rpm -qa | grep mysql
mysqlclient10-3.23.58-4.RHEL4.1
mysql-4.1.20-2.RHEL4.1
mysql-4.1.20-2.RHEL4.1
mysqlclient10-3.23.58-4.RHEL4.1

Try uninstalling.

rpm -e mysqlclient10-3.23.58-4.RHEL4.1
error: “mysqlclient10-3.23.58-4.RHEL4.1″ specifies multiple packages

With man rpm, it turns out that -allmatches should fix the problem:.

–allmatches
Remove all versions of the package which match PACKAGE_NAME. Normally an error is issued if PACKAGE_NAME matches
multiple packages.

rpm -e –allmatches mysqlclient10-3.23.58-4.RHEL4.1
rpm -e –allmatches mysql-4.1.20-2.RHEL4.1
warning: /etc/my.cnf saved as /etc/my.cnf.rpmsave

ok, the old version of MySQL that comes with the system is uninstalled.