12.04 won' t connect to update

**ivotkl** · December 19th, 2012

Ok, so below you can find the output of sudo apt-get dist-upgrade, sudo apt-get update, and sudo apt-get -f update.

http://pastebin.com/h9LazKpF

Hope you can help. I also have the stop sign on the upper notification area. It says that an error occurred. Actually system froze during an update a week ago or so. Current error says: 'Error: Opening the cache. (E: read error - read (5: Input/output error), E: The packages lists or status files could not be read or parsed.'
Error continued, but right now it has disappeared, so I cannot explain completely what it said.

Any help? Thanks in advanced.

**TheFu** · December 19th, 2012

Originally Posted by ivotkl

Ok, so below you can find the output of sudo apt-get dist-upgrade, sudo apt-get update, and sudo apt-get -f update.

http://pastebin.com/h9LazKpF

Hope you can help. I also have the stop sign on the upper notification area. It says that an error occurred. Actually system froze during an update a week ago or so. Current error says: 'Error: Opening the cache. (E: read error - read (5: Input/output error), E: The packages lists or status files could not be read or parsed.'
Error continued, but right now it has disappeared, so I cannot explain completely what it said.

Any help? Thanks in advanced.

First, it seems you are running the update commands out of order. ORDER IS important.
* update
* dist-upgrade

Since the repositories are not accessible, have you checked that you can reach them using non-APT methods? Can you ping those servers? Can you ping any internet servers from that box? Fixing this issue is important.

Third, it seems there is some sort of corruption in your APT. That can be logical or physical. I'd try to figure out if it is physical, since THAT would be really bad. Run an fsck on the /var partition - that might be / on your box - I can't tell. Running fsck cannot be done on an mounted partition, so booting off a rescue CD and running it is an option. OR you could drop a /forcefsck into the root directory and reboot. In theory, the existence of that file will force an fsck at the next boot.

Ok, if that comes back fine or corrects issues, I'd check if there is any space left on the device. If not, correct the problem before continuing. That could mean replacing a disk controller or HDD.

There are 2 types of space, use df to check for both.
* df -k /
* df -i /
Assuming you aren't out of storage OR i-nodes, continue, otherwise, correct the out-of-storage problem.

Logical corruption of the APT repository can be ugly. I'd clean and autoclean the repo.
* sudo apt-get autoclean
* sudo apt-get clean
Then try your update/dist-upgrade again.
Hopefully, these steps make everything fine. If not, I'd look for an APT troubleshooter wiki article. It might just be easier to restore from a backup that happened the day prior to experiencing this issue. Backups rock, especially for things like this.

BTW, I loved Argentina. Need to find an excuse to get back there.

**ivotkl** · December 21st, 2012

TheFu:
First of all, thank you very much for your quick reply. I' ll try my best to answer your requests.

1 - update, dist-upgrade, autoclean & clean

Code:

sudo apt-get update

http://pastebin.com/BgATwdcs

Code:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

http://pastebin.com/YJn6wU9b

Code:

sudo apt-get autoclean && sudo apt-get clean && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

http://pastebin.com/5ZJs0PJF

2 - About fsck and df

I' ve never used this commands before, so I hope below output is what you need.

Code:

fsck /var

http://pastebin.com/1TzFDiu8

Code:

df -k / && df -i /

http://pastebin.com/A4CuqpgU

3 - PS and offtopics

PS: Let me know if I there' s something I can do to fix it. Thank you in advanced.

I love my country too, hehe. However, I would love to make a trip around US if I had the chance and visit places such as the Great Canyon in CO and Sequoia trees.

**TheFu** · December 21st, 2012

The 'df' commands show that you aren't out of space. That would have been the easiest problem to fix. Too bad.

The 'fsck /var' isn't what we needed. On your system, /var is just a directory. 'fsck' works on partitions, so you need to figure out which partition /var resides on. /dev/sda6 is the most likely place, but you need to boot off another device (probably a rescue CD or the CD/flash drive that was used to install the OS) before you run it. Here's the command.
$ sudo fsck /dev/sda6
The sudo is not needed if you are running as root.

The update is still having the same issue. Are you absolutely positive that repository should have those files? I am not.

The dist-upgrade seems to be working as it should, assuming those missing repositories are not available. I don't see any issue besides that. Did you follow the instructions to remove the duplicate sources as the output from the command suggested? If you care about the warning messages, then to remove those, you need to remove the duplicate lines.

