[ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/status' near line 43461 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/status' near line 45194 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/status' near line 45195 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Config-Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 46290 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 48152 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/status' near line 43461 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/status' near line 45194 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/status' near line 45195 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Config-Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 46290 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 48152 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/status' near line 43230 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/status' near line 44945 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/status' near line 44946 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Config-Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 46059 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 47903 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number Hi, I wonder if somebody can help. I get this each and every time I install something/update via the terminal, how do i get rid of it? I have no idea what it is, and its really bugging me. Thank you. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 6 March 2011 11:43, John MM scoundrel...@gmail.com wrote: -- multiple snip-- error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character Hi, I wonder if somebody can help. I get this each and every time I install something/update via the terminal, how do i get rid of it? I have no idea what it is, and its really bugging me. Thank you. Check your software sources. Looks like you have a source for VirtualBox defined with Jaunty and Karmic lines - which if you're running Maverick (10.10) could cause problems. The line should look something like: deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian maverick contrib Once this is changed, update the package lists. Jonathon -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 11:50, J Fernyhough wrote: On 6 March 2011 11:43, John MMscoundrel...@gmail.com wrote: -- multiple snip-- error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character Hi, I wonder if somebody can help. I get this each and every time I install something/update via the terminal, how do i get rid of it? I have no idea what it is, and its really bugging me. Thank you. Check your software sources. Looks like you have a source for VirtualBox defined with Jaunty and Karmic lines - which if you're running Maverick (10.10) could cause problems. The line should look something like: deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian maverick contrib Once this is changed, update the package lists. Jonathon Hi, thanks for your message, I checked in the software sources and that is not there. Its all showing Maverick, I can show you the list if needed, maybe there is something I am not seeing. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 6 March 2011 11:59, John MM scoundrel...@gmail.com wrote: Hi, thanks for your message, I checked in the software sources and that is not there. Its all showing Maverick, I can show you the list if needed, maybe there is something I am not seeing. Alrighty then - delete /var/lib/dpkg/status ! It will get regenerated when you update your sources again. Jonathon -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 12:04, J Fernyhough wrote: Alrighty then - delete /var/lib/dpkg/status ! It will get regenerated when you update your sources again. Jonathon Brilliant, deleted that, I am getting more used to using the Terminal and it worked. Ok, will try see if that changed anything. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 12:04, J Fernyhough wrote: Alrighty then - delete /var/lib/dpkg/status ! It will get regenerated when you update your sources again. Jonatho um, bit of a problem, how do I regenerate my sources again? -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 6 March 2011 12:18, John MM scoundrel...@gmail.com wrote: um, bit of a problem, how do I regenerate my sources again? $ sudo apt-get update -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 12:20, J Fernyhough wrote: On 6 March 2011 12:18, John MMscoundrel...@gmail.com wrote: um, bit of a problem, how do I regenerate my sources again? $ sudo apt-get update Tried that, and I get this E: Could not open file /var/lib/dpkg/status - open (2: No such file or directory) E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened. E: _cache-open() failed, please report -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 12:20, J Fernyhough wrote: On 6 March 2011 12:18, John MMscoundrel...