Screwed it all up in only 3 days.....

[johnm99]

Just trying Linux for the first time - installed Ubuntu 11.04 - then, I THINK I might have interrupted an installation by starting another one too quickly - not sure - BUT now every time I try to install anything using the Ubuntu Software Centre, I get this message -

An unhandlable error occured
There seems to be a programming error in aptdaemon, the software that allows you to install/remove software and to perform other package management related tasks.

It then asks to send in an error report - and I did, and see that this is listed as a Critical error with something like 280 people noting it.

Not sure what to do. Should I just start over- wipe out the install and do it over? Is there a fix? It first happened when I was trying to install Flash. I already had WINE and a few other programs installed OK.

Thanks
John

[johnm99]

I should add I did a search on this, found and read a dozen or so other posts and got nowhere.....

[Rubi1200]

Hi and welcome to the forums

Please open a terminal and run the following commands:

sudo dpkg --configure -a

sudo apt-get update

If errors are reported, copy and past them into a new post here.

Thanks.

[Vaphell]

starting from scratch will be the fastest way i think. Did you set up separate home partition? If not, I strongly recommend that. If for whatever reason system breaks down, you can reinstall its core while leaving user directories intact (including your wine applications which are installed inside user's home). 30 minutes and you are up and running as if nothing happened.

[johnm99]

Thank you for the advice.

I opened a terminal, and entered those commands - here is what I got with
" sudo apt-get update"

W: GPG error: http://ppa.launchpad.net natty Release: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 5A9A06AEF9CB8DB0


Thanks
John

[linuxinstalledfromhdd]

The fastest solution would be to freshly install 10.10:

Here is a nice guide to get everything perfect:

http://cinderbox.net/2010/12/23/to-d...erick-meerkat/

I'm not going to touch 11.04 until they get all the bugs out first.

[Rubi1200]

With all due respect, but suggesting a reinstall for something like this is reckless and completely unnecessary.

@johnm99;

The problem can be solved by taking a look at this thread:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1369015

Follow the methods suggested by plucky and drs305 and you should be back up and running. Obviously replace with the relevant keys and ppa for your situation.

[linuxinstalledfromhdd]

Maybe it is reckless, and maybe not. It really depends on the end-user, and what they want to do. Maybe they just want a system in a hurry, and simply want have something right now without the hassle. I don't know. I leave that up to the end user. If they want to wait around for a posted solution, they are totally free to do that as well. Everything that users post here are just suggestions, and not the only way to do things, and everyone has their own preferred way of doing things, which I totally respect too btw. When I was new to linux, I just wanted it to work, and I didn't care what I had to do to get it to work right. And the last thing I wanted to do was be involved in development before I even understood how the whole system works either. If someone else is looking for that, then it is best to freshly install a copy of Ubuntu, not the very latest cutting edge version either, and use a step-by-step walkthrough to get the PPAs and everything else installed that you will need the easiest way possible.

[Rubi1200]

We shall have to agree to disagree about this linuxinstalledfromhdd, but at least warn those with other operating systems on the computer that the 10.10 installer can, and will, destroy their other OS unless they use the manual partitioning option.

For more about this, see here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1622388

especially post # 15

Trust me here! If you choose either "Use entire partition" or "Use entire disc" you are not likely to end up with "Alongside" anything! You will most likely lose the OS and any data contained therein!

[linuxinstalledfromhdd]

How do you even know that applies to this particular end-user's situation? What data? They may having nothing on their hard drive except a broken version of Ubuntu that they don't know the first thing about because they are New to Linux altogether, and simply want to get the job done. The way that I know that is always the most successful way, if all else fails is, do is a fresh installation. Follow a comprehensive walkthrough guide to whatever version you have installed on your computer. And the one thing that everyone has to do, no matter what kind of OS they are running is, always make sure you got your stuff backed up on a normal basis, maybe even create yourself a nice clone of your system if you are going to really mess around with command line instructions if you don't know precisely what you are doing, or you are a computer technician or network technician.. etc etc.