Rogue Cmake package held by Synaptic

[Dollxd]

I'm not sure how this happened, but I have a package that I installed which seems to be causing problems for Synaptic. I can't download, upgrade, or even remove packages. I keep getting an error about a package that I installed from source and I can't figure out how it would have anything to do with the packages Synaptic thinks need to have it upgraded or uninstalled. This started when I realized my computer has no sound and I tried to reinstall pulseaudio in Synaptic. Synaptic tried to uninstall all the dependencies for pulseaudio and everything I have selectively installed over the last 4 months. This package, appimagelauncher somehow got caught up in the process and now Synaptic is stuck. Apt and Aptitude aren't very happy either.

I don't remember where I got the source code. I think I got it from a blog a while back. I tried Github, but it wasn't available at the time for some reason. Of course I didn't save anything so I could re-create the package at a later date, so I'm not sure how to uninstall this thing manually. Make uninstall didn't seem to do anything.

I'm thinking the only way I can fix it is to overwrite it, but is this solution likely to satisfy Synaptic? If I overwrite it I should theoretically be able to uninstall it manually at that point. Does anybody have any suggestions or other solutions? Thanks.

[arzgi]

You propably mean this https://github.com/TheAssassin/AppImageLauncher

Description has instructions, how to remove AppImageLauncher. If that will not correct your package managament, I guess only option left is to reinstall debian.

I would not install any package outside debian-repos, specially if it 'integrates deeply in the system'. You have now seen what can go wrong.

XFCE only requires clicking icon and selecting 'Mark executable'. I've used this for my own scripts.

[GarryRicketson]

Before installing random software on Debian, people should read this:
https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian

As all ready suggested, if the instructions in the link posted by arzgi don't work,
reinstall Debian, and in the future think twice before installing these kind of things.

[Dollxd]

Thanks GarryRicketson. I had actually missed the uninstall instructions from arzgi. I'll have a look. I have a couple of ways I should be able to go about this without having to reinstall Debian. This was one of those cases where I had become accustomed to using something and it wasn't available any more, so I found something similar that would restore the functionality of my desktop to what I was used to. It was a matter of workflow at the time. Once I get this removed I will likely install the .deb package from Github, but in the future I will be using Checkinstall instead of Cmake to install things like this so I can uninstall them as .deb packages. Much easier.

I have to say I would much rather break Debian and find out how to fix it than deal with Windows any day. I used a friend's computer yesterday. What a nightmare. I can't believe I used to do tech support for machines with that mess on them. Thanks again.

[Wheelerof4te]

Part of what makes Debian reliable and amazing is it's package management system, along with it's many packages in the main repo. Almost all software is expected to be installed from that repo, and even packages that come from external sources have to be in .deb format. Deviate from that convenience, and you will end up breaking something, as you have already experienced.

Even in the GNULinux/Unix world, there are some deviations. Program that you have compiled from source could have been cleanly installed in some other distros. But, in the case of those distros, you lose out on the mentioned convenience.

For AppImages, you can make a separate directories and keep them there. That way, you can at least know where each one is. Tab-completion helps immensely.

[sunrat]

The easiest way to recover from system breakage caused by doing dangerous things is to restore the system backup you made before doing said dangerous things. You did make a full system backup didn't you?

[arzgi]

The easiest way to recover from system breakage caused by doing dangerous things is to restore the system backup you made before doing said dangerous things. You did make a full system backup didn't you?

+1 for backups, about full backups, not so sure.

If you have broadband connection, whis is almost a norm nowadays, might be faster and easier to do network install. Naturally /home has to be backed up, and /etc, specially if you have edited configs.

[debiman]

Make uninstall didn't seem to do anything.

so you still have the makefile?
in that case, have a look at it and see what it installed and where, and rm that.
simple.

another option:

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find / -iname '*appimagelauncher'*

and if that doesn't find everything:

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cd /; grep -ri appimagelauncher

(this will search inside files. it will take a while)

for both commands better to be root.

[stevepusser]

We have a lot users swear by Timeshift for quick system backups and restores over on the MX Linux forums, but then again, you either have to port it over yourself or use a third-party repo since Debian hasn't packaged it...

You'd back up if your daddy taught you good...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIoG4PlEPtY

[pcalvert]

To prevent this kind of situation from happening again, you could (and probably should) use GNU Stow.

Here's how to install it:

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aptitude install stow

And here's some more info:
Get rid of stowaway packages with GNU Stow
How to use GNU Stow to manage programs installed from source and dotfiles

Phil