APT

jmoschetti45 · 11-14-2010, 10:32 PM

I've read a few things about this problem, but can't seem to find an answer that actually fixes it.

Code:

Err http://security.debian.org squeeze/updates Release.gpg                                                                                                                                          
  Something wicked happened resolving 'security.debian.org:http' (-5 - No address associated with hostname)
Err http://backports.debian.org squeeze-backports Release.gpg                                                                                                                                       
  Something wicked happened resolving 'backports.debian.org:http' (-5 - No address associated with hostname)

This will happen at random with random repositories. Current fix is to apt-get update 3 or 4 times until I get all the package lists in.

I've head avahi & libnss-mdns might have something to do with it, but both are installed and as far as I can tell are working.

Any ideas?

bigrigdriver · 11-14-2010, 11:50 PM

The error message is basically telling you that the listed address is incorrect. You need to edit /etc/apt/sources.list to correct the listed address.

The first one, http://security.debian.org squeeze/updates, I couldn't find. But I found this instead: ftp://security.debian.org/debian-security/dists/ squeeze/updates

jdkaye · 11-15-2010, 01:36 AM

Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought the 2 packages you mention are only available for Debian Stable (i.e. Lenny). On the Debian security page you can read this:

Quote:

In order to receive the latest Debian security advisories, subscribe to the debian-security-announce mailing list.

You can use apt to easily get the latest security updates. This requires a line such as

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

in your /etc/apt/sources.list file.

Notice there is no mention of Squeeze.
My mistake! There is a squeeze version on security.debian.org. I found it here: http://security.debian.org/dists/squeeze/.
jdk

jmoschetti45 · 11-15-2010, 02:06 AM

They are all valid as far as I could tell. I'll double check though. It can't even resolve debian.org at times...

I think it has to do with the :http part ending up on the end of the URL?

Thing is, it works 50% of the time, which I find odd. If I run apt-get update enough, it'll get it eventually.

jdkaye · 11-15-2010, 04:12 AM

Can you post the contents of your sources.list file. Be sure to post it inside of the the code /code markers.
jdk

jmoschetti45 · 11-15-2010, 01:28 PM

/etc/apt/sources.list

Code:

deb http://ftp.egr.msu.edu/debian/ squeeze main non-free contrib
deb-src http://ftp.egr.msu.edu/debian/ squeeze main non-free contrib
deb http://security.debian.org/ squeeze/updates main non-free contrib
deb-src http://security.debian.org/ squeeze/updates main non-free contrib
deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backports/ squeeze-backports main non-free contrib

jdkaye · 11-16-2010, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmoschetti45

I think it has to do with the :http part ending up on the end of the URL?

Sorry, but I don't understand this. Where does an http:// end up at the end?

Quote:

Thing is, it works 50% of the time, which I find odd. If I run apt-get update enough, it'll get it eventually.

Why not try switching mirrors? There are loads of them that are rock-steady. It seems you have a problem with the mirror you're using or else your nameserver is flaky. I'd try changing the mirror first and if the problem persists then try changing your nameserver.
ciao,
jdk

jmoschetti45 · 11-16-2010, 04:05 PM

In this error:

Code:

Something wicked happened resolving 'security.debian.org:http' (-5 - No address associated with hostname

)

Doesn't the 'security.debian.org:http' part seem odd? Or is it using :http as :80?

jdkaye · 11-17-2010, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmoschetti45

In this error:

Code:

Something wicked happened resolving 'security.debian.org:http' (-5 - No address associated with hostname

)

Doesn't the 'security.debian.org:http' part seem odd? Or is it using :http as :80?

Sorry, I was looking for it in your sources.list file, not in the error message. It does look odd but I've never had such a message.

Did changing the mirror for your repos help at all?
jdk

jmoschetti45 · 11-18-2010, 09:21 PM

Nope. Never had this problem with Lenny, only Squeeze.

jdkaye · 11-19-2010, 12:35 AM

What new mirrors did you try?
jdk

Mountain · 03-04-2011, 01:10 PM

I'm having this same issue (with Linux Mint). I'm seeing it with the main download server and I'm located in the US. I switched to a download mirror in Canada (suggested by the "find best mirror" tool) and the problem went away. But I don't think that's a great long-term solution.

jmoschetti45 · 03-04-2011, 01:58 PM

Problem somewhat solved. The issue came up with a Lenny to Squeeze upgrade. After other issues, I wiped and installed Sequeeze, and the problem never occurred again.

Mountain · 03-04-2011, 02:10 PM

For what it's worth, my Linux Mint install was a fresh install on a new computer. My error message was exactly the same as in your OP (but with a different address, of course).