@gmail.com wrote: um, bit of a problem, how do I regenerate my sources again? $ sudo apt-get update ok, sorted, created file 'status' on Desktop, moved file to /var/lib/dpkg/ then did sudo apt-get update, and I think its worked, or at least itws not showing the error anymore. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 12:20, J Fernyhough wrote: On 6 March 2011 12:18, John MMscoundrel...@gmail.com wrote: um, bit of a problem, how do I regenerate my sources again? $ sudo apt-get update I tried updating, and found a load of updates via the update manager, but it wont update now, I get this error nstallArchives() failed: warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 46354 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 48216 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number can you help? This started happening since deleting the sources file. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
top tip, when asking questions on IRC, stick around for more than a few minutes to get an answer! Alan. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 13:11, Alan Bell wrote: top tip, when asking questions on IRC, stick around for more than a few minutes to get an answer! Alan. Thank you for the tip, but do have any thing more than that to offer? I really appreciate the tip, but it would be helpful to get a little bit more than this type of comment all the time, then you just dissappear. I was actully talking somebody else, and as per usual when something happens they tend to dissappear leaving me screwed. I am now in a possition, where I still cannot update, using the Update Manager, I now get a message saying 'archives failed' I have 140 updates and I cant get it to update. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
Ok, to cap, I had an error this morning, and was advised to delete my /var/lib/dpkg/status, which I did. Problem is, it left with me a worse error, and me being unable to update anything. Suffice to say, I now have an error saying 'InstallArchives failed' with 141 updates in the Update manaer, and no way of updating, Anybody know why that should be? -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On Sun, 06 Mar 2011 14:34:28 + John MM wrote: Ok, to cap, I had an error this morning, and was advised to delete my /var/lib/dpkg/status, which I did. Problem is, it left with me a worse error, and me being unable to update anything. Suffice to say, I now have an error saying 'InstallArchives failed' with 141 updates in the Update manaer, and no way of updating, Anybody know why that should be? Unfortunately /var/lib/dpkg/status is quite an important file and (as far as I am aware) there is no real way to re-generate it. Essentially it holds details of each package that's installed, and those that have been installed and removed (but not purged), etc, etc. You may be able to get back to a semi-usable system is the file /var/lib/dpkg/status-old is still present - it is (obviously) an older version of the file so it may not be completely up to date, but if you duplicate that you *should* get a usable system. Rule #1: Unless *you* are 100% certain on what you are doing, never *delete* a file on your system that someone else tells you to delete. Renaming the file is almost always good enough, and at least if you rename it you have a chance of renaming it back again. So, try this: $ sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/status-old /var/lib/dpkg/status Grant. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 14:50, Grant Sewell wrote: Unfortunately /var/lib/dpkg/status is quite an important file and (as far as I am aware) there is no real way to re-generate it. Essentially it holds details of each package that's installed, and those that have been installed and removed (but not purged), etc, etc. You may be able to get back to a semi-usable system is the file /var/lib/dpkg/status-old is still present - it is (obviously) an older version of the file so it may not be completely up to date, but if you duplicate that you*should* get a usable system. Rule #1: Unless*you* are 100% certain on what you are doing, never *delete* a file on your system that someone else tells you to delete. Renaming the file is almost always good enough, and at least if you rename it you have a chance of renaming it back again. So, try this: $ sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/status-old /var/lib/dpkg/status Grant Hi, thank you for your message, I really appreciate it. Well, it looks like its not going to work, I used the command you gave me, and I still get the 'InstallArchives failed' I get this message when trying to install from synaptic. 'E: Could not perform immediate configuration on 'libbz2-1.0'.Please see man 5 apt.conf under APT::Immediate-Configure for details. (2) I take it the only way now is to fresh install? -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
