Anoying effect of disk transplant -- RPM arch weirdness

Robert Heller · External Since: Sep 13, 2006 Posts: 257

I recently upgraded to a newer laptop: from a Toshiba w/ a Pentium @
133Mhz to a Dell with a PIII @ 700Mhz. Rather than re-install CentOS 4
from scratch, I did a hard disk 'transplant'. The old laptop was a
i586 and the new one is a i686. I have upgraded all of the i586 RPMs
with i686 RPMs (including the kernel). But for some reason, the RPM
database insists that it is still a i586 and complains when I install
i686 kernels unless I use the --ignorearch option. While this is a
minor pain when using rpm directly, it is a major problem with yum,
since yum has no --ignorearch option and this makes updates a problem.

What do I need to do to 'fix' the RPM system so that it sees this laptop
as a i686 system and not a i586 system? (No, I don't want to do a fresh
re-install and re-do all of the upgrades.)

--
Robert Heller -- Get the Deepwoods Software FireFox Toolbar!
Deepwoods Software -- Linux Installation and Administration
http://www.deepsoft.com/ -- Web Hosting, with CGI and Database
heller RemoveThis @deepsoft.com -- Contract Programming: C/C++, Tcl/Tk

Michal Jaegermann · External Since: Jun 06, 2004 Posts: 62

Robert Heller <heller RemoveThis @deepsoft.com> wrote:
> I have upgraded all of the i586 RPMs
> with i686 RPMs (including the kernel).

That is somewhat ambiguous statement. In particular if
kernel is involved. Is this really the case that

grep i586 /var/log/rpmpkgs

does not show anything for that architecture? Run
'/etc/cron.daily/rpm' first if you are not sure if package
listings are uptodate. What is printed by 'uname -m'?

> What do I need to do to 'fix' the RPM system so that it sees this laptop
> as a i686 system and not a i586 system?

yum remove '*.i586'

and make sure that 'package-cleanup --problems' from 'yum-utils'
does not complain. If the above is impossible then first replace
offending packages by i686 equivalents.

You can always manipulate database data using '--justdb' option
to rpm but you have to run i686 kernel.

Michal

Robert Heller · External Since: Sep 13, 2006 Posts: 257

At Wed, 1 Aug 2007 20:26:57 +0000 (UTC) Michal Jaegermann <michal.RemoveThis@gortel.phys.ualberta.ca> wrote:

>
> Robert Heller <heller.RemoveThis@deepsoft.com> wrote:
> > I have upgraded all of the i586 RPMs
> > with i686 RPMs (including the kernel).
>
> That is somewhat ambiguous statement. In particular if
> kernel is involved. Is this really the case that
>
> grep i586 /var/log/rpmpkgs
>
> does not show anything for that architecture? Run
> '/etc/cron.daily/rpm' first if you are not sure if package
> listings are uptodate. What is printed by 'uname -m'?

gollum.deepsoft.com% sudo /etc/cron.daily/rpm
gollum.deepsoft.com% grep i586 /var/log/rpmpkgs
gollum.deepsoft.com% grep i686 /var/log/rpmpkgs
glibc-2.3.4-2.36.i686.rpm
kernel-2.6.12-1.1398_FC4_cubbi1_swsusp2.i686.rpm
kernel-2.6.9-55.0.2.EL.i686.rpm
openssl-0.9.7a-43.16.i686.rpm
gollum.deepsoft.com% uname -m
i686
gollum.deepsoft.com% uname -a
Linux gollum.deepsoft.com 2.6.12-1.1398_FC4_cubbi1_swsusp2 #1 Sat Jul 16 12:52:57 CEST 2005 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
gollum.deepsoft.com% cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : GenuineIntel
cpu family : 6
model : 8
model name : Pentium III (Coppermine)
stepping : 6
cpu MHz : 701.855
cache size : 256 KB
fdiv_bug : no
hlt_bug : no
f00f_bug : no
coma_bug : no
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 2
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 mmx fxsr sse
bogomips : 1392.64

> > What do I need to do to 'fix' the RPM system so that it sees this laptop
> > as a i686 system and not a i586 system?
>
> yum remove '*.i586'
>
> and make sure that 'package-cleanup --problems' from 'yum-utils'
> does not complain. If the above is impossible then first replace
> offending packages by i686 equivalents.

gollum.deepsoft.com% sudo /usr/bin/package-cleanup --problems
Setting up yum
Reading local RPM database
Processing all local requires
Missing dependencies:
Package xapm requires XFree86
Package mplayer-codecs requires mplayer >= 1.0pre7

(Yes, I know about the weirdnesses with xapm and mplayer -- these are
'under control' and just minor issues.)

gollum.deepsoft.com% sudo yum list available kernel
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Available Packages
kernel.i586 2.6.17-1.2142_FC4 FC4-updates-rele

It *should* be listing the kernels in the suspend2 repos!
>
> You can always manipulate database data using '--justdb' option
> to rpm but you have to run i686 kernel.
>

I am running a i686 kernel, I only have i386 and i686 packages, but yum
still seems to think I only have a i586!

