Thunderbird Install "Catch-22"

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1

Hello:

Running KDE 4.8.5 on openSUSE 12.2 Linux 3.4.11-2.16-desktop x86_64 KDE 4.8.5 (4.8.5) “release 2”
AMD Athlon™ II X4 640 Processor - Video = C61 [GeForce 7025/nForce 630a]:

I have a bad install of Mozilla Thunderbird 17.02.2-49.27.2-x86_64 from Yast2 and am trying to uninstall to start over from scratch. Here’s what I have run into - I’m a noob in this area, and am totally stumped:

Zypper search of installed packages for “thunderbird”:


THISBOX:~ # zypper se thunderbird
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

S | Name                                   | Summary                        | Type
--+----------------------------------------+--------------------------------+-----------
i | MozillaThunderbird                     | The Stand-Alone Mozilla Mail-> | package
  | MozillaThunderbird                     | The Stand-Alone Mozilla Mail-> | srcpackage
  | MozillaThunderbird-buildsymbols        | Breakpad buildsymbols for Mo-> | package
  | MozillaThunderbird-debuginfo           | Debug information for packag-> | package
  | MozillaThunderbird-debugsource         | Debug sources for package Mo-> | package
  | MozillaThunderbird-devel               | Mozilla Thunderbird SDK        | package
  | MozillaThunderbird-devel-debuginfo     | Debug information for packag-> | package
  | MozillaThunderbird-translations-common | Common translations for Mozi-> | package
  | MozillaThunderbird-translations-other  | Extra translations for Mozil-> | package
i | tracker-miner-thunderbird              | Tracker miner to index Thund-> | package
THISBOX:~ #

which shows the “tracker-miner-thunderbird”, a dependency when installing Thunderbird.
I tried uninstalling thunderbird, which should also uninstall the “tracker”:


max@THISBOX:~> sudo zypper rm thunderbird
root's password:
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
'thunderbird' not found in package names. Trying capabilities.
Resolving package dependencies...

The following packages are going to be REMOVED:
  MozillaThunderbird tracker-miner-thunderbird

2 packages to remove.
After the operation, 48.1 MiB will be freed.
Continue? [y/n/?] (y): y
Removing tracker-miner-thunderbird-0.14.2-1.4.2 .................................[error]
Removal of (52459)tracker-miner-thunderbird-0.14.2-1.4.2.x86_64(@System) failed:
Error: Subprocess failed. Error: RPM failed: error: package tracker-miner-thunderbird-0.14.2-1.4.2.x86_64 is not installed

Abort, retry, ignore? [a/r/i] (a): a
Problem occured during or after installation or removal of packages:
Installation aborted by user

Please see the above error message for a hint.
max@THISBOX:~>

So “packages” are “installed” when searched for. Uninstalling thunderbird did not uninstall the “tracker” because it is already “uninstalled”, but when I look for “information” on thunderbird…


max@THISBOX:~> sudo zypper if MozillaThunderbird
root's password:
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

Information for package MozillaThunderbird:

Repository: openSUSE-12.2-Update
Name: MozillaThunderbird
Version: 17.0.2-49.27.2
Arch: x86_64
Vendor: openSUSE
Installed: Yes
Status: up-to-date
Installed Size: 48.1 MiB
Summary: The Stand-Alone Mozilla Mail Component
Description:
Mozilla Thunderbird is a redesign of the Mozilla Mail component. It is
written using the XUL user interface language and designed to be
cross-platform. It is a stand-alone application instead of part of the
Mozilla application suite.
max@THISBOX:~>

and “tracker-miner-thunderbird”…


max@THISBOX:~> sudo zypper if tracker-miner-thunderbird
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

Information for package tracker-miner-thunderbird:

Repository: openSUSE-12.2-Update
Name: tracker-miner-thunderbird
Version: 0.14.2-1.4.2
Arch: x86_64
Vendor: openSUSE
Installed: Yes
Status: up-to-date
Installed Size: 29.5 KiB
Summary: Tracker miner to index Thunderbird mails
Description:
Tracker is a powerful desktop-neutral first class object
database, tag/metadata database, search tool and indexer.