Hi john, You should also have a backup here: /var/backups/dpkg.status.0 so the command to move it would be: *sudo cp /var/backups/dpkg.status.0 /var/lib/dpkg/status* on my system this is only 3 days old (ie before I updated today) Matt On 6 March 2011 12:06, John MM scoundrel...@gmail.com wrote: On 06/03/11 14:50, Grant Sewell wrote: Unfortunately /var/lib/dpkg/status is quite an important file and (as far as I am aware) there is no real way to re-generate it. Essentially it holds details of each package that's installed, and those that have been installed and removed (but not purged), etc, etc. You may be able to get back to a semi-usable system is the file /var/lib/dpkg/status-old is still present - it is (obviously) an older version of the file so it may not be completely up to date, but if you duplicate that you **should** get a usable system. Rule #1: Unless **you** are 100% certain on what you are doing, never**delete** a file on your system that someone else tells you to delete. Renaming the file is almost always good enough, and at least if you rename it you have a chance of renaming it back again. So, try this: $ sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/status-old /var/lib/dpkg/status Grant Hi, thank you for your message, I really appreciate it. Well, it looks like its not going to work, I used the command you gave me, and I still get the 'InstallArchives failed' I get this message when trying to install from synaptic. 'E: Could not perform immediate configuration on 'libbz2-1.0'.Please see man 5 apt.conf under APT::Immediate-Configure for details. (2) I take it the only way now is to fresh install? -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/ -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On Sun, 06 Mar 2011 15:06:00 + John MM wrote: On 06/03/11 14:50, Grant Sewell wrote: Unfortunately /var/lib/dpkg/status is quite an important file and (as far as I am aware) there is no real way to re-generate it. Essentially it holds details of each package that's installed, and those that have been installed and removed (but not purged), etc, etc. You may be able to get back to a semi-usable system is the file /var/lib/dpkg/status-old is still present - it is (obviously) an older version of the file so it may not be completely up to date, but if you duplicate that you*should* get a usable system. Rule #1: Unless*you* are 100% certain on what you are doing, never *delete* a file on your system that someone else tells you to delete. Renaming the file is almost always good enough, and at least if you rename it you have a chance of renaming it back again. So, try this: $ sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/status-old /var/lib/dpkg/status Grant Hi, thank you for your message, I really appreciate it. Well, it looks like its not going to work, I used the command you gave me, and I still get the 'InstallArchives failed' I get this message when trying to install from synaptic. 'E: Could not perform immediate configuration on 'libbz2-1.0'.Please see man 5 apt.conf under APT::Immediate-Configure for details. (2) I take it the only way now is to fresh install? Now that would be daft! I ran a Mandrake 9.1 system with a completely borked rpm database for better part of a year! I had to install my updates from source, but since apt is (for the most part) better than rpm, you're in safe(r) hands. Worst case scenario, you have a blank status file and apt doesn't know what's installed and what isn't - when you try to install an application it'll just want to pull in a tonne of other packages that you already have. For example, I just renamed my status file (and then created a new, blank one), ran apt-get update and apt-get install synaptic... since apt doesn't know anymore what packages I have installed it prompted me to install: --START OF PACKAGE LISTING-- adduser apt apt-utils apt-xapian-index base-files base-passwd busybox-initramfs ca-certificates consolekit coreutils cpio cpp cpp-4.4 dbus dbus-x11 debconf debconf-i18n debianutils defoma dmsetup docbook-xml dosfstools dpkg e2fslibs e2fsprogs esound-clients esound-common file findutils fontconfig fontconfig-config fuse-utils gamin gawk gcc-4.4-base gconf2 gconf2-common ghostscript gksu gnome-keyring gnome-mime-data gnupg gnupg-curl gpgv gsfonts gvfs gvfs-backends hdparm hicolor-icon-theme ifupdown indicator-application initramfs-tools initramfs-tools-bin initscripts insserv iso-codes klibc-utils launchpad-integration libacl1 libappindicator0 libarchive1 libart-2.0-2 libasound2 libatasmart4 libatk1.0-0 libatk1.0-data libattr1 libaudiofile0 libavahi-client3 libavahi-common-data libavahi-common3 libavahi-glib1 libblkid1 libbluetooth3 libbonobo2-0 libbonobo2-common libbonoboui2-0 libbonoboui2-common libbz2-1.0 libc-bin libc6 libc6-i686 libcairo-perl libcairo2 libcap2 libcdio-cdda0 libcdio-paranoia0 libcdio10 libck-connector0 libcomerr2 libcups2 libcupsimage2 libcurl3-gnutls libdatrie1 libdb4.8 libdbus-1-3 libdbus-glib-1-2 libdbusmenu-glib1 