I have a i686 print server box (PIII@500MHZ):

smaug2.deepsoft.com% uname -a
Linux smaug2.deepsoft.com 2.6.9-55.EL #1 Wed May 2 13:52:16 EDT 2007
i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
smaug2.deepsoft.com% grep i686 /var/log/rpmpkgs
glibc-2.3.4-2.36.i686.rpm
kernel-2.6.9-34.EL.i686.rpm
kernel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.i686.rpm
kernel-2.6.9-42.0.3.EL.i686.rpm
kernel-2.6.9-42.0.8.EL.i686.rpm
kernel-2.6.9-55.0.2.EL.i686.rpm
kernel-2.6.9-55.EL.i686.rpm
openssl-0.9.7a-43.16.i686.rpm
smaug2.deepsoft.com% grep i586 /var/log/rpmpkgs
smaug2.deepsoft.com% sudo yum list available kernel.i686
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Available Packages
kernel.i686 2.6.17-1.2142_1.rhfc4. suspend2

smaug2.deepsoft.com% cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : GenuineIntel
cpu family : 6
model : 7
model name : Pentium III (Katmai)
stepping : 3
cpu MHz : 501.124
cache size : 512 KB
fdiv_bug : no
hlt_bug : no
f00f_bug : no
coma_bug : no
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 2
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 mmx fxsr sse
bogomips : 1003.60

Where everything behaves properly.

What do I need to do to the database to fix this?

> Michal
>

--
Robert Heller -- Get the Deepwoods Software FireFox Toolbar!
Deepwoods Software -- Linux Installation and Administration
http://www.deepsoft.com/ -- Web Hosting, with CGI and Database
heller.RemoveThis@deepsoft.com -- Contract Programming: C/C++, Tcl/Tk

Michal Jaegermann · External Since: Jun 06, 2004 Posts: 62

Robert Heller <heller.DeleteThis@deepsoft.com> wrote:
>
> gollum.deepsoft.com% sudo /etc/cron.daily/rpm
> gollum.deepsoft.com% grep i586 /var/log/rpmpkgs
> gollum.deepsoft.com% grep i686 /var/log/rpmpkgs
> glibc-2.3.4-2.36.i686.rpm
> kernel-2.6.12-1.1398_FC4_cubbi1_swsusp2.i686.rpm
> kernel-2.6.9-55.0.2.EL.i686.rpm
> openssl-0.9.7a-43.16.i686.rpm

This looks like that you are trying to switch to RHEL or CentOS
(some particular "private" kernel notwithstanding).

>
> gollum.deepsoft.com% sudo yum list available kernel
> Setting up repositories
> Reading repository metadata in from local files
> Available Packages
> kernel.i586 2.6.17-1.2142_FC4 FC4-updates-rele

And that suggests that you did not replace of 'fedora-release' package
with 'centos-release' or 'redhat-release'. Otherwise this looks like a
mess in /etc/yum.repos.d/. "Basic" content of this directory comes in a
corresponding "release" package. It would be a mighty good idea to
clean that up.

> It *should* be listing the kernels in the suspend2 repos!

Are they enabled? Maybe versions are even older than what you
are getting from a long time obsoleted FC4-updates-released?

> I am running a i686 kernel, I only have i386 and i686 packages, but yum
> still seems to think I only have a i586!

Did you try 'yum clean metadata'? Or maybe even more radical
'yum clean all'? Even 'rm -rf /var/cache/yum/*' could be a good
idea after you straightened up what you have in /etc/yum.repos.d/
and possibly in /etc/yum.conf.

Michal

Robert Heller · External Since: Sep 13, 2006 Posts: 257

At Thu, 2 Aug 2007 23:39:59 +0000 (UTC) Michal Jaegermann <michal.RemoveThis@gortel.phys.ualberta.ca> wrote:

>
> Robert Heller <heller.RemoveThis@deepsoft.com> wrote:
> >
> > gollum.deepsoft.com% sudo /etc/cron.daily/rpm
> > gollum.deepsoft.com% grep i586 /var/log/rpmpkgs
> > gollum.deepsoft.com% grep i686 /var/log/rpmpkgs
> > glibc-2.3.4-2.36.i686.rpm
> > kernel-2.6.12-1.1398_FC4_cubbi1_swsusp2.i686.rpm
> > kernel-2.6.9-55.0.2.EL.i686.rpm
> > openssl-0.9.7a-43.16.i686.rpm
>
> This looks like that you are trying to switch to RHEL or CentOS
> (some particular "private" kernel notwithstanding).

