Re: forcing older kernel package install (rpm --oldpackage for yum?)

"Brian J. Murrell" <[email protected]> writes:

> I want to do a yum update from a given internal repo that includes a
> kernel that's older than the one I have installed.  Yum refuses to do
> this update though:
>
> Transaction Check Error:
>   package kernel-2.6.32-220.17.1.el6_foo.g636ddbf.x86_64 (which is newer than kernel-2.6.32-220.17.1.el6_foo.x86_64) is already installed
>
> and then errors out.

 This message is from rpm. Which means that yum/rpm is treating the
"kernel" package as a normal package and not as an "installonly"
package. Something seems badly configured.

> How can I force yum to install the older kernel even though a supposedly
> newer one is already installed?  I guess I'm looking for the yum
> equivalent of rpm's "--oldpackage" option.

 It's automatic, for most packages it's added to the transaction when
you use "yum downgrade" ... but kernel/installonly packages are different.

> I know I could use "rpm -e" to remove
> kernel-2.6.32-220.17.1.el6_foo.g636ddbf.x86_64 before I do the yum
> update, but it's just too dangerous to remove your only known working
> kernel before installing a newer, as-of-yet, not known working kernel.

 Yeh, don't do that. You need to figure out why yum/rpm doesn't think
the kernel package is installonly.

-- 
James Antill -- [email protected]