Description of problem: rpm -e fails rpm sees a package is there but won't uninstall it or allow to re-installed Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): latest rpm as of 22may How reproducible: install j2sdk Steps to Reproduce: download]# rpm -iv j2sdk-1_4_2-beta-linux-i586.rpm Preparing packages for installation... package j2sdk-1.4.2-beta is already installed root@localhost download]# rpm -e j2sdk-1_4_2-beta-linux-i586.rpm error: package j2sdk-1_4_2-beta-linux-i586.rpm is not installed root@localhost download]# rpm -e j2sdk-1_4_2-beta error: package j2sdk-1_4_2-beta is not installed 2. 3. Actual results: j2sdk not found Expected results: j2sdk deleted Additional info:
You haven't got the syntax right. Try rpm -e j2sdk-1.4.2-beta , or even just rpm -e j2sdk .
Yup, a common problem with rpm users is confusing a package file name (like *.rpm) with a package name. Only install/upgrade/freshen, or query/verify with a -p option, or the signature modes, take package file names as argument. The package name is used elsewhere.