libdbusmenu-gtk1 libdevmapper1.02.1 libdirectfb-1.2-0 libdrm-intel1 libdrm-nouveau1 libdrm-radeon1 libdrm2 libeggdbus-1-0 libept0 libesd0 libexif12 libexpat1 libffi5 libfontconfig1 libfontenc1 libfreetype6 libfribidi0 libfuse2 libgail18 libgamin0 libgcc1 libgconf2-4 libgcr0 libgcrypt11 libgdbm3 libgdu0 libgksu2-0 libglade2-0 libglib-perl libglib2.0-0 libglib2.0-data libgmp3c2 libgnome-keyring0 libgnome2-0 libgnome2-canvas-perl libgnome2-common libgnome2-perl libgnome2-vfs-perl libgnomecanvas2-0 libgnomecanvas2-common libgnomeui-0 libgnomeui-common libgnomevfs2-0 libgnomevfs2-common libgnomevfs2-extra libgnutls26 libgomp1 libgp11-0 libgpg-error0 libgphoto2-2 libgphoto2-port0 libgpm2 libgs8 libgssapi-krb5-2 libgtk2-perl libgtk2.0-0 libgtk2.0-bin libgtk2.0-common libgtop2-7 libgtop2-common libgudev-1.0-0 libgvfscommon0 libhal-storage1 libhal1 libice6 libidl0 libidn11 libimobiledevice0 libindicator0 libjasper1 libjpeg62 libjson-glib-1.0-0 libk5crypto3 libkeyutils1 libklibc libkrb5-3 libkrb5support0 liblaunchpad-integration1 liblcms1 libldap-2.4-2 liblocale-gettext-perl libltdl7 liblzma1 libmagic1 libmagickcore2 libmagickwand2 libmpfr1ldbl libncurses5 libncursesw5 libnewt0.52 libnih-dbus1 libnih1 libntfs-3g75 libntfs10 libopenobex1 liborbit2 libpam-ck-connector libpam-gnome-keyring libpam-modules libpam-runtime libpam0g libpango-perl libpango1.0-0 libpango1.0-common libpaper-utils libpaper1 libparted0debian1 libpcre3 libpixman-1-0 libplist1 libplymouth2 libpng12-0 libpolkit-agent-1-0 libpolkit-backend-1-0 libpolkit-gobject-1-0 libpopt0 libproxy0 libpython2.6 librarian0 libreadline6 libsasl2-2 libsasl2-modules libselinux1 libsepol1 libsgutils2-2 libslang2 libsm6 libsmbclient
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 14:24, John MM wrote: On 06/03/11 13:11, Alan Bell wrote: top tip, when asking questions on IRC, stick around for more than a few minutes to get an answer! Alan. Thank you for the tip, but do have any thing more than that to offer? I really appreciate the tip, but it would be helpful to get a little bit more than this type of comment all the time, then you just dissappear. I was having lunch. It is a real time medium, very very useful for interactively working through the kind of situation you have ended up in (which looks like a problem in the virtualbox packaging to me, possibly historic) but for it to work you have to stick around for a few hours. I would be interested in the contents of /var/lib/dpkg/available around lines 46354 and 48216, might be possible to just edit those lines and remove the now-invalid revision number in the superceeded packages you have referenced in that file. nstallArchives() failed: warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 46354 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 48216 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
nstallArchives() failed: warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 46354 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 48216 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number just to expand on that a little, my theory is that 2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty contains invalid characters, possibly expecting it to be numeric, although adding -ubuntuX to a version number is standard practice for Ubuntu patched Debian packages. This is old stuff anyway and it is possible that since then the package revision number validation rules have changed. Alan. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 16:57, Alan Bell wrote: nstallArchives() failed: warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 46354 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 48216 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number just to expand on that a little, my theory is that 2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty contains invalid characters, possibly expecting it to be numeric, although adding -ubuntuX to a version number is standard practice for Ubuntu patched Debian packages. This is old stuff anyway and it is possible that since then the package revision number validation rules have changed. Alan. I didnt understand much of what you said, sounds like you had a long lunch though, hope it was a good one. Here is the pastebin dump of those lines you wanted, its long 2000 odd lines, which is why I posted it to pastebin. Hope it helops. http://pastebin.ubuntu.com/576535/ -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 6 March 2011 14:50, Grant Sewell dcg...