I wrote:

> So working backward, while regenerating individual removed or
> overwritten files by patching them forward from 2.10, *might* succeed.

For what it's worth, I've begun.  So far, I've worked backward from
patchlevel 195 to 177.  I've had to patch files forward from 2.10.1 a
couple of times, and that's gone without a hitch.

-tih
-- 
Elections cannot be allowed to change anything.  --Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble