Broken libc6 running Sid (multiarch sytem)

[Mark Allums]

I messed up real good! I foolishly tried to upgrade my libc6 to the
version in experimental, and the i386 version wouldn't install,
something about lintian overrides. (Why lintian is even installed is a
mystery. I don't need it, and with the current state of the broken
libc6, I cant uninstall it.) I decided to fix it by downgrading libc,
et al, back to Testing/Sid. Now, libc6-amd64 package won't downgrade,
something about overwriting a file (not like other versions of same
package, duh.) I downloaded the amd64 libc6 .deb from Testing and
attempted to use dpkg to forcibly install it, but I guess I don't
understand the man page about forcing things, cause it won't work. The
following is some of my thrashing around, trying to understand and fix it.

I'm no guru, what do?

Mark Allums



root@martha:/home/george/Desktop# apt -f install

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libc-dev-bin : Depends: libc6 (< 2.34) but 2.34-0experimental1 is
installed
libc6 : Breaks: locales (< 2.34) but 2.33-1 is installed
Breaks: libc6:i386 (!= 2.34-0experimental1) but 2.33-1 is
installed
libc6:i386 : Breaks: libc6 (!= 2.33-1) but 2.34-0experimental1 is
installed
libc6-dbg : Depends: libc6 (= 2.33-1) but 2.34-0experimental1 is installed
libc6-dev : Depends: libc6 (= 2.33-1) but 2.34-0experimental1 is installed
libc6-i386 : Depends: libc6 (= 2.33-1) but 2.34-0experimental1 is
installed
libc6-x32 : Depends: libc6 (= 2.33-1) but 2.34-0experimental1 is installed
E: Error, pkgProblemResolver::Resolve generated breaks, this may be
caused by held packages.
E: Unable to correct dependencies



root@martha:/home/george/Desktop# aptitude
Performing actions...
Preconfiguring packages ...
dpkg: warning: downgrading libc6:amd64 from 2.34-0experimental1 to 2.33-1
(Reading database ... 2712532 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../libc6_2.33-1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libc6:amd64 (2.33-1) over (2.34-0experimental1) ...
dpkg: error processing archive
/var/cache/apt/archives/libc6_2.33-1_amd64.deb (--unpack):
trying to overwrite shared '/usr/share/doc/libc6/NEWS.gz', which is
different from other instances of package libc6:amd64
dpkg-deb: error: paste subprocess was killed by signal (Broken pipe)

<snippage of irrelevancies>

Errors were encountered while processing:
/var/cache/apt/archives/libc6_2.33-1_amd64.deb

libc6-dbg:amd64
libc6-x32
libc6-dev-x32
libc6:amd64
libc6-i386
libc6-dev:amd64
libc-dev-bin
libc-devtools
libc6-dev-i386
libc-bin
locales
nscd
man-db



root@martha:/home/george/Desktop# apt list | grep libc6

WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in
scripts.