@thymox.co.uk wrote: Unfortunately /var/lib/dpkg/status is quite an important file and (as far as I am aware) there is no real way to re-generate it. Essentially it holds details of each package that's installed, and those that have been installed and removed (but not purged), etc, etc. Having run Ubuntu+1 for a few years, manually clearing out /var/lib/dpkg has saved my install on a number of occasions. After doing a 'sudo rm -fR /var/lib/dpkg' package managers will complain about missing files and directories; it's a simple matter to mkdir and touch them back into place. After I update my sources (e.g. aptitude update) both aptitude and synaptic find the packages I already have installed and I'm up and running again. Rule #1: Unless *you* are 100% certain on what you are doing, never *delete* a file on your system that someone else tells you to delete. Renaming the file is almost always good enough, and at least if you rename it you have a chance of renaming it back again. Agreed. Jonathon -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 17:27, J Fernyhough wrote: On 6 March 2011 14:50, Grant Sewelldcg...@thymox.co.uk wrote: Unfortunately /var/lib/dpkg/status is quite an important file and (as far as I am aware) there is no real way to re-generate it. Essentially it holds details of each package that's installed, and those that have been installed and removed (but not purged), etc, etc. Having run Ubuntu+1 for a few years, manually clearing out /var/lib/dpkg has saved my install on a number of occasions. After doing a 'sudo rm -fR /var/lib/dpkg' package managers will complain about missing files and directories; it's a simple matter to mkdir and touch them back into place. After I update my sources (e.g. aptitude update) both aptitude and synaptic find the packages I already have installed and I'm up and running again. Rule #1: Unless*you* are 100% certain on what you are doing, never *delete* a file on your system that someone else tells you to delete. Renaming the file is almost always good enough, and at least if you rename it you have a chance of renaming it back again. Agreed. Jonathon And this is supposed to help me now how? You gave me an instruction then dissappeared, and it looks to me that you werent even going to help, your just pointing out what you do to the OP. Thanks I really appreciate you leaving me in lurch. I would suggest that unless you are prepared to give help if something goes wrong, dont. It doesnt help. It causes huge amounts of stress. Thank you I really appreciate, I was on the verge of almost having to do a fresh install, because of you. Way to go. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 16:57, Alan Bell wrote: nstallArchives() failed: warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 46354 package 'virtualbox-3.0': error in Version string '3.0.14-58977_Ubuntu_karmic': invalid character in revision number warning, in file '/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 48216 package 'virtualbox-2.2': error in Version string '2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty': invalid character in revision number just to expand on that a little, my theory is that 2.2.4-47978_Ubuntu_jaunty contains invalid characters, possibly expecting it to be numeric, although adding -ubuntuX to a version number is standard practice for Ubuntu patched Debian packages. This is old stuff anyway and it is possible that since then the package revision number validation rules have changed. Alan. Did that bit of information I gave you from that file help at all? -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
It has been said many times, if you don't know what your doing, don't do it. You can't expect volunteers to wait around all day just incase someone they spoke to earlier hits another stumbling block. If you want that sort of support, dig deep and pay for it. Looking back through this thread, you haven't shown any evidence of researching the issue to try and resolve it yourself. Your also saying that thanks to people trying to help, your now in a worse state - replacing the files you deleted with the backups you should have taken will get you back to where you started... Your attitude will not help you get this issue resolved Bodsda Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device -Original Message- From: John MM scoundrel...@gmail.com Sender: ubuntu-uk-boun...@lists.ubuntu.com Date: Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:47:02 To: UK Ubuntu Talkubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com Reply-To: UK Ubuntu Talk ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com Subject: Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is.. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/ -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 6 March 2011 17:47, John MM scoundrel...