Mandrake 10.0 Official (download version)

I had too many fo(u)nts and wanted to remove those which I would never use. I went through System and Font Installer and found /personal empty. When I clicked on it, Konqueror started up and I could get into /System, where all the files were. I viewed and then removed two. Devil knows what happened when I asked for a third to be removed, but the whole sub-directory just disappeared. Now when I start up Mandrake, I find myself in text mode. Typing "startx" brings up several error messages, including the following: "Fatal server error: Could not open default font 'fixed'." Where has the sub-directory gone and can I get it back?

Do this

from a root console you can re-install the font package files already installed...

Type in

rpm -qa | grep font

Now mount the CD containing these files, change to the RPM directory and

rpm -Uvh --force NAME_OF_RPM file.

Do this for each affected file.

This will force a re-install of all packages you have on your system containing the word FONT in the package name. This will include the X font sets you are currently missing.

(BTW: Anyone know how to give urpmi the --force arguement so he could have done this instead:

urpmi `rpm -qa | grep font`

The latter being so much simpler for a newbie...)

Thanks, Opjose, and I will try this, but I see three problems:

1. I have no idea which CD has the files needed.
2. I do not know the names of the files involved.
3. What happens to the files I brought in from Windows and to those which were put in by the software I installed?

Above all, where did the dashed sub-dirs go? I asked only for a file to be deleted.

1) If you could pass a --force command to urpmi it would properly prompt you for EVERYTHING.

However here is a quick option...

As root... type in

rpm -qa | grep font >> filelist

This will create a list of files that conntains all of the RPM names.

Next we will force an uninstall of all of these.

rpm -e --nodeps `rpm -qa | grep font`

This will force the system to UNINSTALL the current rpm's containing the word font in them.

Ok now we WANT to re-install them once it's done.

Wait about 2-3 minutes to let the system process the changes (it does this as a background job!)

Now type in

urpmi <filelist

or

cat filelist | urpmi

and it will automatically re-install everything for you, prompting you to insert the correct disks as required.

2) In the prior post I showed you how to determine what is installed via

rpm -qa | grep font

Notice in this message we use the output of that command to feed the rpm -e command that tells it to UNINSTALL all matching rpms.

3) Most software which requires fonts usually includes an architecture INDEPENDANT rpm just for the fonts.

E.G. AbiWord, OpenOffice, etc.

Since you are forcing an uninstall then going right back in and re-installing these files in one fell swoop, these will be restored by the above process.

However you mayt manually have to re-import any Windows fonts though this is unlikely.

It's more likely that you merely removed a particular MISC font grouping which does not usually include the windows or application fonts.


RPM will not touch things outside it's "realm" so your old stuff will probably remain untouched.

I do this type of thing all the time when I've screwed something up in a similiar manner.

It's also a great idea to keep a file containing the list of currently installed packages stored somewhere too...

e.g.

rpm -qa >> mysavedrpm.lst

I did what you'd advised earlier, Opjose. The rpm -qa thing gave me a list of files, all of which contained "font". None had any extension, though. Doing an "ls" on two of the four CDs brought no output. Moving to the RPM sub-dir on the hard drive and doing an "rpm -Uvh" was ruled out because I didn't know the file names.

Your latest advice will, I think, make things a great deal easier. It's the feeding of a command's output into a file which will do that.

I haven't yet set up urpmi, though I've used apt-get in the past and understand that urpmi is not so different in principle.

My major problem remains. I am disturbed when something happens which I cannot understand. I cannot understand why, when I asked for a single file to be removed, an entire sub-dir (or perhaps more than one sub-dirs) should have vanished.

I hate to say that I am not cheered by the distinct feeling I get that you screw up all the time.

Something wrong, Opjose. I got this response to the rpm -e --nodeps etc. command:

Error: package rpm -qa | grep font is not installed

First try

rpm -qa | grep font

and see if you get any results...

When it succeeds and produces a result, feed it to rpm with

rpm -e --nodeps `rpm -qa | grep font`

substituting whatever you need for the word font...

You probably also need to do this with fonts as well as font..

However you should have gotten back at LEAST 3 or more RPM files with the name font in them... and several more with the word fonts

e.g.

XFree86--75dpi-fonts-4.3-32.2.100mdk

That you didn't indicates you mistyped the command. Make SURE you hit the verticle bar!

It's SHIFT \ on US keyboards.

X will not operate without at least the 75dpi font packs.

Opjose now: First try rpm -qa | grep font
and see if you get any results...

Payasam earlier: The rpm -qa thing gave me a list of files, all of which contained "font". None had any extension, though.

Opjose now: feed it to rpm with rpm -e --nodeps `rpm -qa | grep font` substituting whatever you need for the word font...

Payasam now: I had no way of knowing that "font" in this command was to be replaced by the appropriate word or words.

Opjose now: That you didn't indicates you mistyped the command. Make SURE you hit the verticle bar!

Payasam now: That you say this indicates that you make assumptions rather too easily. I did hit the verticle bar, as you call it. My mistake may have been that I have always believed the word to be spelt "vertical".

"Payasam earlier: The rpm -qa thing gave me a list of files, all of which contained "font". None had any extension, though."


That is correct and how it is supposed to be.

"Payasam now: I had no way of knowing that "font" in this command was to be replaced by the appropriate word or words."

Huh?

Actually you should NOT have needed to replace it, but you stated...

"Something wrong, Opjose. I got this response to the rpm -e --nodeps etc. command:

Error: package rpm -qa | grep font is not installed"

Which indicates that either you mistyped or that your install does not have any packages with the word font in them.

It seems that you mistyped though.

Payasam now: That you say this indicates that you make assumptions rather too easily. I did hit the verticle bar, as you call it. My mistake may have been that I have always believed the word to be spelt "vertical".

You know what... you are a real jerk.

Solve your own problems.

I feel a profound respect for you, Opjose. Not only are you patronising, you also become abusive when you are shown to have been wrong.

Unless you did this snafu as root then nothign you did should too permanently damaged. I have no idea about mandrake (I prefer slackware myself) but I'd start with trying to repair your font cache with fc-cache.
Also just try manually running an X server without a WM or DE or any programs running, you can then manually run a xterm in it by using xterm -display from a different console. If that works then at least you've got a working X and can build it up from there.

You have not shown me to be wrong, nor do you show any respect with your silly posts about spelling errors.

If I'm partronizing, it may well be because you do not seem to know what you are doing, else you would have easily solved your problems already.

I already gave you ALL of the needed information and hints.

Rather you seem to know how to bite the hand that feeds you, very very well.

Keep it up I'm sure you'll get a lot of help from the newbies.

I'm afraid, Ror, that Mandrake's Font Installer (or similar name) allows only root to work in it. That may be a bad sign. What you say about repairing the font cache seems to make sense, because when I tried just now to reinstall files with "urpmi <filename>", using the full file names, of course, I kept getting "Everything already installed" messages. My guess is that, as you say, the files are there but whatever controls them is damaged. I take it that "fc-cache" is a generic Linux command, not specific to any distribution. I'll type it in and see what happens.

As for your suggestion that I try to run an X server manually and go on from there. I haven't the faintest idea how that might be done. Maybe I'll find something in these forums or on Google. Even if I don't, all is not lost. I can always dig out my 128K Sinclair Spectrum and, if even that refuses to oblige, get a fresh ribbon for my manual typewriter. Or there's Blindows, where I am right now.