For TarHeel Linux 5

TarHeel Linux is configured so that applications are upgraded automatically when a new version is placed in the TarHeel Linux software repository.  Occasionally, you will have a Very Good Reason to keep a specific application from being upgraded.  Sometimes, what you want/need to do works better in an old version than in a new version.

There is a way to make sure that a version will not change without user intervention.

Freezing the Current Version

Here is an example of how this is done:

prompt$ su -
Password:

# yum -y install yum-versionlock

Check to see that /etc/yum/pluginconf.d/versionlock.conf exists, and contains the words:

enabled = 1

Use

prompt$ rpm -qa | grep [pkgname]

to get the current name and package version for the package you wish to “freeze”

Create /etc/yum/pluginconf.d/versionlock.list and add the package name and version in a single line.

Example:

rssowl-1.2.1-0.1

Restoring and Freezing a Previous Version

If an application has been upgraded, and you do not feel that it is behaving correctly for you,

you can run:

prompt$ yum list [pkgname] --showduplicates

and find the penultimate version you may want to keep.

To get the correct package back in place do the following:

prompt$ su -
Password:

# yum erase [pkgname]

# yum clean all

# yum install [pkgname-pkgversion]

Now, follow the instructions above to install the versionlock rpm.

The [pkgname-pkgversion] you just backed off to is what you want to put

in /etc/yum/pluginconf.d/versionlock.list