Description of problem: When the packagekit icon checks for updates and finds them, it offers to update the system but always fails with the following cryptic and meaningless (at least to an end user) error message: Failed to update system The error was: org.freedesktop.packagekit.update-system auth_admin_keep_always The same error is also generated if you click on the packagekit icon and select "update system". A work around is to open a command prompt and type "yum update" which works perfectly with no errors. This error occurs 100% of the time on both my Inspiron 8600 laptop and on a VIA Mini-ITX desktop system with Fedora 9. Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): Packagekit Update Applet 0.1.12 How reproducible: Fails 100% of the time Steps to Reproduce: 1. Install Fedora 2. Wait for updates 3. ask package kit to install updates 4. watch it fail Actual results: updates should be installed Expected results: no updates are installed and a cryptic error message is display that provide no useful information to the end user about the cause of the problem. Additional info: The Fedora update icon worked perfectly on both the machines in all previous versions of Fedora.
Are you logging in as root?
On the desktop, it gets the error if I'm logged in as a non-root user AND when I log in as root. I only just installed Fedora on my laptop and have only logged in as root so far. I'll create a non-root user and give that a try.
For what it's worth, I'm seeing a lot of other anecdotal accounts of this bug, so at least I know it's not just me: http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showpost.php?p=1028171&postcount=25 http://virtualex.linuxoid.net/?p=7 http://www.gp32spain.com/foros/showpost.php?p=719662&postcount=26 http://linux.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/Fedora/2008-05/msg01321.html http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10543078&postcount=1
After installing the latest Fedora 9 updates (manually using Yum), there's a change in behavior on this bug. It seems to be half-fixed. I see different results depending on whether I'm logged in as a normal user or as root: 1. Logged into Gnome as root: When I'm prompted to update the system, nothing happens. There is no longer a "failed to update system" error message. The update simply fails silently with no results. 2. Logged into Gnome as a non-root user: It now seems to work correctly. When I'm prompted to update the system, it doesn't generate an error. Instead, it correctly prompts me for the root password, then does the update. My only complaint is that there is no confirmation that anything is happening once the update starts - no progress meter, no "updating" dialog or anything like that. But if you click the update icon in the toolbar again, it's possible to open a progress meter. This is confusing but at least it works, so that's good news. So, for me at least, this bug is now occurring only when I'm logged into the Gnome desktop as root.
Please see http://www.packagekit.org/pk-faq.html#run-as-root
Hmmm... okay, so as of Fedora 9, you can no longer update the system when logged in as Root, by design? Then I at least think it's a bug that it doesn't say that. How about a dialog that says "sorry, you have to log out, log in as non-root, then give the root password anyway to update the system" :) instead of crashing when you try to do the update? Seriously, though, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the system update function to work for root.