abrowser uninstallation

I believe because this is a core package the system is hickuping over removal since there will be no default browser. (e.g. update-alternatives)

To see current default (should be aBrowser):
sudo update-alternatives --display x-www-browser

To change this see here:
https://wiki.debian.org/FAQ/Gnome

You can try setting Midori as default while you reinstall aBrowser.
sudo apt-get install midori
Then see debian FAQ above on setting it as default.

For complete removal and re-install of aBrowser let's try...

• sudo apt-get remove --purge abrowser

Then to install it again:
sudo apt-get install abrowser
sudo apt-get update && apt-get upgrade (just to be safe and up-to-date.)
And use Debian FAQ to set it as default.

If that still doesn't work there are some more down and dirty methods of forcing it to bypass the error, but I'm hoping that will work for you. :)

Interesting. Can you run:
sudo file /etc/alternatives/x-www-browser

And if it exists paste the content of the file here via:
gksu gedit /etc/alternatives/x-www-browser

Sounds like it got deleted or corrupted as you mentioned.

Contents of my x-www-browser file:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#!/bin/sh

set -e

# Abrowser launcher containing a Profile migration helper for
# temporary profiles used during alpha and beta phases.

# Authors:
# Alexander Sack <name at domain>
# Fabien Tassin <name at domain>
# Steve Langasek <name at domain>
# Chris Coulson <name at domain>
# License: GPLv2 or later

MOZ_LIBDIR=/usr/lib/abrowser
MOZ_APP_LAUNCHER=`which $0`
MOZ_APP_NAME=abrowser
MOZ_DEFAULT_PROFILEDIR=.mozilla/abrowser
MOZ_PROFILEDIR=.mozilla/abrowser

export MOZ_APP_LAUNCHER

while [ ! -x $MOZ_LIBDIR/$MOZ_APP_NAME ] ; do
if [ -L "$MOZ_APP_LAUNCHER" ] ; then
MOZ_APP_LAUNCHER=`readlink -f $MOZ_APP_LAUNCHER`
MOZ_LIBDIR=`dirname $MOZ_APP_LAUNCHER`
else
echo "Can't find $MOZ_LIBDIR/$MOZ_APP_NAME"
exit 1
fi
done

usage () {
$MOZ_LIBDIR/$MOZ_APP_NAME -h | sed -e 's,/.*/,,'
echo
echo " -g or --debug Start within debugger"
echo " -d or --debugger Specify debugger to start with (eg, gdb or valgrind)"
echo " -a or --debugger-args Specify arguments for debugger"
}

moz_debug=0
moz_debugger_args=""
moz_debugger="gdb"

while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
case "$1" in
-h | --help )
usage
exit 0
;;
-g | --debug )
moz_debug=1
shift
;;
-d | --debugger)
moz_debugger=$2;
if [ "${moz_debugger}" != "" ]; then
shift 2
else
echo "-d requires an argument"
exit 1
fi
;;
-a | --debugger-args )
moz_debugger_args=$2;
if [ "${moz_debugger_args}" != "" ] ; then
shift 2
else
echo "-a requires an argument"
exit 1
fi
;;
-- ) # Stop option processing
shift
break
;;
* )
break
;;
esac
done

if [ $moz_debug -eq 1 ] ; then
case $moz_debugger in
memcheck)
debugger="valgrind"
;;
*)
debugger=$moz_debugger
;;
esac

debugger=`which $debugger`
if [ ! -x $debugger ] ; then
echo "Invalid debugger"
exit 1
fi

case `basename $moz_debugger` in
gdb)
exec $debugger $moz_debugger_args --args $MOZ_LIBDIR/$MOZ_APP_NAME "$@"
;;
memcheck)
echo "$MOZ_APP_NAME has not been compiled with valgrind support"
exit 1
;;
*)
exec $debugger $moz_debugger_args $MOZ_LIBDIR/$MOZ_APP_NAME "$@"
;;
esac
else
exec $MOZ_LIBDIR/$MOZ_APP_NAME "$@"
fi

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interesting, that part seems right. Here is a copy of my working one:
http://pastebin.com/0J5yfr6V

I'd wait until someone with the inner workings of galternative (Gnome update-alternatives) replies. Or if your feeling adventurous here's some troubleshooting ideas I would try:

• sudo rm /etc/alternatives/x-www-browser

// Remove the pesky thing

• sudo apt-get remove --purge abrowser

// try and uninstall again

• sudo apt-get install abrowser

// re-install (if we get this far)

• sudo file /etc/alternatives/x-www-browser

// does file exist after re-install?

• sudo ln -s /usr/bin/abrowser /etc/alternatives/x-www-browser

// if not, let's fix it... with a new symlink: http://kb.iu.edu/data/abbe.html

Now the question is. How does one install a new browser from the tar files instead of a package so that it is integrated into the system like abrowser.

I updated the symbolic links to point to my browser, but that doesn't seem to be the only thing. Programs that invoke a browser like Liferea still want to invoke a non-existent abrowser.

Any thoughts?

Here's what I followed to change the symlinks:

http://www.shallowsky.com/blog/2012/Jun/16/