7.2.0.apt-get upgrade failure

[stoneguy]

installed 7.2.0 persistent (unencrypted) to 8GB USB key on 32-bit system.

Booted from key, did apt-get update && apt-get upgrade

Upgrade fails with:
Preparing to replace libc6:i386 2.17-5 (using libc6_2.17-7_i386.deb) ...
A copy of the C library was found in an unexpected directory: '/UNIONFS/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libc-2.17.so' It is not safe to upgrade the C library in this situation;
please remove that copy of the C library or get it out of
'/UNIONFS/lib/i386-linux-gnu' and try again.

[Werner P. Schulz]

http://knoppix.net/wiki/HD_Install_Warning_not_to_do_it

[zundel]

Start with a fresh install

Edit /etc/apt/sources.list

Change de to your country

Decide if you want to use Debian stable, testing, or experimental,
pick one,
and comment out (put a # in front off) the others

Your mileage may vary

[Werner P. Schulz]

Did you ever tested your suggestion with Knoppix 7.2.0?

[zundel]

Did you ever tested your suggestion with Knoppix 7.2.0?

Yes.
Works so far.
Allows apt-get update and upgrade, etc.
Will probably break at some point, but it solves my needs for now.

I need a rescue system that boots quickly from usb flash.
I need a clean and fast working environment.
I need to build and modify the tool kit using apt.

Building from Knoppix took too long.
But building from Debian standard or CrunchBang would have probably taken longer and booted slower.

Know of a great little live distro with superb hardware detection, fast booting, persistence, Openbox, and little else?

[utu]

@ stoneguy & zundel.

I'd like to emphasize Werner's comment. Knoppix 7.2 IS the latest upgrade of Knoppix. It won't be further upgraded simply by upgrading Synaptic or Aptitude, and may more likely be DE-graded by so doing. This was elegantly described by the section that Werner posted earlier:

Why not upgrade Knoppix?

This mixing of different versions works out great for a Live CD/DVD where everything has been tested to work together well. It does not work out so well when you take that combination of carefully tested and balanced (and maybe hacked to fit) software and install it to hard disk, particularly if you ever install anything else or try to update or upgrade any of the current packages. That makes the package manager do things that it is not intended to do with parts taken from the different versions.

It's the same with "KNOPPIX flash disk install". If you ever try to upgrade the whole installation, you'll run in trouble because of violated dependicies and in the end your system is broken. If ever needed you can try to upgrade some packages step by step using aptitude and his options (read "man aptitude" about the possible options).

If you are a hard core experienced Linux user, then the advice to not install Knoppix to hard drive or to upgrade may not be for you. Such people may have the experience to resolve these problems and may enjoy the challenge of taking a version of Linux from a Live CD and putting it on a hard disk. But installing Knoppix to hard disk is not advised for the average user.

The good news is that Debian and many other distros intended for install to hard disk have improved their installers greatly since Knoppix first came out. But unfortunately many people tend to look at Knoppix as the first version of Linux that they ever get running on their system and then are not willing to look any farther when they decide to install Linux to their hard disk, and are not willing to listen to the warnings, particularly when they hear that there is a "KNOPPIX HD install".

It is sometimes said that Knoppix, once installed to disk, basically becomes "Debian". This is an unfortunate statement that I believe is often taken out of context. For people who have decided to install Knoppix anyway and have managed to get it working, then indeed Knoppix is sort of Debian since it is based on Debian, and you can turn to the Debian resources for answers to your questions (although the Debian forums are well aware of the Knoppix problems and usually will refuse to support a Knoppix on hard disk install). But it would be a disservice to users to suggest that when you use the "KNOPPIX HD install" script then you have what you would have if you had installed Debian.

-----------------------------
@ zundel

Know of a great little live distro with superb hardware detection, fast booting, persistence, Openbox, and little else?

Your question is off-thread, but you might take a look at Porteus 2.1 Razor-qt which has some nice ideas and some interesting minimalist configurations. Porteus wifi hardware recognition is slightly poorer than Knoppix in regard to Broadcom IMO, and I'd not choose to use its minimized OpenOffice.