No, I have a pretty basic CentOS 4.5 system. It is a Laptop with Apci
and I want to use sysspend2. There are no built CentOS / RHEL 4 kernels
with sysspend2 built in and I am not sure what sort of patch would make
sense with a heavily patched 2.6.9 kernel, so I am using kernels (and
some dependent packages like mkinitrd) for FC4 and a -- FC4 is
reasonably 'close' to RHEL 4.

>
> >
> > gollum.deepsoft.com% sudo yum list available kernel
> > Setting up repositories
> > Reading repository metadata in from local files
> > Available Packages
> > kernel.i586 2.6.17-1.2142_FC4 FC4-updates-rele
>
> And that suggests that you did not replace of 'fedora-release' package
> with 'centos-release' or 'redhat-release'. Otherwise this looks like a
> mess in /etc/yum.repos.d/. "Basic" content of this directory comes in a
> corresponding "release" package. It would be a mighty good idea to
> clean that up.

I *added* (manually) the FC4 repos and a suspend2/fc4 repos to a CentOS
4 /etc/yum.repos.d/ I intend to disable these repos once I get a
working suspend2 kernel.

>
> > It *should* be listing the kernels in the suspend2 repos!
>
> Are they enabled? Maybe versions are even older than what you
> are getting from a long time obsoleted FC4-updates-released?

Yes, they are enabled.

>
>
> > I am running a i686 kernel, I only have i386 and i686 packages, but yum
> > still seems to think I only have a i586!
>
> Did you try 'yum clean metadata'? Or maybe even more radical
> 'yum clean all'? Even 'rm -rf /var/cache/yum/*' could be a good
> idea after you straightened up what you have in /etc/yum.repos.d/
> and possibly in /etc/yum.conf.

Yes, I did a yum clean all, mainly to free up space after upgrading to
CentOS 4.5.

>
> Michal
>

--
Robert Heller -- Get the Deepwoods Software FireFox Toolbar!
Deepwoods Software -- Linux Installation and Administration
http://www.deepsoft.com/ -- Web Hosting, with CGI and Database
heller.RemoveThis@deepsoft.com -- Contract Programming: C/C++, Tcl/Tk

Scott Lurndal · External Since: Oct 20, 2004 Posts: 82

Robert Heller <heller.DeleteThis@deepsoft.com> writes:

>No, I have a pretty basic CentOS 4.5 system. It is a Laptop with Apci
>and I want to use sysspend2. There are no built CentOS / RHEL 4 kernels
>with sysspend2 built in and I am not sure what sort of patch would make
>sense with a heavily patched 2.6.9 kernel, so I am using kernels (and
>some dependent packages like mkinitrd) for FC4 and a -- FC4 is
>reasonably 'close' to RHEL 4.

Only in that both end in the digit 4. RHEL4 is a 2.6.9 kernel base,
and FC4 is a 2.6.15 kernel. There are some fairly significant changes
between the two.

scott

Michal Jaegermann · External Since: Jun 06, 2004 Posts: 62

Robert Heller <heller.TakeThisOut@deepsoft.com> wrote:
>
> No, I have a pretty basic CentOS 4.5 system. It is a Laptop with Apci
> and I want to use sysspend2. There are no built CentOS / RHEL 4 kernels
> with sysspend2 built in and I am not sure what sort of patch would make
> sense with a heavily patched 2.6.9 kernel, so I am using kernels (and
> some dependent packages like mkinitrd) for FC4 and a -- FC4 is
> reasonably 'close' to RHEL 4.

For some value of "reasonably"...

> I *added* (manually) the FC4 repos and a suspend2/fc4 repos to a CentOS
> 4 /etc/yum.repos.d/

Are you sure that you do not have 'i586' spelled out somewhere in these
additions of yours?

If you are hacking things that way then I would think that
an explicit 'exclude=*.i586' in /etc/yum.conf should solve the issue.

>> > It *should* be listing the kernels in the suspend2 repos!
>>
>> Are they enabled? Maybe versions are even older than what you
>> are getting from a long time obsoleted FC4-updates-released?
>
> Yes, they are enabled.

You still have this second possibility. Some of these packages
may have "epoch" enabled making determination of which is newer
even more "interesting". It could be that what you are seeing
is "the newest" in some sense. Hard to tell with outside repos.
You can always retrieve rpm packages and look closer. Otherwise
this is just guessing.

Michal