This system is already registered. Use --force to override

Linux
1

Something bad happens on RHEL 8 server and it stopped updating. After reading EC2 docs I need to run:

subscription-manager register

But I got an error or message that said:

This system is already registered. Use --force to override

What to do? Shall I pass --force option? Is it safe?

2

I am not sure how AWS manages. But typically we can list subscription and product information as follows:

subscription-manager list

Pull the latest subscription data from the server

We run:

subscription-manager refresh

Attach a specified subscription to the registered system

All you have to do is run:

subscription-manager attach --auto

Wait for some time as it takes time. Final confirmation:

1 local certificate has been deleted.
Installed Product Current Status:
Product Name: Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
Status:       Subscribed

If everything failed, then remove and register again:

Remove all or specific subscriptions from this system

subscription-manager remove
subscription-manager register

Getting help for RHEL 8

We take help of the following simple command:

subscription-manager --help

Usage: subscription-manager MODULE-NAME [MODULE-OPTIONS] [--help]

Primary Modules: 

  attach         Attach a specified subscription to the registered system
  list           List subscription and product information for this system
  refresh        Pull the latest subscription data from the server
  register       Register this system to the Customer Portal or another subscription management service
  release        Configure which operating system release to use
  remove         Remove all or specific subscriptions from this system
  status         Show status information for this system's subscriptions and products
  unregister     Unregister this system from the Customer Portal or another subscription management service

Other Modules:   

  addons         Modify or view the addons attribute of the system purpose
  auto-attach    Set if subscriptions are attached on a schedule (default of daily)
  clean          Remove all local system and subscription data without affecting the server
  config         List, set, or remove the configuration parameters in use by this system
  environments   Display the environments available for a user
  facts          View or update the detected system information
  identity       Display the identity certificate for this system or request a new one
  import         Import certificates which were provided outside of the tool
  orgs           Display the organizations against which a user can register a system
  plugins        View and configure with 'subscription-manager plugins'
  redeem         Attempt to redeem a subscription for a preconfigured system
  repo-override  Manage custom content repository settings
  repos          List the repositories which this system is entitled to use
  role           Modify system purpose role
  service-level  Manage service levels for this system
  subscribe      Deprecated, see attach
  unsubscribe    Deprecated, see remove
  usage          Manage usage setting for this system
  version        Print version information
  1. Managing Red Hat Enterprise Linux Systems on AWS with Red Hat Insights | AWS Partner Network (APN) Blog
  2. Red Hat FAQs
  3. How to register and subscribe a RHEL system to the Red Hat Customer Portal using Red Hat Subscription-Manager? - Red Hat Customer Portal
1 Like
3

This worked. Any idea why it was removed?

4

It is possible that your subscription with RHEL/RHN was ended. Just my guess.

5

that make sense. i guess our accounting people renewed it later.