apt-get help
 

im trying to get a dvd player for ubuntu, but when i try to do
apt-get install mplayer-386
i get
W: coulndt start source package
...for everything
same if i try
apt-get update
or
apt-get upgrade
vas am i doing wrong?

Looks to me like "mplayer-386" is not the actual name of the .deb package. You will need to find out the actual name of the .deb package.

Unfortunatley on this occasion, apt has not suggested a replacement package name.. (Sometimes apt does suggest alternatives or replacement package names).

Maybe Google the name of the program a little futher, you may find out the name of the actual .deb package for it.

On second thoughts....this could also be caused by your computer not able to reach a package repository. In this case:

a) check your internet connection is up and that you have DNS
b) check the file /etc/apt/sources.list

Regards,
greenie

i dont know how to do that....my internet though is working

also it dosnt work for upgrade, and update, though i there are some 404 errors

to check /etc/apt/sources.list do i gedit ? if so what do i look for?
i ifconfiged and its up and everything, but what is dns and how do i check it?
thx

i found this forum, same topic if it helps any1 else

A simple way to check if your internet connection is working OK is to browse a few websites, making sure to visit some that you have never visited.

If you are able to browse websites, then we can safely assume:

1) You are connected to your ISP, and...
2) DNS is working.

So if the above is fine, then it is time to check your sources.list file. The sources.list file is how apt-get knows who to contact or where to look for .deb files, updates etc.

Assuming your using Debian Linux, Your sources.list file will be located at:

/etc/apt/sources.list

You can safely view sources.list in your web browser by typing /etc/apt/sources.list into your web browsers address or URL bar.

Or

You can view and edit the file with Gedit. In Gedit, you would click on File then Open. Then double click on 'Filesystem', then double click on 'etc', and then double click on 'apt' and laslty double click on 'sources.list'

Mine looks like this:

#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 r0a _Sarge_ - Official i386 Binary-1 (20050607)]/ unstable contrib main
deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian stable main contrib non-free
deb http://non-us.debian.org/debian-non-US stable/non-US main contrib non-free
deb http://security.debian.org/ stable/updates main contrib


The first line is remarked out or disabled by the #, but that first line is used if I want apt-get to look at my Debian Sarge DVD for the .deb package I am installing.

The 3rd, 4th and 5th lines that start with deb are the entries in sources.list which tell apt-get where to find the packages out there in the world of the internet.


You can also view and edit sources.list from a terminal session, simply start a terminal session and type the following:

cd /
cd etc/apt
pico sources.list

Make any changes you see fit and the write out (save) the file by pressing CTRL+O
and then exit the pico file editor by pressing CTRL+X

Hope that helps and that my reply wasn't too late.

Regards,
Greenie

thx
yes ubuntu is based on debian, could you please post your hole sources.list to me, mine is screwed up
thx

To figure out the exact name of a package, use this command:

apt-cache search mplayer

I don't know if mplayer is even included in the Ubuntu repositories. It certainly isn't included in the standard Debian repositories (license issues).

it isnt, thats what i need, what to add to the repository for it to work
-thx

There's a sticky in the Debian forum, Post your sources.list, that might be of assistance.

In particular, Christian Marillat's repository is probably the most popular one for media-related .debs, and works just fine (the ftp://ftp.nerim.net/debian-marillat/ lines).

thx

im still getting the same thing though....

Have you "apt-get update"-ed since you changed your sources.list file?

Also, I don't think "stable/testing/unstable" works with Marillat's site anymore. Use sarge/etch/sid instead. For Ubuntu, I think the most appropriate repository would be "sid".

yes i have

if you're looking for a package use this site:
http://packages.ubuntu.com/

it has mplayer on it as well!

by the way, if you installed ubuntu from the cd and your internet was not active during the install then you'll have to uncomment the mirrors in your sourcelist!
and where it says "universe", you have to add "multiverse" (explanation why: http://www.ubuntulinux.org/ubuntu/components)

(this might be handy as well: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MplayerInstallHowto)

GREAT, THX SOO MUCH

it dosnt say anything about codecs....what do i need to do for them?

one place for all of your questions:
http://ubuntuguide.org/#codecs

you can find lots of other stuff on there as well