apt-get error message: No `START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY'
 

Today I did my usual Sid 'apt-get -u dist-upgrade', which I do pretty much every day, and for the first time ever I received an error message that halted the whole process. Here it is:

Setting up sed (4.1.2-2) ...

No `START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY' and no `This file documents'.
install-info(/usr/share/info/sed.info): unable to determine description for `dir' entry - giving up
dpkg: error processing sed (--configure):
subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1
Errors were encountered while processing:
sed
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)


Anybody know what's going on?

Try this for now.
 

Got same exact error.

Made hddtemp, menu-xdg (update-menus, the debian menu in kde) not work.

So, I browsed over to debian.org and grabbed sed from stable (3.???) instead of testing/sid's version 4.??? and everything is copestetic except for the mentioning of one to upgrade.

That is after first apt-get remove --purge sed.
Then as root or suid or root konsole (whatever u prefer) dpkg -i sed.3.??.??.deb.

After a reboot and a reinstall of hddtemp (apt-get install --reinstall hddtemp), everything worked.
Again, the debian menu only returned after a reboot.

Let me know if anything happens. Usually, a later apt-get update and dist-upgrade or dist-upgrade solves prob.

We shall see. Hoorah Debian...Militarily Free.

Set your distro back from SID to Sarge in your repositories lists and refresh. You'll see the version number goes from 4.x.2-2 to 4.x.2-1 The -1 version is just fine. Not sure what they did to the latest version.

had same problem as well...and reverted back to sarge to that version of sed

I am having the same exact problem. Haven't been able to revert back though. Still working on it

Fixed, wish i could spell "dpkg" right, "dkpg" doesn't work very well



I'm a 'tard

I just deleted /usr/share/info/sed.info cause it was basically a zeroed out file. Found a backup in the same dir called sed.info.1.gz. gunzipped it and did a apt-get install -f and everything worked well for me.

You ARE SID! Notice, I've been SID all along! Wow!
 

apt-get remove --purge sed
{type} Do as I say!

####### Some installs may break and some uninstalled. Simply reinstall them #######

apt-get install sed -t testing #### take a look at my etc/apt/sources.list ####
#### or if your repository still has it and you haven't apt-get clean or apt-get autoclean ####
#### your archives, then instead ####

cd /var/cache/apt/archives
dpkg -i sed_4.1.2-1_i386.deb.


######## Reinstall stuff busted, copy the list from the removal #######
################################################
################################################
################################################

apt-get install --reinstall hddtemp ### hddtemp for me ###

################################################
################################################
################################################

# Note: Some services which need depend that depend may need to be restarted, others #
# may not like gkrellm for hddtemp and such. If a problem with a bunch, just reboot. If not, #
# they will needed to be restarted manually. #

RAVEN:/etc/apt# more sources.list

#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 r1 _Woody_ - Official i386 Binary-7 (20021218)]/ unstable contrib main non-US/contrib non-US/main
#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 r1 _Woody_ - Official i386 Binary-6 (20021218)]/ unstable contrib main non-US/contrib non-US/main
#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 r1 _Woody_ - Official i386 Binary-5 (20021218)]/ unstable contrib main non-US/contrib non-US/main
#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 r1 _Woody_ - Official i386 Binary-4 (20021218)]/ unstable contrib main non-US/contrib non-US/main
#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 r1 _Woody_ - Official i386 Binary-3 (20021218)]/ unstable contrib main non-US/contrib non-US/main
#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 r1 _Woody_ - Official i386 Binary-2 (20021218)]/ unstable contrib main non-US/contrib non-US/main
#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 r1 _Woody_ - Official i386 Binary-1 (20021218)]/ unstable contrib main non-US/contrib non-US/main


deb ftp://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ unstable main non-free contrib
deb-src ftp://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ unstable main non-free contrib
deb http://non-us.debian.org/debian-non-US unstable/non-US main contrib non-free


deb-src http://non-us.debian.org/debian-non-US unstable/non-US main contrib non-free

deb ftp://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ testing main non-free contrib
deb-src ftp://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ testing main non-free contrib
deb http://non-us.debian.org/debian-non-US testing/non-US main contrib non-free
deb-src http://non-us.debian.org/debian-non-US testing/non-US main contrib non-free

