My system seems broken and I can't update

[Vlas]

I’m new to Manjaro. After a sudden power outage, I think some packages are corrupt. I am not able to access the “Networks” program nor the “Add/Remove Porgrams” tab, they are giving errors.
Any idea what to do? I tried to update the system in several ways, update mirrors, clear cache, but the following error is always given:

error: Failed to perform transaction (conflicting files)
libid3tag: /usr/include/id3tag.h exists on filesystem
libid3tag: /usr/lib/libid3tag.so exists on filesystem
libid3tag: /usr/lib/libid3tag.so.0 exists on filesystem
libid3tag: /usr/lib/libid3tag.so.0.3.0 exists on file system
libid3tag: /usr/lib/pkgconfig/id3tag.pc exists on file system
libid3tag: /usr/share/doc/libid3tag/CHANGES exists on the filesystem
libid3tag: /usr/share/doc/libid3tag/CREDITS exists on filesystem
libid3tag: /usr/share/doc/libid3tag/README exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/albumart.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/async.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/audio_format.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/binary.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/capabilities.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/client.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/compiler.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/connection.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/database.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/directory.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/entity.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/error.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/fingerprint.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/idle.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/list.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/message.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/mixer.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/mount.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/neighbor.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/output.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/pair.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/parser.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/partition.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/password.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/player.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/playlist.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/position.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/protocol.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/queue.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/readpicture.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/recv.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/replay_gain.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/response.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/search.h exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/send.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/settings.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/socket.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/song.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/stats.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/status.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/sticker.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/tag.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/include/mpd/version.h exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/lib/libmpdclient.so exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/lib/libmpdclient.so.2 exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/lib/libmpdclient.so.2.20 exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/lib/pkgconfig/libmpdclient.pc exists on file system
libmpdclient: /usr/share/doc/libmpdclient/AUTHORS exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/share/doc/libmpdclient/COPYING exists on the file system
libmpdclient: /usr/share/doc/libmpdclient/NEWS exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/share/doc/libmpdclient/README.rst exists on filesystem
libmpdclient: /usr/share/licenses/libmpdclient/COPYING exists on the file system
libmpdclient: /usr/share/vala/vapi/libmpdclient.vapi exists on file system
noto-fonts-extra: /usr/share/fonts/noto/NotoSansGunjalaGondi-Semibold.ttf exists on file system
Errors occurred, so no packages were updated.

Help me people! I have a Python project I must do still today. If the system stays as it is, I’ll have problems.

[mithrial]

If you are in a hurry, you could use the --overwrite feature of pamac:

pamac update --force-refresh --enable-downgrade --overwrite "*"

It might be dangerous but it might be quicker doing this rather than finding the underlying issue quickly.

Did you install anything from the AUR lately?

[Vlas]

Probably, I was installing some Python components, and then needed to update the system to install Pycharm. Then I had the power outage.

[Vlas]

@mithrial

pamac update --force-refresh --enable-downgrade --overwrite “*”

The command didn’t work. Had this error:

pamac: error while loading shared libraries: /usr/lib/libpamac.so.11: file too short

[Mirdarthos]

I think you’d have to run the command from chroot.

How to chroot

1. Ensure you’ve got a relatively new ISO or at least one with a still supported LTS kernel.

2. Write/copy/dd the ISO to a USB thumb drive.

3. When done, boot with the above mentioned USB thumb drive into the live environment.

4. Once booted, open a terminal and enter the following command to enter the chroot encironment:

manjaro-chroot -a

5. If you have more than one Linux installation, select the correct one to use from the list provided.

When done, you should now be in the chroot environment.

But, be careful, as you’re now in an actual root environment on your computer, so any changes you make will persist after a restart.

[Vlas]

What should I do after entering chroot?

[varikonniemi]

pamac update --force-refresh --enable-downgrade --overwrite “*”

[Mirdarthos]

@Mirdarthos

I think you’d have to run the command from chroot.

So, run the command again:

pamac update --force-refresh --enable-downgrade --overwrite=“*”

[Vlas]

Thanks! I’ll see if I can find my old pendrive.
For now, it seems that the package that is giving me errors is libmpdclient
I’ll try to find some way to overwrite it before doing the chroot thing

[mithrial]

@Vlas

For now, it seems that the package that is giving me errors is libmpdclient

Well, you can’t even run pamac without an error, so it looks like you killed more than just the mentioned program.

Maybe, pacman still works: sudo pacman -Syyuu --overwrite "*"

However, this will not restore pamac, you have to fix it by reinstalling all installed programs, I guess.
This should be done in chroot anyway.

[Mirdarthos]

@mithrial

Maybe, pacman still works: sudo pacman -Syyuu --overwrite "*"

However, this will not restore pamac, you have to fix it by reinstalling all installed programs, I guess.
This should be done in chroot anyway.

Maybe, maybe not. All I can say is, this can be very interesting.

@Vlas, if that doesn’t work, I suggest you use pacman-static, because:

Using pacman-static

pacman-staticAUR is a statically compiled version of pacman, so it will be able to run even when the libraries on the system are not working. This can also come in handy when a partial upgrade was performed and pacman can not run anymore.

More here:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/pacman

Under Manually reinstalling pacman section.

Also, this will probably be of help:

[HowTo] Recovering from an interrupted update/upgrade

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And

[HowTo] Resolve an unbootable Manjaro (black screen, login failed, cant boot, etc)

When we have problems gaining access to our systems it is difficult to gather information, let alone fix any problems. Here we will cover common causes and solutions to ‘manjaro wont boot’. TTY If your desktop does not load properly then you might still be able to use most, if not all, functionality by dropping to a non-graphical TTY. By default your system will have multiple TTYs, with each corresponding to an Fx key. Your desktop is assigned to one as well - most often F1. You can chang…