kubuntu-restricted-extras version 3.7 problem

[bobbicat]

I have installed Kubuntu 19.04 on my pc from thumb drive.
Installation of kubuntu-restricted-extras was successful, but I have a problem with ttf-mscorefonts-installer.
It throws up the following message:

Failure to download extra data files
The following packages requested additional data downloads after package installation, but the data could not be downloaded or could not be processed... ttf-mscorefonts-installer .. The download will be attempted again later, or you can try again now. Running this command requires an active Internet connection.

pressing the "Run this action now" button, on that message, opened the console which produced the following output:

[FONT=monospace]ttf-mscorefonts-installer: processing...
ttf-mscorefonts-installer: downloading http://downloads.sourceforge.net/corefonts/andale32.exe
Err:1 http://downloads.sourceforge.net/corefonts/andale32.exe
Redirection from https to 'http://downloads.sourceforge.net/mirrorproblem?failedmirror=kent2.dl.sourceforge.net' is forbidden [IP: 212.219.56.185 443]
E: Failed to fetch https://kent.dl.sourceforge.net/project/corefonts/the fonts/final/andale32.exe  Redirection from https to 'http://downloads.sourceforge
.net/mirrorproblem?failedmirror=kent2.dl.sourceforge.net' is forbidden [IP: 212.219.56.185 443]
E: Download Failed

[/FONT]

I'm guessing that the error could be due to the re-direction from a secure connection [htpps://] to an unsecured connection [http://] which causes the download to be blocked.

I can get it to work using ttf-mscorefonts-installer version 3.6 but this then automatically updates to 3.7 which is where the bug seems to reside. I am a reasonably competent Kubuntu user but bug reporting of this sort is something I have not successfully managed in the past.
I can see a problem but haven't the experience to help get it sorted.
I do feel someone knowledgeable needs to look at this.

In addition, I have two pc's here with Kubuntu 19.04. One was installed as an upgrade from 18.10. That one is showing no problems (possibly because the m$ fonts were already installed in 18.10).

The problem pc operating system was installed from thumb drive on a freshly formatted partition.

If any of my terminology is not quite 'correct', please forgive my inexpertise.
I would be happy to answer any questions or follow straight forward instructions in connection with this matter.

My diagnosis is probably completely wrong but I think this is something that requires attention.

[bobbicat]

The following is a work-around which involves downloading directly from debian:

wget http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/pool/contrib/m/msttcorefonts/ttf-mscorefonts-installer_3.7_all.deb
sudo apt-get purge ttf-mscorefonts-installer
sudo dpkg -i ttf-mscorefonts-installer_3.7_all.deb
[FONT=monospace]sudo apt-mark hold ttf-mscorefonts-installer
[/FONT]

This is a workaround, not an ideal solution and I won't mark this thread as 'solved' until the repositories have properly working content for 'ttf-mscorefonts-installer'

The repository file needing to be tweaked is '3.7ubuntu4 (disco)' as far as I can see. I'll try to post something on the ubuntu forums.

[bobbicat]

The title of this thread is a little misleading. It should read :

kubuntu-restricted-extras problem

and it is the package within it, 'ttf-mscorefonts-installer' that contains the problem.

[Snowhog]

You can change the thread title yourself. Edit post #1 and click on the Go Advanced button. That gives you access to the Title.

[bobbicat]

Many thanks Mr Snowhog sir!! I have learned a little more.

[claydoh]

The problem with ttf-mscorefonts-installer is that Sourceforge is the site that provides the the actual font exe' files that this package grabs . Sometimes a particular mirror or individual file on it is wonky, or down, or..whatever.
I had this package in a batch of dependencies for something I installed yesterday, and it installed as expected without error or failure. I tested on a different machine, and noted that it also switched to an http mirror. SO, this is not an issue, the particular mirror used had a problem - https://kent.dl.sourceforge.net, in this case.

When you purged and manually downloaded and installed the deb, sourceforge either redirected a different mirror, or they fixed the error. The same thing could be done by re-installed the package in apt, maybe you'd need to purge before, or not.

[#]sudo apt reinstall --purge ttf-mscorefonts-installer[/#] should do it


It is really Sourceforge's problem, they iirc are the only place that has them, and I think the legal copyright issues keep most distros from providing them in packages directly. Their mirrors have been somewhat unreliable for this for a very long time now. What Debian , or whomever) needs to do is see if there is a way to have it attempt to attempt to re-download a failed file.or see if archive.org is reliable enough as an alternative.

[bobbicat]

I can see what you are saying Claydoh. I attempted a bug report but I expect it is 'just one of those things'.
I'm happy with the results from the debian download, but it nags me that the repositories can't easily be put right.
What was getting to me was that debian could get a result from kent.dl.sourceforge.net but ubuntu could not.
I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable about how software works even though I have been using it for many years.
I tend to take it for granted and Kubuntu has been a reliable operating system for my computers for more than twelve years.
I seem to remember my first Kubuntu installation was Edgy, but it might have been Dapper Drake.
I don't see me moving elsewhere, either.

Thanks for taking the time to post.

[claydoh]

It was probably a temporary issue on Sourceforge's servers, zero to do with the packaging on Ubuntu (or Debian) . The difference between Debian and Ubuntu on this package is minimal.

Also note the initial error message says:

The download will be attempted again later,

Which would probably have worked fine, once Sourceforge's hiccup had passed.