Since we don't know which file is the problem, we need to get rid of all of them. There is no harm in keeping them just in case, so create a clean folder in your home dir, and move everything you see in /var/cache/apt/ to that folder. Make sure you leave the 'apt' folder there, because it probably won't recreate it.
But based on the errors you provided, it looks like its failing on a very specific package. It seems unusually upset about virtualbox. Clear out /var/cache/apt since that may be the problem, and if it fails after then we may need to take a closer look at your install of virtualbox. On Tue, Feb 27, 2018 at 10:02 PM, Dick Steffens <[email protected]> wrote: > On 02/27/2018 09:33 PM, Ben Koenig wrote: > >> This is a common problem that can occur with distributions that use apt >> for >> dependency resolution. The first step is to verify that you have a >> reliable >> connection to the internet. >> >> Once you know that you are able to download files ( in particular large >> files, and groups of files in a batch ) then the issue is with package >> cache maintained locally on your system. >> > > My work has me downloading multi-MB audio files and I successfully did one > today, so I think my Internet connection is working. > > Apt-get runs in 2 stages: >> - update - Download summary of all packages available in the repository >> - do something with this information, upgrade/install/remove >> >> >> What happens is that the cache apt uses gets corrupted for various >> reasons, >> but apt is too stupid to realize that something has gone horribly wrong. >> The end result is that apt is attempting to find and download packages >> that >> do not actually exist. In some cases it can lose track of gpg keys, or to >> be honest the resulting error you see can be anything. dpkg and apt >> require >> "perfection" in order to function, any little error will cause them to >> scream like the system is in mortal danger. >> >> >> When the software updater is looping and refusing to allow updates, you >> probably just need to clear the cache files (delete all of them). >> > > Would those be /var/cache/apt/ pkgcache.bin, srcpkgcache.bin, and all of > the archives? Should I copy them somewhere first? > > Then run >> 'sudo apt-get update'. This will be equivalent to running the updater for >> the first time. It will redownload all files, and IF it fails at that >> point, then either your installation is broken, or the server is having >> difficulty serving the files you have just requested. >> >> This was a common problem at Free Geek for several of the ubuntu derived >> distros they used, but I don't know how much of this applies to 15.04, and >> I don't know where newer versions of ubuntu put the apt cache files. >> > > Thanks for the apt lesson. > > -- > Regards, > > Dick Steffens > > > _______________________________________________ > PLUG mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug > _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
