Fix Broken Packages (SOLVED)

[Fornhamfred]

My MInt update is showing 33 updates but when I try to install I am getting the message: Could not apply changes Fix broken packages first.

I have looked in synaptic and it is not showing any broken packages.

I am running LMDE 32 with the Mint update set at level three. I use this as my system is used for work and I need a stable distro, which to date has been very effective.

If I change the preferences there are 21 updates in 4 & 5 which I have not applied.

I can see in the forum that there have been problems with 10 but is this the same issue?

[viking777]

It is almost certainly the same problem. (the problems I am thinking about do relate to LMDE not to Mint 10)

If you need your system for work make sure that you have a Clonezilla disk image (or two) NOW.

Do this first (if you haven't already) then you can mess around with the updates.

Of course there are two main 'problem' threads with LMDE at the moment, one relates to freezing after the 'big update' and the other relates to a problem with vlc media player and libva1, I am assuming you are referring to the latter which is not quite as serious as the first. To fix the latter you just 'pin' libva1 in synaptic and wait for it to be fixed.

[anzan]

Just run

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

and that will clear it. There was something faerked up about some of the servers and the mint packages.

[rivenathos]

There is one package that is gumming up the works. I went through the list, installed each package individually, and read the output of what was going to happen. The "libva1" package is what is in flux right now. If you force that package, it will remove VLC. Ignore that one package and update the others. Soon enough, that libva1 package will get "fixed" and then it will update properly. Things such as this happened with both Lenny and Squeeze during the testing period in which I participated. It comes as part of the deal.

Yes, you can downgrade to Stable or upgrade to Unstable for that package on a temporary basis, but if you wait a few days, this will get itself worked out. With Testing, these tiny glitches are going to pop up every so often. A good practice is to NOT upgrade everything without reading the output of what the result will be. Running Testing is easy, but it is not flying on autopilot.

Edited to correct a typo. Changed libav1 to libva1.

[viking777]

Running Testing is easy, but it is not flying on autopilot.

Well said.

[Fornhamfred]

Thanks

By reading the output I assume you mean the description.

I have ignored the package Libva1 and the rest of the packages installed OK.

I would like to do a disk image of my system but have not used Clonezilla before, are there any simple instructions for cloning?

[viking777]

Try this:

http://linuxgravity.com/creating-and-restoring-an-image-of-hard-disk-with-clonzilla

[Fornhamfred]

Thanks for your help.

A very good tutorial.

[CiaW]

Just run

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

and that will clear it. There was something faerked up about some of the servers and the mint packages.

That will clear the error message about broken packages, but it will also remove VLC. For me, removing a perfectly good VLC which I use somewhat regularly isn't an option. I'd prefer to live with the error message and use upgrade (as opposed to dist-upgrade) in a terminal until the VLC issue gets sorted out. Mint update won't work in the meantime, but I can live with that...

Edit: I should have read the rest of the thread -- Rivenathos' reply clarified and gave good information about the issue.