Re: [gentoo-user] How can this be blocking my emerge -uD world if it's not installed

[Alan McKinnon]

On Friday 05 March 2010 21:02:44 Michael Sullivan wrote:
> I'm trying to run emerge -uD world:
>
> [blocks B     ] sys-power/powermgmt-base ("sys-power/powermgmt-base" is
> blocking sys-power/pm-utils-1.2.5)
>
>  * Error: The above package list contains packages which cannot be
>  * installed at the same time on the same system.
>
>   ('ebuild', '/', 'sys-power/powermgmt-base-1.22', 'merge') pulled in by
>
>     >=sys-power/powermgmt-base-1.22 required by ('ebuild', '/',
>
> 'sys-apps/apmd-3.2.2_p5', 'merge')
>
>   ('ebuild', '/', 'sys-power/pm-utils-1.2.5', 'merge') pulled in by
>     sys-power/pm-utils required by ('ebuild', '/',
> 'kde-base/powerdevil-4.3.5', 'merge')
>
>
> For more information about Blocked Packages, please refer to the
> following
> section of the Gentoo Linux x86 Handbook (architecture is irrelevant):
>
> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked
>
>
>  * IMPORTANT: 7 news items need reading for repository 'gentoo'.
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>
> camille kde-base # emerge -C sys-power/powermgmt-base
>
> --- Couldn't find 'sys-power/powermgmt-base' to unmerge.
>
> >>> No packages selected for removal by unmerge
>
>  * IMPORTANT: 7 news items need reading for repository 'gentoo'.
>  * Use eselect news to read news items.
>
> camille kde-base #
>
> As you can see powermgmt-base isn't even installed.  How can I get it to
> stop blocking my emerge if it's not actually there???

Where did you read that a blocker has to be present to block? You 
misunderstand what a blocker is. Here's what it really means:

Two or more packages that are mutually exclusive in some way, and to resolve 
the emerge you ran both would somehow need to end up being installed, which is 
not feasible.

As you can see, they don't have to be there yet. To be blockers, they would 
only have to be there at the completion of the emerge.

In your case, apmd wants powermgmt-base, and powerdevil wants pm-utils.
pm-utils-1.2.5 has this in RDEPEND:
        !sys-power/powermgmt-base

None of the DEPENDS are optional, so you are going to have to do without apmd 
or powerdevil. As powerdevil is a KDE app, I suspect you want this. laptop-
mode-tools DEPENDS on apmd if USE=apm, so I recommend you disable that flag as 
pm-utils can replace apmd. Then remove apmd and powermgmt-base from world if 
they are there.



-- 
alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com