In message <20020523072747.GA311@darkstar.local>, Julio Merino writes:
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>On Wed, May 22, 2002 at 10:28:35PM -0400, Steve Bellovin wrote:
>> When I try to update suse_base, I get the following error:
>>=20
>> pkg_delete: unable to change directory to /var/db/pkg/communicator-4.76nb=
>1! dein
>> stall failed
>>=20
>> But communicator isn't there:
>>=20
>> # pkg_info -a | egrep comm
>> # pkg_delete -f communicator-4.76nb1
>> pkg_delete: package 'communicator-4.76nb1' not installed
>
>Yeah, the above message states it is not there...
>
>> Where is it?  Rather, where is whatever suse_base thinks is there?
>
>I guess that suse_base has a REQUIREDBY entry pointing to that version of
>communicator. I don't know how it has got there, but you may try to
>remove it manually. Go to /var/db/pkg/suse_base*/+REQUIREDBY, edit that
>file and remove the reference to communicator...
>
>Should solve the problem.
>

Unfortunately, it doesn't -- there's no entry in that file for it.  
Grep find it in pkgdb.byfile.db, but that's a db file.  Is there any 
tool for rebuilding it from scratch?

		--Steve Bellovin, http://www.research.att.com/~smb (me)
		http://www.wilyhacker.com ("Firewalls" book)