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DON'T GET THE LATEST XFREE86


chris z
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NOTE: the following issue only seems to affect MDK9.1. if you are using a version of MDK other than 9.1, you should be okay with the XFree86 security update, AFAIK.

 

i just ran MDK update. it said there were 2 XFree86 security related upgrades.

 

xfree86-4.3-8.4.91mdk

xfree86-devel-4.3-8.4.91mdk

 

i did the xfree86 first. it told me before it could install, it needed to remove xfree86-server. i thought that's weird, but maybe a new version is part of the package. WRONG!!!!

 

i then tried to install the devel package, but it told me i was missing xfree86=libs-4.3-8.4.91 & that it couldn't install. so i searched via urpmi for the libs, but they weren't found anywhere. went to rpmfind, they didn't have them. went to the xfree86 web site. couldn't find them there, either! so i cancelled the install of that.

 

i rebooted to see what might happen. well, you can prolly guess what happened. no xfree86 server, no startx!!!

 

i had to urpmi from terminal, uninstall the "upgrade" for xfree86, then install the older version from cd1 & the server along with it.

 

has anybody else tried this update? if so, did you have the same poblems? if you didn't try this, anybody wanna try & verify that this wasn't just some weirdness on my end?

 

let me know, please........

 

Chris

Edited by chris z
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I sincerely hope that they are releasing all the rpm's and that you were just a little too early. But, Mandrake has done some unusual things in the past!

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tried it again for shits & giggles. same result. something is really f'd up with this update. give it a whirl to see what i mean. you don't even have to install. just go for the xfree86 & watch when it tells you it needs to remove xfree86-server. same with the devel. you won't even be able to install it 'cause you don't have the libs & they're not part of the updates. :screwy:

 

Chris

Edited by chris z
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What the f... is Mandrake doing with this 'security' update ? :furious3:

I installed it this afternoon. When restarting my PC tonight, I got an 'execve error 2' when calling startx! found that the /etc/X11/X symbolic link was dead because.... /usr/X11/bin/XFree86 was no longer there! Great! Went to MandrakeClub, where nobody seems to have noticed.

 

Just like Chris Z, I had to do a "downgrade" of all XFree86* packages from CD1, using plain terminal urpmi. I suspect the xfree86-4.3-8.4.91mdk update deleted parts of XFree86-server and/or XFree86-server-common rpms.

 

. :wall:

Edited by Pierre Baco
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well call me old school but why is X in Security Updates? I understand the security aspect, I guess, but that's not something one should be clicking buttons and installing gui anyway. That's one of those, have all your ducks in a row, do from init3, and be ready for it not to work, no? :screwy: Only experience users usually do it no why in MU?.... :screwy: .....that's why. :deal:

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Guest kuchwas

I just have to say you guys amaze me. I've been holding this in for some time, but it finally needs to be said, at least for me....

 

On the one hand, you talk about how bad windows is, and how you love the power of linux and its open source benefits, and want to get more friends to linux, even Mandrake.

 

On the other hand, you complain about Mandrake at every turn. Nothing Mandrake does is ok with you, from new versions, to security updates, to soundcards, to modems, to games, ad nauseum.

 

If I was a newbie, thinking about trying Linux, I would never do so, especially not Mandrake, based on the general tone of posts on this board. Sad, isn't it?

 

Like BVC states, be careful, be ready, don't do X upgrades in X. X sttuff is in Security updates, since there is only one "updates" source. I agree with you, but there is some user responsibility here too, from initial install, to any update.

 

Besides, all you have to do is disable your updates source in urpmi, and reinstall all X rpms from the main feed, or your original media. 'urpme XFree___ --force"

 

And do yourself a favor, don't ever try running Cooker, since your mind set will NOT accept the bleeding edge development. Maybe 9.1 is the best version to run? Move to 9.2 after 10.2 comes out.

 

asbestos suit=on

:end:

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Although I still use Mandrake 9.2, I no longer recommend it as a first distribution for anybody. By the same token, I do not dissuade people who want to use it either. For those on the fence I suggest that they first try Knoppix and if it suits them, they can go on and look at many of the available products and choose the one that seems to suite their needs the best. Often the easiest is to do a hard drive install of Knoppix creating Debian, and by so doing, enter the world of the most stable distribution (and one of the most difficult) to be had. Mandrake had a chance to enter that world by enabling a hard drive install of MandrakeMove from the download version but once again they have blown an opportunity to be back up with the recommendations to use Knoppix and other live cd's as test beds before install and repair disks for any distribution.

 

The people posting in this forum have stayed in there through thick and thin despite error-filled releases and poor quality control as described by OS News. The fact that they lay out all kinds of precautions, warnings, and workarounds has not diminished their commitment to Mandrake (as opposed to Mandrakesoft) and this forum serves as a signficant resource to the Linux user community for what they do here. They have created additional resources such as the download area and once committed to Mandrake, one does not need to go far for support for any problem.

 

I left regular posting here and found another forum which suited me better as a regular poster, in part because I wanted a distribution that worked out of the box. Others post both here and there. You will find that the same warnings, some taken from here, are the currency there as well. With the changing landscape involving major distributions, interest in Mandrake has increased and the work done here has increased in its importance. It is not until you balance Mandrake against many other distributions that its lost potential to be the top distribution comes home directly.

