On 03/02/2013 11:51 PM, g wrote:
>
> On 03/02/2013 10:48 AM, zxq9 wrote:
>> On 03/02/2013 04:49 PM, g wrote:
>>> greetings.
>>>
>>> i have recently in stalled sl6.3 from a 'livedvd on a stick' and all went
>>> well.
>>>
>>> in looking at the new /etc/yum.repos.d files, i see "$releasever" and
>>> "$basearch".
>>>
>>> how and where are these strings set?
>>
>> yum sets its own environment when invoked. yum/__init__.py initializes
>> basearch from a listing in rpmUtils/arch.py. I think releasever is
>> pulled in by yum/config.py, but I don't remember where. If that doesn't
>> make much sense then I recommend not doing whatever you're thinking of
>> doing.
>
> it is understandable. now i am wondering just where the *.py are located.
> or is it in memory?

The files I mentioned above are relative to
/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/
Read them for understanding and self education, but I don't recommend 
adjusting in anything in there. They won't help fix the problem you 
described below, in any case.

...

> now my question is, is installation salvageable without a lot of trouble,
> or would it be better to wipe partition and install fresh?

That's a pretty wild story. But before giving up I would make sure the 
original repos were in place again and do:

yum clean all
yum distribution-synchronization

Depending on what other repos were in the pile you copied from the SL5 
install a vast variety of packages built in funky ways may have been 
installed from anywhere. So no guarantees at all. If the above doesn't 
work then tracking down and fixing everything, though a highly 
educational experience, wouldn't be worth it over a fresh install if 
your goal is to actually use the system before the end of the coming week.