/home/stuart# apt-get -f install
Reading Package Lists... Done
Building Dependency Tree... Done
Correcting dependencies... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
libxcursor-dev
The following NEW packages will be installed:
libxcursor-dev - putting on hold added this, I cannot remove it!
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 513 not upgraded.
7 not fully installed or removed.
Need to get 0B/27.3kB of archives.
After unpacking 135kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y - yes please for the nth time!!!!!
(Reading database ... 118015 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking libxcursor-dev (from .../libxcursor-dev_1.0.2-2_i386.deb) ...
dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/libxcursor-dev_1.0.2-2_i386.deb (--unpack):
trying to overwrite `/usr/X11R6/include/X11/Xcursor/Xcursor.h', which is also in package xlibs-dev
Errors were encountered while processing:
/var/cache/apt/archives/libxcursor-dev_1.0.2-2_i386.deb
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
root@Home:/home/stuart#

Stu.....

This has beeen asked and answered a couple of times already to answer again.

cd /var/cache/apt/archives

then as root

dpkg -i --force-overwrite libxcursor-dev_1.0.2-2_i386.deb

[stukennedyuk]

Many thanks Stephen for your prompt help (again!)

Cheers, Stuart.....