 

Often there is a short sightedness regarding the history represented here as the contributors to this forum solve the problems to make Mandrake a better distribution in particular and as a consequence strengthening the Linux community as a whole. This is how we keep Linux free software by putting back what we take out. I think you missed that in your post. Drop by http://www.linuxiso.org and see a different view of the Linux world.

 

Counterspy

Edited by Counterspy
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Hmmmm... I do my updates with

 

urpmi.update -a

urpmi --auto --auto-select

 

and I just did that just now and I got XFree86-4.3-24.1.92mdk as an update, not XFree86-4.3-8.4.91mdk. No problems at all. I've stopped trusting Mandrake Update ever since the last time I tried to use it, it uninstalled drakxtools before it upgraded anything and then couldn't upgrade anything since drakxtools wasn't installed.

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just an update on this topic. it seems the situation is resolved. i used mandrake update to get the latest X. it picked up XFree86-4.3-24.1.92mdk plus the corosponding X server. it did not uninstall the old X. the only problem i had was my sound was muted. that took about 2 seconds to fix.

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I just have to say you guys amaze me.  I've been holding this in for some time, but it finally needs to be said, at least for me....

 

On the one hand, you talk about how bad windows is, and how you love the power of linux and its open source benefits, and want to get more friends to linux, even Mandrake.

 

On the other hand, you complain about Mandrake at every turn.  Nothing Mandrake does is ok with you, from new versions, to security updates, to soundcards, to modems, to games, ad nauseum.

Who's complaining "at every turn" and "ad nauseum" here ? Me ? I thought this forum was a place for Mandrake users to share their experiences with Mandrake Linux and get help from expert users. I did not realize I commited a crime when posting about a stupid problem in a security update.

 

If I was a newbie, thinking about trying Linux, I would never do so, especially not Mandrake, based on the general tone of posts on this board.  Sad, isn't it?

Oh, sorry, Master. But this did not stop me to switch, step by step, to linux three years ago. Are we supposed to show an eternal smile on our peaceful faces to keep the rest of the world unaware of the little bugs we encounter from time to time ? Mandrake has its flaws, like any other platform, and when there's a big one (like a security update breaking X), I'd rather inform the 'newbies' about it than keeeping my mouth shut.

 

Like BVC states, be careful, be ready, don't do X upgrades in X.  X sttuff is in Security updates, since there is only one "updates" source.  I agree with you, but there is some user responsibility here too, from initial install, to any update.

Who said I used MandrakeUpdate ? I don't. I prefer to use urpmi from command line so you can see exactly what's going on. And btw, urpmi did not complain when installing the update. When you receive a msg about a "security update" from your preferred Linux editor, you're supposed to trust him no? Unless you test all updates on a sandbox machine. Unfortunately, my other PC runs Debian...

Besides, all you have to do is disable your updates source in urpmi, and reinstall all X rpms from the main feed, or your original media.  'urpme XFree___ --force"

What do you think we did ? Format+reinstall from scratch ?

And do yourself a favor, don't ever try running Cooker, since your mind set will NOT accept the bleeding edge development.  Maybe 9.1 is the best version to run?  Move to 9.2 after 10.2 comes out.

If I was a real newbie, that's the kind of comment that would convince me to stay with Windows...Makes me feel very stupid and ignorant, trying to enter a world reserved to arrogant gurus.

 

:angry:

Edited by Pierre Baco
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man...... i didn't mean to set off a bomb here! all i wanted to do was try to prevent others from getting this update, because it was obviously screwed up. seeing that they now have a different xfree version in the update along with the neccessary server package telles me that MDK recognized that, were on their toes, & fixed the goof quickly. it was by no means intended to slam MDK or Linux, nor did i even feel that way. it was just a buggered update, plain & simple, & i wanted to try to prevent others from having any headaches because of it. i mean, imagine if somebody who has little or no command line experience would have gotten this update, only to be faced with a black screen, blinking curser, & some errors scrolling by upon their next boot up? you probably would have had a flood of panicked people posting from Windows saying that all of a sudden they can't boot to their desktops & don't know what to do. in retrospect, maybe the CAPS i used in the topic was a bit excessive, but i just wanted to catch folks attention. i love my MDK, i have no gripes with it or with the MDK folks, or Linux in general. sorry if i came off that way, but that truly isn't the case.

 

peace all,

 

Chris

Edited by chris z
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chris z,

 

you did fine, and the right thing. this is something that we should keep an eye on. this is something that MDK users in general need to know. our ability to troubleshoot only goes to assist newbies. if we werent advised of a situation, how can we help others? how can we have a fix for it? maybe some feel by sticking our heads in the sand, we can be more productive, but sticking our heads in the sand is not productive. denial is never the answer. complaining doesnt help either, but then you didnt complain, just advised of a problem. as true to form, the "community" had this problem fixed in a matter of hours. would M$ have done that? nope.

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ummm.......

 

Linux_Learner..........i just checked updates & the same bad one is still listed for MDK9.1, which is what i'm running. i'm guessing you must be running 9.2. so, i'd still have to say, if anybody is running 9.1 & sees the update version of Xfree86 that i referenced in the first post of this thread, stay away from it, or at least proceed with caution.

 

Chris

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i knew someone in #mandrake that also noticed this. yes i do run 9.2. perhaps adding cooker to your sources and using "install Software" in this case would work. proceed with caution, and keep us posted.

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