YaST1 Crashes

Support knowledgebase (ma_swiegra_yast1error)
Applies to

SuSE Linux: Versions up to (including) 7.3

Symptom

  1. You want to install packages from the CD by means of YaST1, but it crashes and an error message similar to the following one pops up
    ERROR: Unknown Error!, DETAIL: 0 FILE: PkgRetriever.cc  LINE: 619 program
    aborted!
  2. You have made an update via FTP using YaST1 and the process aborted or crashed. When you try to restart YaST1, the following error message is displayed:
    ERROR: Unknown Error!, DETAIL: 0  FILE:
    PkgRetriever.cc LINE: 619 program aborted!

Cause

Inconsistency of the data/package descriptions that are read. This may be due to different causes.
  1. In case YaST1 crashed while you were trying to install packages from the CD:
    1. The CD might be faulty if this problem occurs only whith one CD of the CD set. The article http://sdb.suse.de/ne/sdb/html/hmeyer_install_media.html describes how to check CDs/DVDs for physical errors.
    2. The cause is a basic hardware problem in connection with reading CDs. In the case of an IDE drive, it might be helpful to e.g. disable the DMA support for the drive in the BIOS or to deactivate it completely through the boot parameter: ide=nodma
  2. FTP installation:
    All files loaded from the FTP server are saved locally with their absolute path below the directory /var/tmp/{ server IP address }. For example:
            ftp.suse.com = 202.58.118.12
            ftp.suse.com:/pub/irgendwo/common.pkd
                    -> /var/tmp/202.58.118.12/pub/irgendwo/common.pkd
    YaST loads the files it needs from the FTP server and save them locally in /var/tmp. Files already available will not be reloaded.
    When YaST finishes, the directory tree below /var/tmp/ is cleaned.
    When YaST aborts (due to Ctrl-C or an error), the directory tree below /var/tmp remains and will be reutilized the next time it runs. As long as the data it contains are error-free, it works without problems. However, if they are so faulty that they make YaST crash over and over, the directory will never be cleaned. YaST will then abort and the above mentioned error message pops up 'ERROR: ... FILE: PkgRetriever.cc' (that is: inconsistent package description).

Solution

  1. CD as the installation source:
    1. You can check whether a CD/DVD is faulty by following the instructions at http://sdb.suse .de/de/sdb/html/hmeyer_install_media.html.
    2. If the reason is a hardware problem, in the case of an IDE drive it can be helpful to disable the DMA support for the drive in the BIOS or to deactivate it with the boot parameter: ide=nodma .
  2. FTP as the installation source:
    1. The problem can be usually solved by deleting the directory tree below /var/tmp/{server IP address} by hand. Therefore, delete it and restart YaST in order to reload the files.
    2. If the problem persists after having deleted the directory tree below /var/tmp/{ server IP address}, the reasons might be:
      • It cannot be written on the hard disk due to a hardware problem, what surely must have been noticed through other symptoms on the running system.
      • The file system could be faulty (rather unusual).
      • A permanent transmission error occurs. This might be due to a faulty router, network filter, or firewall. In this case, please try it again with a different server and a different network route .

Keywords: YAST1, FTP, CRASH, UNKNOWN, ERROR, PKGRETRIEVER, PACKAGES

Categories: YaST , Package-Installation

SDB-ma_swiegra_yast1error, Copyright SuSE Linux AG, Nürnberg, Germany - Version: 10. Jan 2002
SuSE Linux AG - Last generated: 17. Apr 2002 by glazzar (sdb_gen 1.40.0)