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My apt-get is currently complaining about unmet dependencies (and refuses to do anything until I fix them):

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these.
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 libavcodec53 : Depends: libva1 (> 1.0.12~) but 0.31.1-1+sds4 is installed
 libva-dev : Depends: libva1 (>= 1.0.12) but 0.31.1-1+sds4 is installed
 libva-glx1 : Depends: libva1 (> 1.0.12~) but 0.31.1-1+sds4 is installed
 libva-tpi1 : Depends: libva1 (> 1.0.12~) but 0.31.1-1+sds4 is installed
 vainfo : Depends: libva1 (> 1.0.12~) but 0.31.1-1+sds4 is installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try using -f.

The thing is, I absolutely need that specific version of libva1. Anything newer doesn't work with mplayer-vaapi. The purported unmet dependencies do not seem to have any negative effects on my system (other than breaking APT), so is there any way I can make apt-get ignore them and just do what it's told?

bessman
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  • Good question. It tells you to use `-f`, have you tried that? If you have manually downloaded a package you can edit it's `control` file to remove dependencies you can't meet, but that's not exactly what you need in that case (though related). – Rafał Cieślak Mar 03 '12 at 22:49
  • @rafalcieslak Yes, running 'sudo apt-get -f install' fixes the dependencies, but breaks mplayer. – bessman Mar 03 '12 at 23:22

1 Answers1

3

If you have a particular application you do not want upgraded then "pin" it or "freeze" it using synaptic.

Highlight your selection > Go to Package > scroll down to "Lock Version" and click enter image description here

Ringtail
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