@gmail.com wrote: And this is supposed to help me now how? You gave me an instruction then dissappeared, and it looks to me that you werent even going to help, your just pointing out what you do to the OP. Thanks I really appreciate you leaving me in lurch. I would suggest that unless you are prepared to give help if something goes wrong, dont. It doesnt help. It causes huge amounts of stress. Thank you I really appreciate, I was on the verge of almost having to do a fresh install, because of you. Way to go. First, chill. Second, I was replying to Grant. Third, I assumed that you had a basic knowledge of how Ubuntu works. If you need immediate help you should use IRC; email by its very nature is non-realtime. If you must know I was washing my car after lunch while it was sunny. If you look at the errors you are getting it clearly shows you have errors in the dpkg database. You either have, or at some point had, a sources.list entry for an old version of VirtualBox. This could be in a couple of places, either as an entry in /etc/apt/sources.list or in a file in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ - only you will be able to find it. If you have removed the entry then a $ sudo aptitude update should have updated the package lists and removed references to the old files - I assumed you had already done this and so moved on to the next (rather more drastic) step. This I have used several times previously to recover inconsistencies in dpkg, for example after an unexpected shutdown. It's not nice, as I have to reinstall my packages again, but the system stays running (and $ sudo aptitude install ubuntu-desktop pulls in most packages anyway, the others can be pulled by a script by looking at /usr/share/doc). The problem with manually clearing /var/lib/dpkg is that the errors it generates look scary, and trying to fix this via email (which is slow) is less than ideal. Again, IRC would be better. However, seeing as the error first showed in /var/lib/dpkg/status, removing it will narrow down the error again. As you've posted already, /var/lib/dpkg/available also shows the same error - again pointing to a problem with the dpkg databases. My suggestion is as follows - but please don't try this, as I fear it will make you angry. $ sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/status-old /var/lib/dpkg/status $ sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/available-old /var/lib/dpkg/available $ gksudo gedit /var/lib/dpkg/status or $ sudo nano /var/lib/dpkg/status Find lines 46354 and 48216 and delete or edit the lines referencing virtualbox. Do the same for /var/lib/dpkg/available. Otherwise, look at the script here: http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Debian/package-database-rebuild.html I was on the verge of almost having to do a fresh install Tsk. The internet, eh? Maybe you should stop relying on the kindness of strangers and pay someone for professional support? because of you Your install was borked long before me, matey. Most people would have done a quick backup and reinstalled long ago, or even done a Google search for /var/lib/dpkg/status which points to solved threads on ubuntuforums, but I guess it's a better idea to get annoyed with the internet. Jonathon -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 6 March 2011 18:38, J Fernyhough j.fernyho...@gmail.com wrote: $ sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/status-old /var/lib/dpkg/status $ sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/available-old /var/lib/dpkg/available $ gksudo gedit /var/lib/dpkg/status or $ sudo nano /var/lib/dpkg/status Find lines 46354 and 48216 and delete or edit the lines referencing virtualbox. Do the same for /var/lib/dpkg/available. Otherwise, look at the script here: http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Debian/package-database-rebuild.html Also look here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=8753631 Jonathon -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 18:38, J Fernyhough wrote: First, chill. Second, I was replying to Grant. Third, I assumed that you had a basic knowledge of how Ubuntu works. If you need immediate help you should use IRC; email by its very nature is non-realtime. If you must know I was washing my car after lunch while it was sunny. If you look at the errors you are getting it clearly shows you have errors in the dpkg database. You either have, or at some point had, a sources.list entry for an old version of VirtualBox. This could be in a couple of places, either as an entry in /etc/apt/sources.list or in a file in/etc/apt/sources.list.d/ - only you will be able to find it. If you have removed the entry then a $ sudo aptitude update should have updated the package lists and removed references to the old files - I assumed you had already done this and so moved on to the next (rather more drastic) step. This I have used several times previously to recover inconsistencies in dpkg, for example after an unexpected shutdown. It's not nice, as I have to reinstall my packages again, but the system stays running (and $ sudo aptitude install ubuntu-desktop pulls in most packages anyway, the others can be pulled by a script by looking at /usr/share/doc). The problem with manually clearing /var/lib/dpkg is that the errors it generates look scary, and trying to fix this via email (which is slow) is less than ideal. Again, IRC would be better. However, seeing as the error first showed