[Bug 2115024] Re: Apt fails when it needs to remove a non-specified pacakage
Julian Andres Klode
2115024 at bugs.launchpad.net
Fri Jun 20 06:46:37 UTC 2025
That's the key design idea behind the new solver, it's not allowed to
remove manually installed packages. The messages aren't quite the most
helpful about that yet.
We have a compat mode with APT::Solver::RemoveManual=1 which I need to
add a command-line argument for, and I'd like to introduce an `apt swap`
command for specifically swapping packages as a semantically different
concept.
It may also be possible that we switch to the compact mode, but it's not
fully sound yet: It guarantees that no manually installed package is
removed if such a solution exists, but it doesn't provide strong
guarantees to how many manually installed packages it removes if it
needs to remove some.*
* It technically provides the guarantee that it orders all manually
installed packages by apt's internal preference and guarantees you not
to remove a more preferable package than the ones that need to be
removed but it may remove less important packages instead of finding
other solutions
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2115024
Title:
Apt fails when it needs to remove a non-specified pacakage
Status in apt package in Ubuntu:
New
Bug description:
Two examples:
1) I wanted to remove libmircore2t64 and everything that depends on it. `apt remove libmircore2t64` fails, because there are packages that depend on libmircore2t64, and I can't find any way to ask apt to remove those packages.
2) I have nvidia-driver-570 installed. “apt install nvidia-driver-575” fails, with:
Solving dependencies... Error!
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:
Unsatisfied dependencies:
nvidia-driver-575 : Depends: libnvidia-gl-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: nvidia-dkms-575 (<= 575.57.08-1) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: nvidia-dkms-575 (>= 575.57.08) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: nvidia-kernel-common-575 (<= 575.57.08-1) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: nvidia-kernel-common-575 (>= 575.57.08) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: nvidia-kernel-source-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libnvidia-compute-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libnvidia-extra-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: nvidia-compute-utils-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libnvidia-decode-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libnvidia-encode-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: nvidia-utils-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libnvidia-cfg1-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libnvidia-fbc1-575 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2) but it is not going to be installed
Recommends: libnvidia-compute-575:i386 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2)
Recommends: libnvidia-decode-575:i386 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2)
Recommends: libnvidia-encode-575:i386 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2)
Recommends: libnvidia-fbc1-575:i386 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2)
Recommends: libnvidia-gl-575:i386 (= 575.57.08-0ubuntu2)
Error: Unable to satisfy dependencies. Reached two conflicting decisions:
1. nvidia-kernel-common-575:amd64=575.57.08-0ubuntu2 is not selected for install because:
1. nvidia-driver-570:amd64 is selected for install
2. nvidia-driver-570:amd64 Depends nvidia-kernel-common-570 (<= 570.133.07-1) and Depends nvidia-kernel-common-570 (>= 570.133.07)
3. nvidia-kernel-common-570:amd64 Conflicts nvidia-kernel-common
[selected nvidia-kernel-common-570:amd64]
2. nvidia-kernel-common-575:amd64=575.57.08-0ubuntu2 is selected for install because:
1. nvidia-driver-575:amd64=575.57.08-0ubuntu2 is selected for install
2. nvidia-driver-575:amd64=575.57.08-0ubuntu2 Depends nvidia-kernel-common-575 (>= 575.57.08)
3. nvidia-kernel-common-575:amd64 is available in version 575.57.08-0ubuntu2
Apt *should* find the solution “remove all the nvidia-570 packages”
and offer it.
Oddly, after “apt remove nvidia-driver-570”:
```
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
libnvidia-cfg1-570 libnvidia-decode-570:i386 libnvidia-encode-570:i386 libnvidia-fbc1-570:i386 nvidia-compute-utils-570 nvidia-kernel-common-570 nvidia-settings xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-570
libnvidia-common-570 libnvidia-egl-wayland1:i386 libnvidia-extra-570 libnvidia-gl-570 nvidia-dkms-570 nvidia-kernel-source-570 nvidia-utils-570
libnvidia-decode-570 libnvidia-encode-570 libnvidia-fbc1-570 libnvidia-gl-570:i386 nvidia-firmware-570-570.133.07 nvidia-prime screen-resolution-extra
Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove them.
REMOVING:
nvidia-driver-570
Summary:
Upgrading: 0, Installing: 0, Removing: 1, Not Upgrading: 0
Freed space: 1,445 kB
Continue? [Y/n]
```
and “apt --purge autoremove”:
```
REMOVING:
libnvidia-cfg1-570* libnvidia-decode-570:i386* libnvidia-encode-570:i386* libnvidia-fbc1-570:i386* nvidia-compute-utils-570* nvidia-kernel-common-570* nvidia-settings* xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-570*
libnvidia-common-570* libnvidia-egl-wayland1:i386* libnvidia-extra-570* libnvidia-gl-570* nvidia-dkms-570* nvidia-kernel-source-570* nvidia-utils-570*
libnvidia-decode-570* libnvidia-encode-570* libnvidia-fbc1-570* libnvidia-gl-570:i386* nvidia-firmware-570-570.133.07* nvidia-prime* screen-resolution-extra*
Summary:
Upgrading: 0, Installing: 0, Removing: 22, Not Upgrading: 0
Freed space: 914 MB
Continue? [Y/n]
```
I *can* then install nvidia-driver-575 and it will remove libnvidia-compute-570:
```
Installing:
nvidia-driver-575
Installing dependencies:
libnvidia-cfg1-575 libnvidia-compute-575:i386 libnvidia-egl-wayland1:i386 libnvidia-extra-575 libnvidia-gl-575 nvidia-dkms-575 nvidia-kernel-source-575 nvidia-utils-575
libnvidia-common-575 libnvidia-decode-575 libnvidia-encode-575 libnvidia-fbc1-575 libnvidia-gl-575:i386 nvidia-firmware-575-575.57.08 nvidia-prime screen-resolution-extra
libnvidia-compute-575 libnvidia-decode-575:i386 libnvidia-encode-575:i386 libnvidia-fbc1-575:i386 nvidia-compute-utils-575 nvidia-kernel-common-575 nvidia-settings xserver-xorg-video-nvidia-575
REMOVING:
libnvidia-compute-570 libnvidia-compute-570:i386
Summary:
Upgrading: 0, Installing: 25, Removing: 2, Not Upgrading: 0
Download size: 451 MB
Space needed: 992 MB / 6,222 GB available
Continue? [Y/n]
```
Although this might be because libnvidia-compute-XXX has
Provides/Conflicts/Replaces set up?
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 25.10
Package: apt 3.1.2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 6.14.0-15.15-generic 6.14.0
Uname: Linux 6.14.0-15-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: zfs nvidia_modeset nvidia
ApportVersion: 2.33.0-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Fri Jun 20 14:18:39 2025
InstallationDate: Installed on 2023-08-06 (684 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 22.04.2 2023.07.13 LTS "bcachefs" (20230713)
SourcePackage: apt
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to questing on 2025-05-21 (29 days ago)
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