diff --git a/src/installtransaction.cpp b/src/installtransaction.cpp
index 6cc058a..37fd32b 100644
--- a/src/installtransaction.cpp
+++ b/src/installtransaction.cpp
@@ -146,7 +146,8 @@ InstallTransaction::install( const ArgParser* parser )
 
         // Set the update flag if the package is installed and out of date,
 	//   or if the user has forced a rebuild.
-	// Proceed to the next target if package is installed and up to date.
+	// Proceed to the next target if package is installed and up to date,
+	// or is provided by an alias.
 	if ( m_pkgDB->isInstalled( it->first, false ) ) {
 		VersionComparator::COMP_RESULT
 			rpDiff = VersionComparator::compareVersions(
@@ -156,18 +157,21 @@ InstallTransaction::install( const ArgParser* parser )
 		   parser->pkgmkArgs().find(forceRebuild) == string::npos ) {
 			m_alreadyInstalledPackages.push_back( package->name() );
 			continue;
-		} else if ( (! m_config->preferHigher())
-				|| parser->strictDiff() 
-				|| rpDiff == VersionComparator::GREATER 
-		|| ( parser->pkgmkArgs().find(forceRebuild) != string::npos &&
-		find(parser->otherArgs().begin(), parser->otherArgs().end(),
-			it->first) != parser->otherArgs().end() ) ) {
+		} else if ( (! m_config->preferHigher()) || parser->strictDiff() 
+			|| rpDiff == VersionComparator::GREATER 
+			|| ( parser->pkgmkArgs().find(forceRebuild) 
+			!= string::npos && find(parser->otherArgs().begin(), 
+			parser->otherArgs().end(), it->first)
+			!= parser->otherArgs().end() ) ) {
 			update = true;
 		} else {
 			continue;
 		}
+	} else if ( m_pkgDB->isInstalled( it->first, true ) ) {
+		continue;
 	}
 
+
         InstallTransaction::InstallResult result;
         InstallInfo info( package->hasReadme() );
         if ( parser->isTest() ) {
@@ -336,11 +340,16 @@ const {
 	    time_t pkgMtime = statData.st_mtime;
 	    time_t pfMtime = fstatData.st_mtime;
 	    if ( ( difftime(pkgMtime,pfMtime) > 0 ) and 
-	    (parser->pkgmkArgs().find("-fr") == string::npos) ) { 
+	    (parser->pkgmkArgs().find(" -f") == string::npos) ) { 
 		    cmd = "/bin/true"; }
     }
 
     string args = "-d " + parser->pkgmkArgs();
+    if ( parser->pkgmkArgs().find(" -f") != string::npos &&
+         find( parser->otherArgs().begin(), parser->otherArgs().end(),
+		 package->name() ) == parser->otherArgs().end() ) {
+	    StringHelper::replaceAll(args," -f","");
+    }
     Process makeProc( cmd, args, fdlog );
     if ( makeProc.executeShell() ) {
         result = PKGMK_FAILURE;
@@ -572,6 +581,7 @@ void InstallTransaction::checkDependencies( bool greedy,
   Method to determine whether a soft dependency should be part of the transaction
 */
 bool InstallTransaction::isRequired(const string &pname) {
+    if ( m_pkgDB->isInstalled(pname) ) { return true; }
     list<pair<string, const Package*>>::iterator it = m_packages.begin();
     for ( ; it != m_packages.end(); ++it ) {
 	    if ( pname == it->first ) { return true; }
@@ -648,10 +658,15 @@ bool InstallTransaction::calcDependencies( )
         }
     }
 
-    if ( validPackages and (!calculateDependencies()) ) {
-        cout << "Could not resolve dependencies for this transaction" << endl;
+    if (!validPackages) {
+        cout << "No valid packages for this transaction" << endl;
+        return false;
     }
-    return validPackages;
+    if ( !calculateDependencies() ) {
+        cout << "Cyclic dependencies detected" << endl;
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
 }
 
 const list<string>& InstallTransaction::ignoredPackages() const
diff --git a/src/prtget.cpp b/src/prtget.cpp
index 2bd24a5..2055cd3 100644
--- a/src/prtget.cpp
+++ b/src/prtget.cpp
@@ -565,16 +565,19 @@ void PrtGet::install( bool dependencies ) {
                                            m_repo, m_pkgDB, m_config );
         bool depck = depTransaction.calcDependencies();
 
-	// early exit when dependencies cannot be satisfied
+	// early exit if no valid targets,
+	// or if a dependency cycle was created
 	if (!depck) { return; }
 
+	// we have valid targets, so arrange them in the correct order
         list<string> deps = depTransaction.dependencies();
+
+	// append all missing ports at the end of the queue, for the
+	// post-transaction summary (FS#1843). Exempt any ports that were
+	// installed manually or from repos that have since been deactivated.
 	const list< pair<string,string> >& depMissing = depTransaction.missing();
 	list< pair<string,string> >::const_iterator it = depMissing.begin();
 
-	// ensure that missing ports are retained for the 
-	// post-transaction summary (FS#1843). Exempt any ports that were
-	// installed manually or from repos that have since been deactivated.
 	for (; it != depMissing.end(); ++it) {
 	    if (! m_pkgDB->isInstalled(it->first)) {
 		    deps.push_back(it->first);