Quick solve package dependency with rpm –aid

This is relevant for Redhat EL 3 and 4, and any other compatible system not using “yum”. RHEL5 uses “yum”, and its RPM system does not include the “–aid” flag, which we require so much.

1. Place all the available RPMS (I assume these are the installation medias, combined) in a single directory – for example: /mnt

2. Install manually the “rpmdb” package

3. Edit /etc/rpm/macros.solve and change two lines:

%_solve_pkgsdir /mnt

%_solve_name_fmt /mnt/%%{NAME}-%%{VERSION}-%%{RELEASE}.%%{ARCH}.rpm

-Notice: I have used /mnt. Replace it your preferred directory

Following these steps, any encounter with RedHat’s infamous “dependency hell” can be solved by using the flag “–aid” for the RPM command