[ale] if 'dpkg' is removed, will this entirely disable all up-dating/grading & apt-getfunctions?

[James Sumners]

Those were just guesses made from quick searches. Since you have
somehow installed packages from the testing tree, I'm going to
recommend that you go ahead and upgrade to testing. Then, when testing
becomes stable, change back to stable before your next update. Comment
out the security repository in your sources.list, change "sarge" to
"testing" in the other repository, and then `apt-get update && apt-get
dist-upgrade`. When Etch is released later this year, uncomment the
security repository, change the branches to "stable" and do `apt-get
update && apt-get upgrade` (don't need to do a dist-upgrade since you
will already be running Etch). Be sure to edit the sources.list before
doing any update or package install after Etch has been released;
otherwise, you will install packages from the next release of Debian.

A further word of warning. Testing can get quite broken, particularly
during package freeze (which should be soon). It takes a minimum of
two days (see http://www.debian.org/devel/testing) for a package to
migrate from unstable to testing. So if package X depends on package
Y, and package Y is broken, you won't be able to install package X
until a fixed package Y comes in from unstable. It's about a 50/50
chance as to wether this will affect you between now and release. But
upgrading to testing will be the easiest way, short of a reinstall, to
fix your problems now.

Personally, I prefer to run stable on my servers and unstable on my
desktops. I don't like using testing because of the previously
described problem.

On 10/23/06, Courtney Thomas <courtneycthomas at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> James,
>
> You give me too much credit :-)
>
> I installed this machine about 5 yrs ago and I frankly don't remember
> all that's been done nor how, but find myself needing this machine now and
> welcome the opportunity to learn Debian and plan on being systematic in
> my future effort here as it is obviously required whereas before I was
> merely
> probing and running applications.
>
> But in any case, I now want to straighten it out. It has lain fallow for
> several
> years but I have quite a few applications installed that I don't intend
> abandoning.
>
> Ubuntu didn't even exist when this machine was installed and I in ignorance
> have obviously unwittingly made errors.
>
> If you find all this unworthy of your time, no problem and I profusely thank
> you again for your past effort.
>
> Cordially,
> Courtney

-- 
James Sumners
http://james.roomfullofmirrors.com/

"All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts
pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it
is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become
drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."

Missionaria Protectiva, Text QIV (decto)
CH:D 59