[Bug 29390] Re: fails to uninstall

[Zooko O'Whielacronx]

I don't understand what more information is needed.  Of course, if one moves /etc/init.d/gdm aside then it works.  This is the same thing as I reported in my original report: I removed /etc/init.d/gdm and it worked.

The problem is that the gdm package cannot be uninstalled in the case that "/etc/init.d/gdm stop" returns non-zero.  Therefore, if someone has a broken configuration in which "/etc/init.d/gdm stop" returns non-zero, they cannot uninstall.  Since uninstalling is the simplest and safest route for a user to fix a broken system, this is a Catch-22.  Only a power-user who knows how to do safely do things like sudo rm system files can proceed.

There are some reasonable ways to fix this:

1.  Make it so that "/etc/init.d/gdm stop" returns zero even if there is an error.
2.  Make it so that dpkg will remove/purge the package even if "/etc/init.d/gdm stop" returns non-zero.
3.  Make it so that "/etc/init.d/gdm stop" never encounters an error.
4.  Make it so that nobody ever needs to uninstall gdm when it is  in a broken state.

Just kidding about #3 and #4 -- it would be better to do #1 or #2.

Regards,

Zooko

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fails to uninstall
https://launchpad.net/malone/bugs/29390