I am a (Used RH 9 before this) who has switched to RHEL 4 recently.

I recently updated my Red Hat EL 4 AS using up2date.
However, there was a power failure during the update, and now, if I start synaptic (or apt-get),
it warns me about multiple versions of packages installed. I have pasted the extra output for reference. However, up2date gives me no warnings and tells me that my system is fully updated. Should I manually uninstall the duplicate packages? What is the risk in doing so?
Please help.
W: There are multiple versions of "policycoreutils" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^policycoreutils$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "system-config-soundcard" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^system-config-soundcard$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Wa
W: There are multiple versions of "udev" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^udev$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "rpm" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^rpm$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "system-config-lvm" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^system-config-lvm$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false
W: There are multiple versions of "thunderbird" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^thunderbird$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "sudo" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^sudo$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "util-linux" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^util-linux$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "samba-common" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^samba-common$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "urw-fonts" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^urw-fonts$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "pam_krb5" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^pam_krb5$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "slocate" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^slocate$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "system-config-securitylevel-tui" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^system-config-securitylevel-tui$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::All
W: There are multiple versions of "xinetd" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^xinetd$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "samba-client" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^samba-client$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "perl" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^perl$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "rhn-applet" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^rhn-applet$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "selinux-policy-targeted" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^selinux-policy-targeted$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Wa
W: There are multiple versions of "popt" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^popt$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "rpmdb-redhat" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^rpmdb-redhat$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "openssh-server" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^openssh-server$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "redhat-artwork" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^redhat-artwork$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "tzdata" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^tzdata$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "openssl" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^openssl$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "passwd" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^passwd$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "samba" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^samba$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "system-config-printer" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^system-config-printer$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warnin
W: There are multiple versions of "system-config-printer-gui" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^system-config-printer-gui$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicate
W: There are multiple versions of "openssh-clients" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^openssh-clients$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "pdksh" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^pdksh$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "unix2dos" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^unix2dos$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "redhat-logos" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^redhat-logos$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "rhpl" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^rhpl$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "rmt" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^rmt$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "vixie-cron" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^vixie-cron$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "rpm-libs" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^rpm-libs$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "openssh" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^openssh$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "vte" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^vte$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "tar" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^tar$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "xscreensaver" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^xscreensaver$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "rpm-python" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^rpm-python$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "ttmkfdir" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^ttmkfdir$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "redhat-release" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^redhat-release$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "shadow-utils" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^shadow-utils$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "openssh-askpass-gnome" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^openssh-askpass-gnome$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warnin
W: There are multiple versions of "procps" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^procps$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "setup" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^setup$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "system-config-securitylevel" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^system-config-securitylevel$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Dupli
W: There are multiple versions of "redhat-lsb" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^redhat-lsb$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "openssh-askpass" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^openssh-askpass$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "rhgb" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^rhgb$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

W: There are multiple versions of "rdist" in your system.

This package won't be cleanly updated, unless you leave
only one version. To leave multiple versions installed,
you may remove that warning by setting the following
option in your configuration file:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated { "^rdist$"; };

To disable these warnings completely set:

RPM::Allow-Duplicated-Warning "false";

What I did with FC2-the 32-bit version- is I cranked up synaptic and after clicking on all of the windows [even if it is 500 windows, oh well] warning me of duplicate packages, I then proceeded to go down the list on synaptic and located all the duplicate packages and marked the earlier packages one by one for removal. I kept doing this until I had removed all the duplicate earlier package versions until I was left with only one version. I made sure that whichever version had all the dependencies the same version number as them whether it was the earlier version or the latest version was the one that stayed and then I proceeded to mark the other one with a version number that was different from the rest of the dependencies was the one I removed. For example, if I had "example.rpm" version 2 and dependency "example.rpm-devel" version 2 and "example.rpm" version 3--well, I removed version 3 even if it was the latest version because it did not match the "example.rpm-devel" version as there was no "example.rpm-devel" version 3 available. Also I make sure that whichever version that I remove is not really necessary for any other program. For example, if I had to remove K3b because it was conflicting with another program I really wanted to keep but in order to have k3b then I would have to go back to another earlier version of K3b and I could still have the program that I really wanted along with k3b even if it was an earlier version of K3b and not the most recent. As long as the earlier version of K3b still worked to my satisfaction then I was not worried. Once you remove the duplicate package version of whichever package version you decide to keep then you should be fine and synaptic should work without problems. The duplicate warnings happened because apt/synaptic was in the middle of upgrading packages or removing packages; probably upgrading packages as in upgrading it has to remove the earlier version while at the same time it is installing the latest version and if it fails right in the middle of doing this you will probably get the duplicate package warnings.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Jean Brown Harrell

Thanks a lot.
And sorry for a VERY late reply.

Hey no problem. I have had this happen to me too many times so I should be familiar with this problem by now. Oh and updating with up2date and then having a power failure will cause the same problems with duplicate package versions. It doesn't matter whether you update with apt/synaptic yum and or upd2date. This happens when you are right in the middle of updating packages no matter which program you use to update your system. The problem is caused by a power failure or reboot happening right in the middle of updating the system. Good luck and have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Jean Brown Harrell