Can't install packages
 

I've just installed Lenny from DVD and I can't install any packages over the internet.

I've tried System-Administration-Add applications and Synaptic, and even apt-get. The first shows Wine uninstaller, but no Wine. It lists Gnucash, but doesn't actually install it. Synaptic doesn't find either. apt-et reports them as unavailable.

Where do I go from here, other than re-installing Fedora?

Can you post your /etc/apt/sources.list?

If installed from DVD, it probably defaults to using the DVD for all package installation (though some of those should exist on the DVD).

Thanks for the advice: I now have my software.

But who would have guessed that clicking on /etc/apt/sources.list would run a program to set up the repositories? So far I've spent nearly four hours installing and configuring Debian, and I'm not done yet. It's a lot less friendly than Fedora.

I'm sure it's just like the whole "which distro" thing in that it's personal preference. I'm just curious in what way is it less friendly for you? Or if it's just different and you're not used to it yet. The two are a bit apples to oranges...

For me personally, I knew it was right the first time I installed it after distro hopping from Mandrake to Slackware to Red Hat 9 finally to Debian Woody. Of course, I'm a bit of a nerd... :D I do bare installs (command line only) and then install what I want. Lean, mean, and configured just how I want it.

I'd say it's just different and unfamiliar, not any harder. I started with Mandrake and Redhat as well for the first couple years, then switched to Debian and had to relearn a few things that are handled differently.. in the end I much prefer how Debian does things over how fedora handles them. Can't comment on gui based admin tools though since I've never used any of them..


Interesting comment about clicking on the /etc/apt/sources.list file to get an admin app for it.. I did just go and try clicking on that file and sure enough a sources.list management interface popped up, who would a guessed it ? Been using Debian for around 6 years and I never knew it did that.. vim has always been my configuration app of choice for the sources.list.

No one would have guessed that because it's not true. Clicking on /etc/apt/sources.list (which is a text file) will usually open up an editor which (if you are root or have used sudo) will allow you to edit the file, adding, deleting or modifying the repos that are found there.

I would strongly advise you to use aptitude to do your routine updating/upgrading tasks as in:
and
cheers,
jdk

Actually it Does open an app to manage the sources list, See my previous post..

I'm just as surprised as you are.. :D

Not for me. :( When I click on sources.list in Konqueror, the file opens in kate - a text editor. Do you know what app manages sources.list? Maybe I just never installed it.
cheers,
jdk

/usr/bin/software-properties-gtk

Since I went through the effort of a screenshot I just uploaded it to http://screenshots.debian.net/packag...properties-gtk - although I don't think you can see it on their site till the mods approve it.

If you install the kde version you should add a screen shot of it to their site as well :)

Thanks farslayer. This explains it.
As you can see, I haven't installed it.
Cheers,
jdk

My grumbles are, of course, just a reflection of a learning curve — eventually I'll get over it. Of course, I should have noticed "Software sources" in the menu immediately above "Synaptic"!

The difference between Fedora and Debian over the repository settings makes sense. Fedora comes on one DVD and has a custom install option, where you can review every package. When you've used the disk, you no longer need it, so the installer can be set to the on-line source. Debian comes on five disks with no custom installer, so there's lots left to discover on the disks after the basic installation is complete. The catch for me was that I didn't have the five disks, but a one disk version specially made for a magazine cover disk.

After some of my panics over the last week, at least I might be a bit more tolerant of people who are scared of moving from Windows to Linux!

With Debian you can either download the additional discs and add them to the sources list with apt-cdrom, or comment them out of the sources.list entirely and use just online sources (which is what most users with broadband access do)..
The reason Debian has 5 DVD's and Fedora only one is that Debians repository has that many more packages than fedora. With Fedora you would need to add some third party repositories in order to find some items, while Debian has all of that and more in theirs, you rarely need to go outside their repositories for most items... It's one of the reasons I prefer Debian.

I spoke too soon. It's now gone back to expecting the disks I haven't got and it won't change. "Software sources" is set to online, but neither synaptic nor apt-get will work. Where do I go from here?

The file /etc/apt/sources.list is as follows (the stuff about "failed to verify" sounds ominous)

# deb-src cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 5.0.0 _Lenny_ - Unofficial Multi-architecture i386/source CUSTOM #1 20090306-10:54]/ lenny main
# deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 5.0.0 _Lenny_ - Unofficial Multi-architecture i386/source CUSTOM #1 20090306-10:54]/ lenny main
#

deb-src cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 5.0.0 _Lenny_ - Unofficial Multi-architecture i386/source CUSTOM #1 20090306-10:54]/ lenny main
deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 5.0.0 _Lenny_ - Unofficial Multi-architecture i386/source CUSTOM #1 20090306-10:54]/ lenny main


# Line commented out by installer because it failed to verify:
# deb http://security.debian.org/ lenny/updates main
# Line commented out by installer because it failed to verify:
# deb-src http://security.debian.org/ lenny/updates main

# Line commented out by installer because it failed to verify:
deb http://volatile.debian.org/debian-volatile lenny/volatile main
# Line commented out by installer because it failed to verify:
# deb http://ftp.gb.debian.org/debian/ lenny main contrib non-free
deb http://security.debian.org/ lenny/updates contrib non-free main
deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ lenny main
# deb-src http://volatile.debian.org/debian-volatile lenny/volatile main

If you expect to get updates online and not from a CD then you have to comment out or remove these lines:
and uncomment this line:

and add this line:
Then try and and see if things behave normally. You'll probably need to add other repos to your sources.list depending on what else you want.
Cheers,
jdk

just as an example, here is my complete sources.list

it-lenny:~$ cat /etc/apt/sources.list
Of course for your standard repositories you want one that is geographically close to your location.