Help with update manager please
Hi guys My update manager is stalled - every time I try to update I get 'E:Encountered a section with no Package: header, E:Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/mirror.aarnet.edu.au_pub_ubuntu_archive_dists_jaunty_universe_binary-i386_Packages, E:The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.' How do I get around this? Cheers John
My update manager is stalled - every time I try to update I get
'E:Encountered a section with no Package: header, E:Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/mirror.aarnet.edu.au_pub_ubuntu_archive_dists_jaunty_universe_binary-i386_Packages, E:The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.'
How do I get around this?
Maybe the following thread helps (googled for "E:Problem with MergeList")? http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/debian-linux-help/51937-aptitude-problem-pr... NB: The "apt-get" commands are run from a terminal. Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174
Would anyone here happen to have a (working) Socket A motherboard, or some 168-pin PC100 SDRAM lying around? I have a computer here with a Gigabyte GA-7VT600 board with what I suspect might be bung RAM slots -- when the computer is turned on, it just emits long beeps (BEEEEEP *pause* BEEEEEP *pause* BEEEEEP). Occasionally, if I take the RAM out then put it back in it works, but the next time it's restarted it's back to the beeping again. I tried a stick of RAM from my desktop machine (which has the same model board), and the machine worked fine until restarting it. All the other components in the machine are seem to be fine. As for the PC100 RAM, my parents were given an old HP machine with only 64MB RAM running Windows ME, which is apparently too slow to connect to the Internet via ADSL (or so I've been told). Might be good for playing old games, though (or possibly trying to install Linux on, if I could ever get them to try it). It's upgradeable to 512MB. If all else fails, I can try upgrading my parents' original machine, in which the hard disk either failed or the file system was corrupted; everything else in the machine is apparently also fine. It needed a Windows reinstall anyway; most of the time it could only be turned off by holding the power button down for four seconds, as Windows hung in the shutdown process. Sandy
2009/9/22 Chakat Sandwalker <sandwalker(a)gmail.com>:
As for the PC100 RAM, my parents were given an old HP machine with only 64MB RAM running Windows ME, which is apparently too slow to connect to the Internet via ADSL (or so I've been told).
That would have to be a load of old cobblers. A machine of that vintage, fitted with an Ethernet card should be fine. My old Windows ME system is fine - apart from being stuck in a time-warp - but it has got 256MB RAM. Suggest you try Damn Small Linux .. might work very well. If you can upgrade RAM, try Puppy Linux. Michael
"The internet" is getting pretty demanding these days. On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 9:39 AM, Michael McDonald <mikencolleen(a)gmail.com> wrote:
2009/9/22 Chakat Sandwalker <sandwalker(a)gmail.com>:
As for the PC100 RAM, my parents were given an old HP machine with only 64MB RAM running Windows ME, which is apparently too slow to connect to the Internet via ADSL (or so I've been told).
That would have to be a load of old cobblers. A machine of that vintage, fitted with an Ethernet card should be fine. My old Windows ME system is fine - apart from being stuck in a time-warp - but it has got 256MB RAM.
Suggest you try Damn Small Linux .. might work very well. If you can upgrade RAM, try Puppy Linux.
Michael _______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
2009/9/22 Samuel Douglas <sam.douglas32(a)gmail.com>:
"The internet" is getting pretty demanding these days.
Don't confuse "speed" (whatever that may mean!) and content. An old computer, lacking RAM compared to modern computers, will be severely restrained in what it can be used for. Email will be fine. "Simple" web sites will be fine, but a modern browser and add-ons may be needed for the more complex ones - and of course you need more RAM for that. Ubuntu works fine on many old machines, 500~800MHz processor, 384MB RAM or more. The user has up to date software - though the computer itself could fail at any time! I don't think "connection" is an issue. I haven't come across a computer with an Ethernet card that can't connect to the Internet. Dial-up access is another story. Many "casual" users are not online for sufficiently long periods to allow software updating to be done. For those people, web developers who are working with 1Gb/s networks are a pain in the nether regions. Michael
That was kind of my point. My Mum's laptop is an old Celeron 733 laptop with 320MB of RAM. It has been running Ubuntu since 5.10 and used to be quite usable. Now it is a slug. Websites -- even common ones that everyday people go to -- are getting more and more bloated in terms of Javascript, Flash and images; web browsers are getting more bloated. Things that people wanted to do 3 years ago worked fine on that hardware, nowadays not so much. Even webmail services like Gmail are noticeably taxing on old systems like that. On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 10:24 AM, Michael McDonald <mikencolleen(a)gmail.com> wrote:
2009/9/22 Samuel Douglas <sam.douglas32(a)gmail.com>:
"The internet" is getting pretty demanding these days.
Don't confuse "speed" (whatever that may mean!) and content. An old computer, lacking RAM compared to modern computers, will be severely restrained in what it can be used for. Email will be fine. "Simple" web sites will be fine, but a modern browser and add-ons may be needed for the more complex ones - and of course you need more RAM for that.
Ubuntu works fine on many old machines, 500~800MHz processor, 384MB RAM or more. The user has up to date software - though the computer itself could fail at any time!
I don't think "connection" is an issue. I haven't come across a computer with an Ethernet card that can't connect to the Internet.
Dial-up access is another story. Many "casual" users are not online for sufficiently long periods to allow software updating to be done. For those people, web developers who are working with 1Gb/s networks are a pain in the nether regions.
Michael _______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
2009/9/22 Samuel Douglas <sam.douglas32(a)gmail.com>:
That was kind of my point. My Mum's laptop is an old Celeron 733 laptop with 320MB of RAM. It has been running Ubuntu since 5.10 and used to be quite usable. Now it is a slug. Websites -- even common ones that everyday people go to -- are getting more and more bloated in terms of Javascript, Flash and images; web browsers are getting more bloated. Things that people wanted to do 3 years ago worked fine on that hardware, nowadays not so much. Even webmail services like Gmail are noticeably taxing on old systems like that.
OK. I would guess Ubuntu would be struggling with 320MB RAM now. With that configuration, you are now in "restricted" territory. You'll have to do some experimentation to get something that's a good fit - and compromise on what can and can't be done. There's many possibilities ... Xubuntu, Crunchbang, Mepis Lite, Linpus Lite, Antix, Puppy, to name a few. I've just been asked to set up an older laptop, running Windows XP, for a novice user "for email". Problem is, only 192MB of system memory. My guess is that once it has been updated, XP will run very slowly. One solution may be to use Puppy. In the past I have set up older systems with 384MB+ RAM and running Ubuntu for novice and technophobic users who couldn't afford to buy a new(er) computer. I regard the outcome as successful because this is the sort of user who can very easily "get into trouble" when using an MS system - seen too much of that! With regard to Gmail, I'd agree it does appear to generate a lot of traffic. The "basic html" version is one way around that problem, but you do lose some functionality. Michael
participants (5)
-
Chakat Sandwalker -
john -
Michael McDonald -
Peter Reutemann -
Samuel Douglas