in /var/lib/dpkg/status, removing it will narrow down the error again. As you've posted already, /var/lib/dpkg/available also shows the same error - again pointing to a problem with the dpkg databases. My suggestion is as follows - but please don't try this, as I fear it will make you angry. $ sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/status-old /var/lib/dpkg/status $ sudo cp /var/lib/dpkg/available-old /var/lib/dpkg/available $ gksudo gedit /var/lib/dpkg/status or $ sudo nano /var/lib/dpkg/status Find lines 46354 and 48216 and delete or edit the lines referencing virtualbox. Do the same for /var/lib/dpkg/available. Otherwise, look at the script here: http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Debian/package-database-rebuild.html I was on the verge of almost having to do a fresh install Tsk. The internet, eh? Maybe you should stop relying on the kindness of strangers and pay someone for professional support? because of you Your install was borked long before me, matey. Most people would have done a quick backup and reinstalled long ago, or even done a Google search for /var/lib/dpkg/status which points to solved threads on ubuntuforums, but I guess it's a better idea to get annoyed with the internet. Jonathon You know, I am not going to argue with you, thanks for nothing really. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 18:37, bod...@googlemail.com wrote: It has been said many times, if you don't know what your doing, don't do it. You can't expect volunteers to wait around all day just incase someone they spoke to earlier hits another stumbling block. If you want that sort of support, dig deep and pay for it. Looking back through this thread, you haven't shown any evidence of researching the issue to try and resolve it yourself. Your also saying that thanks to people trying to help, your now in a worse state - replacing the files you deleted with the backups you should have taken will get you back to where you started... Your attitude will not help you get this issue resolved Bodsda See, I dont understand how you can say that about volunteers waiting around, they dont wait around. I have never seen one of you wait around since I first started using Ubuntu. I have spent the past 20 years running and volunterring on quite a few different forums, and Ive its without demanding money for what I do. It comes out of my own pocket. Attitude isnt one way either, its two ways, and you arent exactly briming with help and fortitude. ubuntu will never be mainstream, because of attitudes like this. You will always be complaining about how businessses dont trust you, because of attitudes like yours. The saying Ubuntu isnt free, its free to download, is a true saying. Its always the same, somebody is pushy, you say they have attitude. I have spent the past year or so since 9.04 trying to find otu and research, if you must know, and as somebody who is finding really hard to work out what terminolguy itself is used working out how to go about repairing things, is almost impossible. Ubuntu doesnt make things easy. Which is kind of strange really, comnsidering its title. So pelase domt throw that down my throat, you have no idea how much I havbe domne. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 18:50, John MM wrote: See, I dont understand how you can say that about volunteers waiting around, they dont wait around. I have never seen one of you wait around since I first started using Ubuntu. I have spent the past 20 years running and volunterring on quite a few different forums, and Ive its without demanding money for what I do. It comes out of my own pocket. Attitude isnt one way either, its two ways, and you arent exactly briming with help and fortitude. ubuntu will never be mainstream, because of attitudes like this. You will always be complaining about how businessses dont trust you, because of attitudes like yours. The saying Ubuntu isnt free, its free to download, is a true saying. Its always the same, somebody is pushy, you say they have attitude. I have spent the past year or so since 9.04 trying to find otu and research, if you must know, and as somebody who is finding really hard to work out what terminolguy itself is used working out how to go about repairing things, is almost impossible. Ubuntu doesnt make things easy. Which is kind of strange really, comnsidering its title. So pelase domt throw that down my throat, you have no idea how much I havbe domne. seems like it is time to draw this thread to a close. There are quite a lot of people participating in this thread and doing their best to help you to fix your problem and guide you to sources where you can learn more about the issue you have. If you want to work through the problem interactively with other people then IRC is the way forward, there are 139 people in the UK IRC channel at the moment and 1501 in the main #ubuntu support channel. Lots of these will be people who leave themselves logged in all the time 24/7 whilst they sleep, have lunch or wash the car of a Sunday afternoon, but if you log on, start describing your problem, hang about and start having a conversation with people you will probably end up at some kind of solution. It might well be that your system is broken beyond the ability of quite a lot of people to fix. That doesn't mean it is unfixable, just means you might come across more people who want to help, but can't. Don't mistake that for people who don't want to help. Alan. