Can't access synaptic,I get this error w/ a red circle w/ white horizontal line thru it-
E: Malformed line 39 in source list /etc/apt/sources.list (dist parse)
E: The list of sources could not be read.
Go to the repository dialog to correct the problem.
E: _cache->open() failed, please report.
Then tried /etc/apt/sources.list-scheri@scheri-laptop:~$ /etc/apt/sources.list
bash: /etc/apt/sources.list: Permission denied
scheri@scheri-laptop:~$ That got me nowhere. Then tried-scheri@scheri-laptop:~$ sudo dpkg --configure -a,and I got this-
scheri@scheri-laptop:~$ sudo dpkg --configure -a
scheri@scheri-laptop:~$ I can,t access any software sources w/out getting that red warning,I also have same warning in top panal on my laptop.BTW I'm using ubuntu 10.04.Can anyone please help get my software access back? Thanks in advance!

Do you have a sources.list.save file in the same directory?
If so, restore back to the saved version.

If Mericet's suggestion does not work, you will need to edit (correct) your /etc/apt/sources.list file. You can do this with any text editor, but you will need to run the command using sudo as the file is, or at least SHOULD BE root write only. If you are unable to figure out the error then post your sources.list file.

hi guys/
, thanks for responding.I ended up reinstalling my linux distro,i was using a live-cd that someone gave me.Something wasn't quite right w/ it,but I had just installed it,and I was missing so many programs that it was hard to do much.so I downloaded a new cd and installed it,and it works great!Thanks again for your replys!