Package breakdown - SOLVED

[PatheticMoFo]

Re: Package breakdown

Do you have any other files in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ ?

[mcdactor]

Re: Package breakdown

Just the following PMF:

medibuntu.list
Medibuntu.list.save

Cheers,

Jim

[PatheticMoFo]

Re: Package breakdown

This is weird because this error should only happen if you've got a line somewhere that starts with 'http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu'. And, like arochester said, you only had 54 lines to start with when the error said the fault was on line 55. Somehow, apt is reading a line like that above and giving an error, so what I would do is simple trial and error.

Make a backup of all files you're going to change (sources.list and medibuntu.list) then, remove one line at a time, run sudo apt-get update and see if you still get the error. I'd start with medibuntu.list

Sounds like a pretty crappy solution, but I suggest trying that as a last resort. There must be some bad formatting *somewhere* and that's what you're trying to look for.

Anyone have a better solution? I'd hate to see mcdactor waste his time and then come after me!

[mcdactor]

Re: Package breakdown

Snowhog suggested as follows:

You can edit the list and replace all occurrences of http://au. with (say) http://us. and rerun the update command and see if you get the same error.

That didn't work

I didn't get far with PMF's suggestion because now Intrepid won't let me save any changes even when I sign on.

Have to go - late here and I'm an old bugger who needs his sleep.

Cheers,

Jim

[toad]

Re: Package breakdown

Okay, I just flew over this thread but my (working) medibuntu line (singular!) is as follows:

# Medibuntu
deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ intrepid free non-free

So I suggest you comment yours out and replace it with the above followed by a normal update.

[mcdactor]

Re: Package breakdown

Thanks for the suggestion, Toad, but I'm still being locked out from making any changes. The file now lacks the first couple of lines.....

[toad]

Re: Package breakdown

This is weird - could you post the output of

sudo apt-get install -f

and let us have another copy of your latest fstab using the quote function as in

This is a quote

The first command may throw some further light on your problem. As for your fstab - I could try it on my system and do an update to see whether I get the same message.

[mcdactor]

Re: Package breakdown

In Terminal I got:

E: The list of sources could not be read.

As a click and point man fstab is a mystery to me. It's appears not to be a command. I've not systematically tried to learn the various commands and I have yet to find written in clear English a handbook that helps. I think that's a function of the proliferation of distros. But, I really need to find a course that takes you through Linux principles step by step. There was a Linux Group in my area [I live in a regional community in Australia], but it appears to have become defunct. Maybe, it's because I'm getting into my sixties [mind you I've been using computers for nearly 19 years] not because I'm getting old [60s are the new 50s] but because I'm flat out creating new stuff - I write plays, write a monthly newsletter and enjoy smelling the roses since I "retired". Unfortunately, I became lazy using windows for most of that time [and frustrated by it].

I think in this case I've deleted something I shouldn't have!

I'm almost ready to buy a new HD and start again - it's an excuse.

Cheers

[PatheticMoFo]

Re: Package breakdown

E: The list of sources could not be read.

Uh-oh! Did you somehow delete sources.list? But you said you can still open it, right? Well you can check if its there by typing

ls /etc/apt/

and then seeing if sources.list shows up.

@toad I don't think his fstab has anything to do with his problem, he's been showing us samples from his sources.list this whole time.
@mcdactor, fstab is a file (/etc/fstab) which keeps track of what HD partitions to mount on startup as well as your optical drives.

I'm almost ready to buy a new HD and start again - it's an excuse.

Anything is a good excuse to get a new HD! But lets try to work through this problem first. Its just too weird to not try and tackle.

[toad]

Re: Package breakdown

@ mcdator

Yeah, I understand where you are coming from. Pertinent info written in a concise manner is out there, but to find it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Anyway, what mofo wrote is correct, the fstab is a file which sits in /etc. To look at it you can either open kate and then the file from within kate or you can go to the command line and type

cat /etc/fstab

Then copy and paste the entire file - you can send it to me in the form of a pm and I'll look at it

@ mofo

I see your point, but it appears mcdator has access to the internet. Hence the fault has to lie somewhere else. The error message

E: The list of sources could not be read.

suggests that the list cannot be read , i.e. it is borked somehow. Perhaps there is no trailing line, whatever. I'd be interested to look at the file... Let's hope mcdator sends its across and I'll report back

[mcdactor]

Re: Package breakdown

Thanks mate,

This is the result:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/sda10
UUID=e579ea25-89b8-4374-8c7c-7b947c8486e7 / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/sda11
UUID=0bf21bf1-52b4-4178-a69f-e83d8572932a none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

ls /etc/apt/ brings up:

ls /etc/apt/
apt.conf.d sources.list sources.list.save trusted.gpg
secring.gpg sources.list.d trustdb.gpg trusted.gpg~


Yeah, I think I have deleted something I shouldn't have

Thanks for putting in the time, guys.

Jim

[toad]

Re: Package breakdown

Aargh, I've done it again!!! I am sorry, mcdator, I meant /etc/apt/sources.list - so I'm after the output of

cat /etc/apt/sources.list

I always mix those two files up when in a hurry - doh! fyi, the fstab tells you what is mounted at boot time.

[mcdactor]

Re: Package breakdown

OK here it is:

# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.

deb http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid restricted main
deb-src http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid restricted

## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates restricted main
deb-src http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates restricted

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any
## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid universe
deb-src http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid universe
deb http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates universe
deb-src http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates universe

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in
## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
## security team.
deb http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid multiverse
deb-src http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid multiverse
deb http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates multiverse
deb-src http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'backports'
## repository.
## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
# deb http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-backports main restricted universe multiverse
# deb-src http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-backports main restricted universe multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's
## 'partner' repository. This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is
## offered by Canonical and the respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu
## users.

deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security restricted main
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security universe
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security universe
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security multiverse
http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntudeb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid main

[PatheticMoFo]

Re: Package breakdown

@mcdactor
Say, it looks like we've found the problem!
Are you still prevented from making changes? Because from the look of things, it seems that all you have to do is delete that last line from your sources.list file, and leave a BLANK line. The line in question looks like this:

http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntudeb [url]http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/[/url] intrepid main

It doesn't look like that line would be needed if it was put into the right formatting, so it should be safe to remove it (there seems to be a correctly formatted version of it at the beginning). After that, save the file and try

sudo apt-get update

again and let us know the result.

Remember that to edit the file you need to have super user privileges, so you need to type

kdesudo kate /etc/apt/sources.list

either in the run command box you get when you press alt+F2 or in a terminal like the rest of these commands. Sorry if I'm just repeating something you knew already, just making sure.

@toad
Oh thanks I didn't know you'd get that error if the last line in sources.list was messed up. I was starting to think something was *seriously* wrong somewhere!

[toad]

Re: Package breakdown

mcdator, check your last line - it looks very different to all of the stuff above. Please adjust the last line to read

[quotedeb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid main[/quote]

Follow MoFo's instructions and everything should be okay.

Please report back if it isn't