libc6-amd64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-amd64-i386-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-amd64-x32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-amd64/testing,unstable 2.33-1 i386
libc6-arm64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-armel-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-armhf-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dbg/testing,unstable,now 2.33-1 amd64 [installed]
libc6-dbg/testing,unstable 2.33-1 i386
libc6-dev-amd64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-amd64-i386-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-amd64-x32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-amd64/testing,unstable 2.33-1 i386
libc6-dev-arm64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-armel-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-armhf-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-hppa-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-i386-amd64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-i386-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-i386-x32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-i386/testing,unstable,now 2.33-1 amd64 [installed]
libc6-dev-m68k-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips32-mips64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips32-mips64el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips32-mips64r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips32-mips64r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips32-mipsn32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips32-mipsn32el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips32-mipsn32r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips32-mipsn32r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64-mips-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64-mipsel-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64-mipsn32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64-mipsn32el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64-mipsn32r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64-mipsn32r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64-mipsr6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64-mipsr6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mips64r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsel-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32-mips-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32-mips64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32-mips64el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32-mips64r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32-mips64r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32-mipsel-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32-mipsr6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32-mipsr6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsn32r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsr6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-mipsr6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-powerpc-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-powerpc-ppc64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-ppc64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-ppc64-powerpc-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-ppc64el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-riscv64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-s390-s390x-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-s390x-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-sh4-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-sparc-sparc64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-sparc64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-x32-amd64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-x32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-x32-i386-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-dev-x32/testing,unstable,now 2.33-1 amd64 [installed]
libc6-dev-x32/testing,unstable 2.33-1 i386
libc6-dev/testing,unstable,now 2.33-1 amd64 [installed]
libc6-dev/testing,unstable 2.33-1 i386
libc6-hppa-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-i386-amd64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-i386-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-i386-x32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-i386/testing,unstable,now 2.33-1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
libc6-m68k-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips32-mips64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips32-mips64el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips32-mips64r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips32-mips64r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips32-mipsn32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips32-mipsn32el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips32-mipsn32r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips32-mipsn32r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64-mips-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64-mipsel-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64-mipsn32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64-mipsn32el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64-mipsn32r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64-mipsn32r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64-mipsr6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64-mipsr6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mips64r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsel-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32-mips-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32-mips64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32-mips64el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32-mips64r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32-mips64r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32-mipsel-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32-mipsr6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32-mipsr6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32r6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsn32r6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsr6-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-mipsr6el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-powerpc-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-powerpc-ppc64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-ppc64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-ppc64-powerpc-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-ppc64el-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-riscv64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-s390-s390x-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-s390x-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-sh4-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-sparc-sparc64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-sparc64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-x32-amd64-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-x32-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-x32-i386-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6-x32/testing,unstable,now 2.33-1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
libc6-x32/testing,unstable 2.33-1 i386
libc6-xen/stable 2.31-13+deb11u2 i386
libc6.1-alpha-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6.1-dev-alpha-cross/unstable,unstable 2.33-1cross1 all
libc6/experimental,now 2.34-0experimental1 amd64 [installed]
libc6/testing,unstable,now 2.33-1 i386 [installed]



root@martha:/home/george/Desktop# dpkg -i --force-depends
--force-conflicts "libc6_2.33-1_amd64 (1).deb"
dpkg: warning: downgrading libc6:amd64 from 2.34-0experimental1 to 2.33-1
(Reading database ... 2712532 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack libc6_2.33-1_amd64 (1).deb ...
Unpacking libc6:amd64 (2.33-1) over (2.34-0experimental1) ...
dpkg: error processing archive libc6_2.33-1_amd64 (1).deb (--install):
trying to overwrite shared '/usr/share/doc/libc6/NEWS.gz', which is
different from other instances of package libc6:amd64
dpkg-deb: error: paste subprocess was killed by signal (Broken pipe)
Errors were encountered while processing:
libc6_2.33-1_amd64 (1).deb
root@martha:/home/george/Desktop#

[Tim Woodall]

On Sat, 18 Dec 2021, Mark Allums wrote:


> Preparing to unpack .../libc6_2.33-1_amd64.deb ...
> Unpacking libc6:amd64 (2.33-1) over (2.34-0experimental1) ...
> dpkg: error processing archive /var/cache/apt/archives/libc6_2.33-1_amd64.deb
> (--unpack):
> trying to overwrite shared '/usr/share/doc/libc6/NEWS.gz', which is
> different from other instances of package libc6:amd64

I'd delete that file and try again. (move it to the side if it's
something you might want to consult)

[Andrei POPESCU]

According to my understanding of the manpage it should work with an
added '--force-overwrite'.

Kind regards,
Andrei
--
http://wiki.debian.org/FAQsFromDebianUser

[Mark Allums]

Thanks. I'll try that soonest. I'll let everybody know.

Mark Allums

[Mark Allums]

It worked, with lots of warnings. I did overlook the option
--force-overwrite in the man page. Once I got the main libc6 squared
away, I ran the interactive Aptitude and let the solver correct the
other libc6-related packages, and also removed lintian, as I am not a
package maintainer. Everything is now cleared up.

I am running Bookworm, with some Sid packages (or Sid with some Bookworm
packages, if you prefer.) I do occasionally install a new NVIDIA driver
or kernel from experimental, and I currently have installed gcc-12 for
the heck of it. If I depended on this machine for a main system (aka
production), I of course wouldn't do this. I installed the new libc6 as
a lark, but since it is an essential package and since I am not a
maintainer, I should not have done so.

Thanks Andrei, for your perusal of the man page on my behalf.

Mark Allums