Failing to update packages post hdd install

After a hdd install from knoppix 3.2 I tried to dist-upgrade to Debian unstable. It all seems to work fine but my debian_version is still reported as testing/unstable. I've tracked this down to the fact that a number of packages from the hdd install are not at the latest versions available in unstable but are unoffical versions with different dependencies. The most significant being sysvinit.

If I try apt-get install sysvinit, I'm told I have the latest version installed. Not true. The knoppix version is 2.84 something or other, whereas 2.85 is available in unstable.

If I try apt-get --reinstall install sysvinit, I'm told the packages is not available for download.

This is a common problem when trying to replace a package from an unofficial source with an official one. My usual trick is just to remove the offending package, then reinstall from an official source.

HOWEVER, sysvinit is a rather crucial package and I'm a little concerned that removing it - even if only to replace it with a different version shortly afterwards - may be dangerous.

Any suggestions as to whether or not this may be a safe thing to do or what alternative approach I could take would be much appreciated...

Thanks!

Did you follow the instructions here:

http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtop...251&highlight=

As for sysvinit, it is a custom init that comes with the Knoppix CD, so there is only one version available, which is why apt is telling you it is the latest version. The standard Debian version of the package is called "initscripts". However, I've never replaced the init scripts, and don't see any need to. If you update everything else to unstable, you will be able to use the latest version of any software (unless for some reason it depends on initscripts).

No, I did not follow those instructions *precisely*, but essentially that's exactl what I did. I did my hdd install quite some time ago now and have been tinkering with the system ever since.
Sysvinit is not a custom kernel that comes only with Knoppix - it's available as part of sid, and depends on initscripts.
I want to replace sysvinit as it's preventing me from cleaning out a whole bunch of other stuff that came with Knoppix like rebuildfstab-knoppix and hotplug-knoppix....

You are correct, sysvinit does depend on initscripts, but sysvinit from the CD is a custom package. The standard initscripts and sysvinit are not installed. I think that is why you are having trouble upgrading it. Like I said before, I haven't tried tinkering with the initscripts, so I can't help.

Todsr1:

Well, out of curiosity, I tried to update sysvinit and found that you can do it, but it is tricky and DANGEROUS.

First, download the sysvinit package, then:

dpkg -x sysvinit<something>.deb /tmp

Find file "update-rc.d" in /tmp, then copy it to /usr/sbin.

apt-get install mount

You will get a dire warning about removing mount-aes. I held my breath and entered "Yes, do as I say!"

apt-get install initscripts

dpkg -i sysvinit<something>.deb

So far, everything is working as before, except my init routine is different. I also receive an error about mounting (it says / is mounted read-only, but it is mounted read-write after booting completely). I assume the error is due to removing mount-aes. I'll have to figure that out later. Please also don't hold me responsible if my post is wrong. I think I remembered the steps I took, but I could have missed something. :shock:

OK, I tried it again on a different computer and I wrote the order of things wrong:

download sysvinit<something>.deb package.

dpkg -x sysvinit<something>.deb /tmp

apt-get install mount

"Yes, do as I say!"

apt-get install installscripts

That brings an error, override with:

dpkg -i --force-overwrite /var/cache/apt/archives/initscripts<something>.deb

cp /tmp/usr/share/sysvinit/update-rc.d /usr/sbin

apt-get install sysv-rc

dpkg -i sysvinit<something>.deb

Everything works using the standard sysvinit with initscripts. I replaced bootmisc.sh with the standard version as well and everything works fine.

m_yates.... thanks so much for this!
I'll give it a go when I'm next on my Debian box over the next few days. Fingers crossed.

Good luck! I'm no Linux guru, so don't blame me if something is broken. :wink: It seems like most things are working for me, though. I still get an error about / being mounted read-only during boot-up and fsck won't run during boot-up because of that. I'll have to get to the bottom of that this weekend.

Great.
It worked a treat.
Actually, I found an easier way to do this...
I tried 'apt-get install sysvinit/unstable' to force the switch. Essentially this should work, but dpkg falls over on sysv-rc - I think this is due to change in dependencies between the versions of sysvinit in woody and sid....
I updated my /etc/apt/sources.list to point to stable and testing as well and tried 'apt-get install sysvinit/testing' getting the same problem and then 'apt-get install sysinit/stable' which solved the problem. This also fixed up all the dependencies so I go then go ahead and upgrade to the unstable version.
Having done this, I was able to 'apt-get --purge remove knoppix*' to remove all the neat little programs like 'soundcardconfig-knoppix' that I no longer need.