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 17:33, John MM wrote: I didnt understand much of what you said, sounds like you had a long lunch though, hope it was a good one. it was beans on toast Here is the pastebin dump of those lines you wanted, its long 2000 odd lines, which is why I posted it to pastebin. Hope it helops. http://pastebin.ubuntu.com/576535/ no help whatsoever unfortuntately as I was looking for the stuff at about line 46,354 Alan. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
Would you care to clarify what you have done to try and resolve your issue? The reason I have not offered any suggestions, is because dpkg database issues are not my forte, I don't have enough info to trouble shoot the problem, and far more knowledgeable individuals have already replied. Helping others is just as much about teaching the person, as it is about resolving the problem If you want my suggestion, it would be to first find out what changed just before the error started. Bodsda Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device -Original Message- From: John MM scoundrel...@gmail.com Sender: ubuntu-uk-boun...@lists.ubuntu.com Date: Sun, 06 Mar 2011 18:50:26 To: UK Ubuntu Talkubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com Reply-To: UK Ubuntu Talk ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com Subject: Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is.. On 06/03/11 18:37, bod...@googlemail.com wrote: It has been said many times, if you don't know what your doing, don't do it. You can't expect volunteers to wait around all day just incase someone they spoke to earlier hits another stumbling block. If you want that sort of support, dig deep and pay for it. Looking back through this thread, you haven't shown any evidence of researching the issue to try and resolve it yourself. Your also saying that thanks to people trying to help, your now in a worse state - replacing the files you deleted with the backups you should have taken will get you back to where you started... Your attitude will not help you get this issue resolved Bodsda See, I dont understand how you can say that about volunteers waiting around, they dont wait around. I have never seen one of you wait around since I first started using Ubuntu. I have spent the past 20 years running and volunterring on quite a few different forums, and Ive its without demanding money for what I do. It comes out of my own pocket. Attitude isnt one way either, its two ways, and you arent exactly briming with help and fortitude. ubuntu will never be mainstream, because of attitudes like this. You will always be complaining about how businessses dont trust you, because of attitudes like yours. The saying Ubuntu isnt free, its free to download, is a true saying. Its always the same, somebody is pushy, you say they have attitude. I have spent the past year or so since 9.04 trying to find otu and research, if you must know, and as somebody who is finding really hard to work out what terminolguy itself is used working out how to go about repairing things, is almost impossible. Ubuntu doesnt make things easy. Which is kind of strange really, comnsidering its title. So pelase domt throw that down my throat, you have no idea how much I havbe domne. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/ -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......
On 06/03/11 19:10, Alan Bell wrote: Here is the pastebin dump of those lines you wanted, its long 2000 odd lines, which is why I posted it to pastebin. Hope it helops. http://pastebin.ubuntu.com/576535/ no help whatsoever unfortuntately as I was looking for the stuff at about line 46,354 Alan Um, I gave you the lines you wanted, those are the exact lines between the line numbers you asked for. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Stuff appearing in Terminal, I dont know what it is......Fixed......
Just to let everybody know, I would like to say a huge thank you to Alan Ball and popey and others who helped for helping me fix the errors that I posted about earlier. It took going into the /var/lib/dpkg/status file and deleting all mention of virtualbox. Now, I dont have any errors when installing and updating. Thank you, I do really appreciate all the help. I would never have been able to work that out myself. It is a big relief to get that fixed. :) -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