I connected to ftp://ftp.ccc.uba.ar and looked around. Could they have reorganized their FTP site a little? ftp://ftp.ccc.uba.ar/pub/linux/ubuntu/dists/precise/ seems to be where things are now. I'd try fixing the FTP prefix to use that (as needed) in /etc/apt/sources* It appears to me they just added a /pub/ level. Perhaps not. Seems the duplicate area is using that already.

BTW, I prefer to have 1 pastebin with everything. To me, it seems that a little clean up of the sources is desired. No major concerns.

It might be helpful to understand the different apt-get commands. update, upgrade, dist-upgrade better. http://techhamlet.com/2012/02/ubuntu...-dist-upgrade/ explains the differences nicely.

In short, I wouldn't worry too much about these warning, so doing nothing is also an option.

Off topic: I love traveling, 18 countries so far. The world is too big to see everything, but I have to try.

I've seen sequoias, but haven't been to the Grand Canyon http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm (in Arizona). Those are excellent choices. The Canyonlands NP in Utah http://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm would be good to add too. There are wonders all over the USA. I've seen many, but still have many more to go.

There is so much in Argentina that I didn't have time (or money) to see. Got to see BsAs, Tigre, and Iguazú Falls. Missing Salta and Patagona bothered me at the time. Plus the Spanish accents of the porteños was very difficult for me to understand. I still really miss the pizza from El Cuartito. We had an apartment off Libertad y Av Santa Fe just a few blocks away. Nowhere else in the world does the pizza compare. I've looked.

Still, no place is perfect.

**darkod** · December 21st, 2012

Also, try changing the server you are using for updates. You can find it in Software Centre, Software Sources. It should be on the Updates tab or similar.

As mentioned, take a look at those doubled entries too, just to get rid of the warnings.

**ivotkl** · December 28th, 2012

Ok, first of all and once again, thank you (in this case both) for the help.

1 - About learning upgrade commands and stuff.

Originally Posted by snowpine

"apt-get upgrade" will never add/remove any packages from your system. (similar to "aptitude safe-upgrade")

"apt-get dist-upgrade" will add/remove packages if necessary. (similar to "aptitude full-upgrade")

Example: an updated kernel is available. "dist-upgrade" will give you the new kernel; "upgrade" will not.

I personally use only "dist-upgrade." It is the command-line equivalent of what the GUI Update Manager does.

That post made my day. Thread can be found here and was created by the owner of http://techhamlet.com/.

2 - About changing server

I have used US server. Even though that server gave me no errors, it was 4 times or more as slow. I know it is understandable because of the distance and blah blah blah, but still...
Anyway, I've paid attention to what it said about UBA's server here and apparently there is no such file or directory if I use /pub extension.
So, I've commented those entries out and restored the ones I had and results was similar.
Now, I've finally left only US server and there was no mistake besides duplicate entries. I was able to eliminate them. And, voila! No mistakes. However, I would like to go back to Argentinian server and get rid of those errors. I've surfed their site a bit and correct etc/apt/source* entry would be something like "deb ftp://ftp.ccc.uba.ar/pub/linux/ubuntu/dists/precise/ main restricted multiverse universe"

3 - About fsck

Is it still necessary? I do not understand what it does exactly. Does it stand for File System Check? Would /forcefsck /dev/sda6 be the correct command?
Ok, I've read manual page and it says "fsck is used to check and optionally repair one or more Linux filesystems.". Hence, I seem to be right about fsck meaning.

Off topic: I work near Santa Fe and Laprida, which is around 15-25 blocks from the apartment you rented. I've also tried El Cuartito's pizza, but I personally don't find it thaaaaaaaaat good. Oh, and you should definitely go to Mendoza, Santa Cruz and Ushuaia. Perhaps also Islas Malvinas. (No, Falkland Islands will never be their name and I refuse to call them like that).

Relevant Edits / outcomes

I've realised I've entered wrong information on sources.list file. Correct input would be "deb ftp://ftp.ccc.uba.ar/pub/linux/ubuntu precise main restricted multiverse universe" and "deb-src ftp://ftp.ccc.uba.ar/pub/linux/ubuntu precise main restricted multiverse universe".

No errors now when doing apt-get update or dist-upgrade. Will mark it as completed after fsck command output is completed.

