There must be an intelligent solution or am I too dumb to find it?
Why ..why why why when RedHat make an rpm dont they figure out
a) how to resolve the dependencies (ie included needed files) or
b) give a link to where they can be found


Because an rpm with unresolved dependencies is next to bloody useless. I'm sure thats not news to anyone. Trying to sort out my problem I find a heap of posts all over the internet by other folks with EXACTLY my problem. Its known & its been going on for ages. Where are you RedHat?

Now i've got that off my chest can any one help me get the two files libcrypto.so.2 and libssl.so.2 that I need to get the the RedHat rpms for openldap to work?

Thanks, thanks, thanks. I really want to achieve this before I die.

Have you tried installing openssl? Also, for dependency issues, give a go at:
Red Carpet
Ximian
Synaptic+apt (www.freshrpms.net)
apt4rpm

Cool

The openssl rpm raised a new heap of dependency issues.
I'll try those other sources
Thanks heaps

You're welcome

Cool