error: installing './INSTALL'; error while making link: File exists

[Bruce Korb]

Hi,

Googling doesn't get me any answers and I cannot rebuild until
autoreconf is gotten working.
The embedded autoreconf step that fails is automake. I have no idea at
all what the message is really trying to say. Help, please?

$ automake --add-missing --no-force
Makefile.am: error: installing './INSTALL'; error while making link: File exists
doc/Makefile.am:71: warning: call gen_man,gnu-pw-mgr,opts.def:
non-POSIX variable
name
doc/Makefile.am:71: (probably a GNU make extension)
doc/Makefile.am:80: warning: call gen_man,sort-pw-cfg,sort-opts.def:
non-POSIX va
riable name
doc/Makefile.am:80: (probably a GNU make extension)
doc/Makefile.am:90: warning: call check_exe,gnu-pw-mgr : non-POSIX variable name
doc/Makefile.am:90: (probably a GNU make extension)
doc/Makefile.am:91: warning: call gen_invoke,gnu-pw-mgr,opts.def :
non-POSIX vari
able name
doc/Makefile.am:91: (probably a GNU make extension)
doc/Makefile.am:101: warning: call check_exe,sort-pw-cfg : non-POSIX
variable nam
e
doc/Makefile.am:101: (probably a GNU make extension)
doc/Makefile.am:102: warning: call
gen_invoke,sort-pw-cfg,sort-opts.def : non-POS
IX variable name
doc/Makefile.am:102: (probably a GNU make extension)