Ok, so fsck command gave me the following output:

Code:

sudo fsck -R /dev/sda6
fsck from util-linux-ng 2.16
e2fsck 1.41.9 (22-Aug-2009)
/dev/sda6: clean, 242637/524288 files, 1323867/2096466 blocks

It was done with an Ubuntu 9.10 live CD.

**TheFu** · December 28th, 2012

Originally Posted by ivotkl

1 - About learning upgrade commands and stuff.
3 - About fsck
Off topic: I work near Santa Fe and Laprida, which is around 15-25 blocks from the apartment you rented. I've also tried El Cuartito's pizza, but I personally don't find it thaaaaaaaaat good. Oh, and you should definitely go to Mendoza, Santa Cruz and Ushuaia. Perhaps also Islas Malvinas. (No, Falkland Islands will never be their name and I refuse to call them like that).

I've realised I've entered wrong information on sources.list file. Correct input would be "deb ftp://ftp.ccc.uba.ar/pub/linux/ubuntu precise main restricted multiverse universe" and "deb-src ftp://ftp.ccc.uba.ar/pub/linux/ubuntu precise main restricted multiverse universe".

No errors now when doing apt-get update or dist-upgrade. Will mark it as completed after fsck command output is completed.

Ok, so fsck command gave me the following output:

Code:

sudo fsck -R /dev/sda6
fsck from util-linux-ng 2.16
e2fsck 1.41.9 (22-Aug-2009)
/dev/sda6: clean, 242637/524288 files, 1323867/2096466 blocks

It was done with an Ubuntu 9.10 live CD.

Using the -R option on fsck probably caused it not to check the file system holding the /var directories. This is probably NOT what you want. I really don't think it did what you wanted. Just leave the -R off and rerun ... next time.

If you've removed all warnings from your APT commands, congratulations. I think that was the issue.

Off-Topic:
Pizza - there isn't any accounting for taste ... mine OR yours.

Falkland Islands - as an outsider (I've never been anywhere in the UK), I still see them as Falkland Islands.

Vote
If the people living there today vote to remain part of the UK, will that settle it for you?

Misdirection by Argentine Government
To me ... it appears that the Argentine government is trying to redirect their citizens from many, more important problems with Falkland Island crap. It appears to have worked. OTOH, it really does not matter to me at all. I'm much more concerned about the government take over of private companies and the currency market manipulation. 1833 is a long time ago. If I lived there, I'd probably convert as much of my cash holdings into gold or some other precious metal to avoid the coming hyper-inflation.

Should Russia ask for Alaska back now? 145 yrs later?

**ivotkl** · December 29th, 2012

-R only locks the root directory. In case /var is inside root, then I did it in vain.

Offtopic:

About Malvinas, no it won't. It's like filling a room with 10 people to vote if you should give them 100$ each which you have earned through hard work. You will probably lose, but that's not correct. (Is it?)

I also hate current and last government (they were couple, so not much has changed). I will always remember Malvinas, but there is no way it will cover the things that are going on. And don't get me started on the judges who let killers go free after they stay some time in. (Read about Erica Soriano)

PS: Should we start a debate on Ubuntu Cafe?

**rajhanschinmay** · December 29th, 2012

As it looks like, when you are doing
sudo apt-get update
It is trying to get data from some server as mentioned by u in the respositories.
But unfortunately one of these hold:
- those servers are down
- the file paths on those servers have changed
- your ISP is blocking those servers or urls

Simple workaround can be:
You need to go to synaptics or to software center. Click software sources or respositories. You will fins these options:

Change the server you are using. Take something like main server in US.
You can also try disabling the updates from fields like
main updates, supported updates. You may uncheck all and then run update twice.

I hope this helps you.

Thank you.

**ivotkl** · December 30th, 2012

Thank you.
I'm currently using a boot CD for the output of fsck, which came out clean.

Code:

$ sudo fsck /dev/sda6
fsck from util-linux-ng 2.16
e2fsck 1.41.9 (22-Aug-2009)
/dev/sda6: clean, 212034/524288 files, 1344539/2096466 blocks

rajhanschinmay, about the updates, I think it is working fine. I refuse to change to US server as it lowers speed to 1/4 or less on some ocassions (I have 6 Mbps connection, but download speed raises up to 1.3 Mib or more on some occasions).

About disabling update options, If I disable main updates and supported updates I think I won't get most of importante updates.