Sometime ago I tried out a friend's external sound hardware -- TASCAM US122. Then I stopped using it (returned the TASCAM to my friend) and de-installed the debs that I used for that. However some symptoms from smxi tell me that perhaps that de-install is not quite done.

Here are the details (that I remember)

Recently smxi told me that I could do a kernel upgrade. I went along with it but then it told me something about alsa-firmware-loaders{b} and jackd{b}. It also showed some packages as [Not Installed].

Now I vaguely remember seeing 'Not installed' when some package was removed but not purged.

There was also something displayed about Updating firmware-linux/libc6 . Now these packages were the ones (directly or indirectly) needed for the TASCAM device which I thought I had removed so I checked if synaptic would give me a purge option but it would not.

Also this message comes from smxi but not from a straight:aptitude full-upgrade

Sorry if this has been a ramble so far.. But now my real questions:

1. Whats the {a} and {b} [Not installed/ Not going to be installed] that smxi/aptitude shows?
   
2. Can an apt-get install install a kernel module or something that does not get removed (in the normal way)?
   

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This not going to be installed message happens usually when there's a dependency for some package that can't be fulfilled.

You could fully upgrade your system (with apt-get is apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade), install deborphan, open Synaptic and:
- check the Status column and see if there are packages to be autoremoved or that have residual configuration (same as clean-cruft in smxi, I think).
- check for the orphaned packages (use the filters for that) and remove anything you don't need (keep checking and removing until no undesired package shows up anymore).
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You need to NOT read this info. It's just confusing. What you see is normal. Unless you see something in red or a failure notice, all is OK. Synaptic will tell you of anything no longer needed. As was already noted, you can use smxi to get rid of cruft or use residual in synaptic. smxi will offer to install deborphan if you don't have it. I simply su to orphaner, which lists the orphans and delete them.
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