Which of these packages do I absolutely need? Can I remove them?
 

I did not configure repositories for synaptic and apt-get, thus I was unable to use them until yesterday.

Prior to that, I simply went on the Debian Archive at their website and manually dpkg packages.

The problem is I have

1. libc-i686
2. locales
3. lsb
4. ubuntu-base
5. ubuntu-desktop

...basically broken on my system. Do I really need any of these programs? Can I remove them?

Or...how can I fix them?

The Debian Way is to run: apt-get -f install , it may work or run: apt-get install --reinstall package.

You shouldn't be using Debian packages on Ubuntu, there are too many differences in e.g. dependencies. Many packages have been rebuilt for Ubuntu only.

Necessary or not?
 

Thanks for your input.

So, then, I do not need these packages?

Ubuntu-base and Ubuntu-desktop are, as far as I can tell, not packages in themselves but enormous lists of dependencies so you can just install Ubuntu-desktop to get Gnome, GTK, Metacity, and all the paraphenalia associated with them. You need to get rid of both of them, if you've uninstalled some of the software they 'depend' on.

Others, I'd mark for reinstallation. That'll bring back the things they need, which fixes the breakage.

You may also like to look for Ubuntu versions of the Deb files you installed before. That'll make everything run smoother.