I'm using PCLinuxOS, any my synaptic can't seem to get an index from any repository. I've tried adding some repositories to it, and it doesn't seem to be a more general connection problem. Please help.

In the repositories menu (settings-->repositories), try unchecking everything, and then just enable one repository at random. Close the window, and then click on "reload". What happens?

I had a similar problem with PCLOS ; Synaptic was taking forever to Refresh .(20 minutes ) I had a look at the failed connections and the ones which had connected and downloaded updates . There was only one ! What I found unhelpful was the instructions to enable "ALL" Repositories ! Dunno if that is what works best for most , but it just choked my ADSL connection . Errors such as ; "connection limit exceeded" gave me a clue . I unchecked all repositories , then selected the one site that had always connected and downloaded , plus the server closest to where I live . It has been lightening fast ever since.Thank goodness ! It was such a hassle initially , and pretty upsetting , I hate feeling like I'm sitting watching paint dry , or the lawn to grow
So I have to affirm the info pixellany gave as being similar to what I did , and greatly improved Synaptic performance.

I can now connect, I ended up removing my repository listings and copying them from someone who listed them all seeking help for another problem. Now Synaptic wants to remove almost everything, including initscripts and basesystem. Now Paula Abdul and Peter Griffin will sing the refrain from 'Opposites Attract'.

I think there's a misunderstanding madsciencewillow , I was refering to the servers , not the listed items .