This package contains a Thunderbird extension that will index
Thunderbird mails.
max@THISBOX:~>

They are both “Installed”.
Checking repo data, zypper wants to uninstall whatever it finds in order to resolve verification:


THISBOX:~ # zypper ve
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

The following package is going to be REMOVED:
  tracker-miner-thunderbird

1 package to remove.
After the operation, 29.5 KiB will be freed.
Some of the dependencies of installed packages are broken. In order to fix these dependencies, the following actions need to be taken:
Continue? [y/n/?] (y): y
Removing tracker-miner-thunderbird-0.14.2-1.4.2 .................................[error]
Removal of (52459)tracker-miner-thunderbird-0.14.2-1.4.2.x86_64(@System) failed:
Error: Subprocess failed. Error: RPM failed: error: package tracker-miner-thunderbird-0.14.2-1.4.2.x86_64 is not installed

Abort, retry, ignore? [a/r/i] (a): a
Problem occured during or after installation or removal of packages:
Installation aborted by user

Please see the above error message for a hint.
THISBOX:~ #



THISBOX:~ # zypper in tracker-miner-thunderbird
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
'tracker-miner-thunderbird' is already installed.
No update candidate for 'tracker-miner-thunderbird-0.14.2-1.4.2.x86_64'. The highest available version is already installed.
Resolving package dependencies...

Nothing to do.
THISBOX:~ #

So they both show as “Installed” and “Uninstalled” - I think. This thing has me so confused that I don’t know WHAT it’s saying anymore. Since I can’t seem to “uninstall” these “installed” programs, I decided to try “IN-stalling” them again so as to give it something to “UN-install”:


max@THISBOX:~> sudo zypper in MozillaThunderbird
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
'MozillaThunderbird' is already installed.
No update candidate for 'MozillaThunderbird-17.0.2-49.27.2.x86_64'. The highest available version is already installed.
Resolving package dependencies...

Nothing to do.
max@THISBOX:~>

It’s a long post, I know, but I’m going nuts. It’s “Catch-22” - (or Schroedinger’s cat?) - I can’t install it, can’t uninstall it, can’t run it, and am dead in the water. Anyone know what I can do to get Thunderbird running again?

Thanks to anyone who can shed light…

2

Open Yast Software Management
Find Thunderbird
Right click and either install or if already checked, do ‘update’, which should re-install it
You can do the same with the tracker package too if needed.

3

On 01/14/2013 06:46 AM, Maximillium wrote:
> I can’t install it, can’t uninstall it, can’t run
> it, and am dead in the water. Anyone know what I can do to get
> Thunderbird running again?

when/how/why did it stop running?
that is, why did you start the uninstall/reinstall process??

was it running one day, and then not on the next? if so, was it right
after an upgrade moving to 17.0.2-49?

if so (and if CAF’s direction to ‘update’ with YaST doesn’t fix it) you
can try opening YaST Software Management, search on Thunderbird, then
click the versions tab and choose the previous version, and accept
(which should uninstall the presently installed version and go back to
the previous (and working) version…

–
dd http://tinyurl.com/DD-Caveat

4

Thanks, caf - trying that now.
Is there a way to delete the other post, labeled “Today, 21:43”? It took so long for the server to respond that with me hammering the “send” button, it got in twice.

5

Is there a way to delete the other post, labeled “Today, 21:43”?
Sorry, what exactly…

6

Found and deleted

7

Thankee kindly

8

I usually clear browser cahce when submission becomes slow

9

It was all me. I was installing clean into a new (blank) drive and got confused in the Linux file system, blew away years of emails and goodies. Trying now to install T-bird into ONE drive, with the other drives unmounted, and just have it working. Color me frustrated and real early in the learning curve…

10

On 01/14/2013 07:56 AM, Maximillium wrote:
> blew away years of emails and goodies …real early in the learning curve…

wellllll…hope you still have all your goodies safe in an off machine
backup…

as long as you are in the learning curve (and it IS steep) it will
remain useful (and wise) to backup before installing a new system, and
more often than that…just to be safe…i mean you never know when a
drive is gonna quit…

that is advice i follow…and, i’ve been in the Linux learning curve
since about '98 . . .

–
dd

11

On 2013-01-14 06:46, Maximillium wrote:
> It’s a long post, I know, but I’m going nuts. It’s “Catch-22” - (or
> Schroedinger’s cat?) - I can’t install it, can’t uninstall it, can’t run
> it, and am dead in the water. Anyone know what I can do to get
> Thunderbird running again?

I didn’t read it all, I confess, but in these cases I resort to “rpm”
directly. For example:


rpm -qa | grep -i thunderbird

Will tell you exactly which packages with thunderbirdin the name are
installed. Then you can uninstall any. You can also use options like
“–nodeps” to force the issue when a package refuses because it depens
on other package.

–
Cheers/Saludos
Carlos E. R. (12.1 test at Minas-Anor)

12

That seemed to do it, although was only the most recent time I tried it. This time, however, I chose “update unconditionally”

I’ll have to remember that “–nodeps” too.

Email sent to the cosmic bit-bucket was because of my lingering unfamiliarity with the linux file system in the file manager - things just look different than the way it’s done in Winders, and many things look exactly the same as many other things (in linux). I simply blew away the wrong same-looking item. (Sigh…)

My problems now don’t fit this particular thread, so I’ll consider this “solved”, probably see you in again another one somewhere.

Thanks, guys!