deb ftp://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ stable main non-free contrib
deb-src ftp://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ stable main non-free contrib
deb http://non-us.debian.org/debian-non-US stable/non-US main contrib non-free
deb-src http://non-us.debian.org/debian-non-US stable/non-US main contrib non-free

deb http://security.debian.org/ stable/updates main contrib non-free

# NDISWRAPPER
deb http://rigtorp.se/debian/ unstable/
deb-src http://rigtorp.se/debian/ unstable/

# Boot Splash
deb http://www.bootsplash.de/files/debian/ unstable main
deb-src http://www.bootsplash.de/files/debian/ unstable main

# Streamriper records shoutcast-compatible and live265 streams to mp3
deb http://home.planet.nl/~autar022/ ./
deb-src http://home.planet.nl/~autar022/ ./

# Hibernate Script: SWSUSP2
deb http://cp.yi.org/apt/hibernate ./

still trying...
 

I am still unable to fix this, for various reasons:

1. I can't purge sed because when I try to apt gives me a list of about 20 other applications that it would also remove.

2. I can't just revert to Sarge. That seems a bit extreme.

3. I've tried pinning sed to version 4.1.1* in my preferences file, but it doesn't work. I'm not sure why. This is what I have, and according to the apt how-to it should work:

Package: sed
Pin: version 4.1.1*

Maybe it's not working because I would need to purge the current version first, but -- see 1 above.

4. I've installed version 4.1.2-1 from the .deb file, but even when I do that, dist-upgrade wants to install version 4.1.2-2 (even when I pin to 4.1.1*).

5. I have not tried Draygo's solution. I'm not sure if it's different than dpkg'ing 4.1.2-1, which I have done.

I wonder if I'll just have to wait until sed 4.1.2.-2 is fxed. Thousands of sid users must be having this problem, and sooner or later someone will notice.

Check my edited Post && Don't Worry, Be Happy!
 

Don't worry about the upgrade or the PIN thing!

I've fought and lost with the PIN; however, someone from Debian is looking, as this not an isolated bug ..., it'll get fixed. For now, if your routine is thrown off, just say no to the upgrade and install those packages manually with apt-get install or go through the SED thing again. No matter, it'll get fixed.

I have a minamilist system (no X) installed on another partition (production OS from Woody CD's) for trying out kernels and stuff (SARGE installer, expert switch ... with grub, hotplug, discover but directly to SID over net) and exactly same thing.

Keep checking daily or whatever, its got me yuckdified :mad: cause I'm ready to make a backup with partimage instead of Norton's Ghost to DVD-RAM compressed and everything. I would like to have this resolved before I make that long backup (But hey, its a -RAM, delete it later.)


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! News Flash !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I reinstalled old 4.1.2-1 and tried to upgrade and got classic u know what.

I tried Draygo's advice and gunziped sed.info and it was a blank file, deleted it, and bam!
Same thing. Not relenting, I reinstalled 4...1 again. This time on upgrade and problem, I just tried
apt-get install -f

and voila. Thanx! Draygo. sed.info now has someting in it 1127 bytes of it.

OK. Fixed
 

After more playing around, and trying out various options from the tips above, this is what finally worked:

I went into /usr/share/info. In that dir, there were three sed-related files:

sed.info (an empty file)
sed.info-2.gz
sed.info-1.gz
sed.info.gz

I deleted the empty file (sed.info). I unpacked sed.info-2.gz (using Konqueror, since I can never remember the command line options). This yielded a file called sed.info-2. I opened this file (using Kate) and then immediately re-saved it as sed.info (I suppose I could just have renamed it also).

Then I ran apt-get install -f. Voila, sed was fixed.
Then I ran apt-get -u dist-upgrade, and all is well.

Thanks for the various bits of help.

I didn't even have a sed.info file ;)

gzip -d sed.info-2.gz
mv sed.info-2 sed.info
apt-get upgrade

worked. I didn't have to do apt-get install -f anymore

Fixed!
 

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade

apt-get upgrade #if pre depends or "apt-get dist-upgrade" for as many needed to complete

Now if we can just get framebuffer support fixed in 2.6.9

the new ded file is in sid for download....works fine know...:)