[CentOS] Yum update corrupted something badly - can only get access through SSH terminal or Webmin

Wed Apr 22 19:29:35 UTC 2009
Kwan Lowe <kwan.lowe at gmail.com>

On Wed, Apr 22, 2009 at 12:47 PM, Dan Roberts <dan at jlazyh.com> wrote:
> Hey there -
>
> This morning I ran the yum updater through Webmin as I do every month
> or so - after about two hours I realized that I still had the same
> updating screen going - and no response.   Seemed strange.
>
> Simple attempts to kill it didn't work so I sent a command to reboot
> the system - that seemed to work, till I turned on the monitor
> directly connected to the server -

My first approach would be to use the lower level rpm to determine
what packages may be in error. Start with yum:

   rpm -qV yum

It will list files that have changed from the initial package installation:
  [u108752 at linbox ~]$ rpm -qV yum
  S.5....T  c /etc/yum.conf

If you see any files besides the user editable ones (such as the
yum.conf, for example) it could mean you have a corrupted binary.  If
so, re-install the package:

  rpm -ivh yum-x.x.x..rpm

You may need to use the --oldpackage flag  or even --force.

If you don't see anything that jumps out as wrong, try running the rpm
verify against all packages;

  rpm -qaV

Ignore things like conf files and logs and look for packages with a S
(checksum change) in the results colums..

Once you can get yum reinstalled, update glibc first, then the rest of
the system.



> I saw this error go by - and then only a spinning cursor - never get
> to a login screen.  (I power cycled again and saw it go by again - and
> recognized it when I tried again at Webmin and through a terminal
> connection).
>
> Traceback (most recent call last):
>   File "/usr/bin/yum", line 28, in ?
>     import yummain
>   File "/usr/share/yum-cli/yummain.py", line 29, in ?
>     import cli
>   File "/usr/share/yum-cli/cli.py", line 30, in ?
>     import output
>   File "/usr/share/yum-cli/output.py", line 26, in ?
>     from i18n import _
> ImportError: No module named i18n
>
> I deleted the yum cash and no improvement.  I tried the yum clean and
> no imporvement
> [root at trailrunner yum]# yum clean all
> Traceback (most recent call last):
>   File "/usr/bin/yum", line 28, in ?
>     import yummain
>   File "/usr/share/yum-cli/yummain.py", line 29, in ?
>     import cli
>   File "/usr/share/yum-cli/cli.py", line 30, in ?
>     import output
>   File "/usr/share/yum-cli/output.py", line 26, in ?
>     from i18n import _
> ImportError: No module named i18n
> [root at trailrunner yum]#
>
> Not at all sure what happened or why, or where I even start trying to
> straighten this mess out.
>
> How do I blow away the apparent yum junk in the hope of getting a
> local login capability back?
>
> How or what should I do to reset yum - seems reinstalling the latest
> version is probably the route.  What is the version that CentOS
> uses?   Should I go the RPM route or try something more specific?
>
> Totally unexpected problem and leaving me feeling very uncertain about
> things.
>
>
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