arch linux update - Binaries move to /usr/bin requiring update intervention

Question

I just botched the latest update for arch linux. Here's what I did:

pacman -Syu --ignore filesystem,bash
reboot

So I logged out before running:

pacman -S bash
pacman -Su

Now I see this:

sh: cannot set terminal process group (-1): Inappropriate ioctl for device
sh: no job control in this shell
sh-4.2# _

Usb/dongle keyboards are not working. My plan is to just backup my home folder and wipe the sd card and start from scratch. But I am curious if there is actually a way to restore from this state?

Since my install is on an SD card (running on raspberry pi) would it be possible to somehow sync bash and run an update through an SD card reader on my laptop?

Answer 1

Yes, you can boot ArchLinux from a USB or LiveCD or, in your case, SD card. Then get the internet up, mount the previously used system and run this:

pacman --root /opt/arch32 --cachedir /opt/arch32/var/cache/pacman/pkg --config /opt/arch32/etc/pacman.conf -S bash
pacman --root /opt/arch32 --cachedir /opt/arch32/var/cache/pacman/pkg --config /opt/arch32/etc/pacman.conf -Su

Here "/opt/arch32" is the mountpoint.