[Fink-beginners] Xfree86 update

[Eric Dufour]

I am really worried...

Two days I found that I could update my Xfree86-base package to a newer version & did it. The process ran overnight and next morning installation was finished & looked OK.
Then started the problem : fink is now pretending that I have no Xfree86-base package installed at all. When I do :"fink list" Xfree86-base is showed as not installed AND all the packages depending on an existing Xfree86-base ask me to install Xfree86-base system-Xfree86 or system-Xtools.

First I have to say that even after this Xfree86-base srtange installation my X11 server/client still run perfectly, I have, just now, an opened rootless x-session with gnome running window manager and nautilus. Everything works perfectly (well let�s say the only problems are really details...).
But most of the updates ask me to fulfill this impossible dependencies problem. I tried to solve the problem in few ways:

1) I tried to re-install Xfree86-base, it failed

The following additional package will be installed:
xfree86-base
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y
dpkg -i /sw/fink/dists/unstable/main/binary-darwin-powerpc/x11-system/xfree86-base_4.2.0-5_darwin-powerpc.deb
(Reading database ... 54962 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace xfree86-base 4.2.0-5 (using .../xfree86-base_4.2.0-5_darwin-powerpc.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement xfree86-base ...
Setting up xfree86-base (4.2.0-5) ...
ERROR: /etc/X11 exists, but is not a symlink to /usr/X11R6/etc.
dpkg: error processing xfree86-base (--install):
subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1
Errors were encountered while processing:
xfree86-base
### dpkg failed, exit code 1
Failed: can't install package xfree86-base-4.2.0-5

2) I tried to install Xfree86-rootless, it failed with the same error since it depends on Xfree86-base

3) I tried to install system-Xfree86

Reading package info...
Information about 958 packages read in 12 seconds.
pkg system-xfree86 version ###
pkg system-xfree86 version 4.1-5
The following package will be installed or updated:
system-xfree86
dpkg -i /sw/fink/dists/stable/main/binary-darwin-powerpc/x11-system/system-xfree86_4.1-5_darwin-powerpc.deb
dpkg: regarding .../system-xfree86_4.1-5_darwin-powerpc.deb containing system-xfree86:
system-xfree86 conflicts with x11
xfree86-base provides x11 and is broken due to postinst failure.
dpkg: error processing /sw/fink/dists/stable/main/binary-darwin-powerpc/x11-system/system-xfree86_4.1-5_darwin-powerpc.deb (--install):
conflicting packages - not installing system-xfree86
Errors were encountered while processing:

/sw/fink/dists/stable/main/binary-darwin-powerpc/x11-system/system-xfree86_4.1-5_darwin-powerpc.deb
### dpkg failed, exit code 1
Failed: can't install package system-xfree86-4.1-5

The rationale for this last try is that I had already a working Xfree86 installation. My first Xfree86/XDarwin installation came from apple web-site. I think it was one of the first the XonX release. It has been update in this way for a while since I discovered GNU-Darwin. I installed the 2.? GNU-Darwin release that wrote a lot of files on my system (And I am too lazy & incompetent to check what has been done and where) but it certainly updated X11. Then I discovered fink and decided to stick to this latest source of software. From fink I only installed Xfree86-base since it was said somewhere that it was the minimum I should do.

My question is what should I do now...
Should I create this symlink between /etc/X11 & /usr/X11R6/etc. and how, is it as simple as ln -s /etc/X11 /usr/X11R6/etc or does it mean that I should first see if I have not multiple installations of X11 ?
I would really like to avoid removing everything since when it goes to there I really work blindly, I have no idea what I can, cannot, must, must not remove. So if I have to do that I also really need your advices.


I would really thank all your suggestions,
Eric DUFOUR