I unmasked Firefox in package.keywords:


# Unmask FF3, and deps...
www-client/mozilla-firefox
dev-libs/nspr
dev-libs/nss
net-libs/xulrunner

When I tried to emerge it…

  • [emerge world] did not pull it in
  • [emerge mozilla-firefox] did – weird
  • another [emerge world] REVERTED to Firefox 2!

Apparently there’s some dependency that causes FF2 to reinstall over FF3. So… let’s block FF2 from reinstalling by adding this to package.mask:


<=www-client/mozilla-firefox-2.0.0.16

Now we can run [emerge world] to see the problem dependency:


!!! All ebuilds that could satisfy "=www-client/mozilla-firefox-2*" have been masked.
!!! One of the following masked packages is required to complete your request:
- www-client/mozilla-firefox-2.0.0.16 (masked by: package.mask)
- www-client/mozilla-firefox-2.0.0.11 (masked by: package.mask)
(dependency required by "www-client/epiphany-2.20.3" [installed])

Epiphany is a browser based on FF2, ugg. You can't mask epiphany, it is a dependency of gnome. So... unmasked FF3 and gnome are incompatible, at the moment. For now, I guess I have to wait it out... after all, the official policy (as stated here):

The overall Gentoo policy is very clear on the topic. Mixing unstable and stable is _your_ problem, not ours. We are already trying our best to maintain a stable Gnome (2.20), an unstable one (2.22) and an experimental one (2.23/24).

If you mix and match stable and unstable, you're own your own.

Fair enough.

# MDM Un-soft-mask VLC (and dependencies)
media-video/vlc
media-plugins/live
media-video/ffmpeg

# FF3, it's f*$#( masked... FF2 is KILLING my little machine...
# ...and deps...
www-client/mozilla-firefox
dev-libs/nspr
dev-libs/nss
net-libs/xulrunner

I wondered if FF3 was unmasked yet
Ran [eix firefox].
Found I was missing a FF2 bump.

tdm2 ~ # elogviewer
Elogviewer should help you not to miss important information like: 

If you have just upgraded from an older version of python you
will need to run:
	/usr/sbin/python-updater

please do run it and restart elogviewer.
tdm2 ~ # /usr/sbin/python-updater
 * Starting Python Updater from 2.4 to 2.5 :

Blocked by fluxspace (which is nowhere in portage now).
[emerge –unmerge fluxspace]
Try [python-updater] again.
More blocks (postgresql). It’s older, kill it (let it get pulled in again if needed)….
More blocks (libcap…)…
and now emerging 65 packages! yikes…

UPDATE: Doing the update on desktop.
emerge –unmerge pessulus
emerge –unmerge deskbar-applet
emerge -Davu gnome-games
(3 blocks!)
emerge –unmerge gnome-applets gst-plugins-ugly totem
emerge -Davu gnome-games
74 packages! *gulp* here we go…
looking good. Let’s push my luck…
/usr/sbin/python-updater && emerge -Du mozilla-firefox && emerge_all_minprompts

Getting the dreaded…

hda: status timeout: status=0xd0 { Busy }

Time to….

  1. Learn how to ghost/raid (well, past time, to be honest…)
  2. Order some new hardware

I was getting this: