How to fix Broken Debian packages. A step-by-step guide. If you run Debian or Ubuntu, you might have encountered errors about broken packages. In this video, we'll go over their common causes and tell you how to fix them. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to Ninja One's IT Video Hub. For more tech content like this, understanding the you have held broken packages error on a Linux device. Sometimes the DB N package manager can hold back a package from being upgraded to reduced compatibility or stability issues. Packages are also held automatically when they have unmet or broken dependencies. This error typically arises from one of two scenarios. First, installing packages from personal package archives. PPAs or other third party repositories can introduce conflicts with existing packages or dependencies from the official repositories. Second, an interrupted update from an official Dian or Ubuntu repository can leave the package system in an inconsistent state. Troubleshooting Held package errors in Dian and Ubuntu. To resolve these issues, first identify which packages are causing the problem. Running the pseudo app get check command will scan the package database for broken dependencies. If a package issue is found, the command output will look something like this. This message is a common indicator of this issue to look for. Packages that are back use this command held packages will be marked with held back next to their entry. To get detailed information about a package, use this command pseudo APT search, followed by the package name. It will give you an output like this fixing broken Debian and Ubuntu packages. Once you've identified the broken packages, use the following methods to fix them. Your first step should always be to update your package lists and upgrade your installed packages. Run this command pseudo APT update, followed by this one pseudo apt upgrade. If a conflicting package is identified, remove it completely using this command. If all other methods fail, you can manually un hold a package. Just run this command followed by the package name. After performing any troubleshooting steps, test your system. Run these commands again and ensure that they both run without any errors. Resolving broken package errors is a key aspect of maintaining a stable Debian or Ubuntu system. By understanding their causes, you can address these issues and prevent them from happening again on your Linux device. For more information, check out our official blog post on how to fix broken DBM packages linked in the description below.