md5sums are all wrong

[ozdroggy]

I have d/l three versions of LINUX in the last few weeks [ubuntu-9.10-netbook-remix-i386.iso, ubuntu-10.04-netbook-i386.iso and linuxmint-9-gnome-cd-

i386.iso] and have made USB Installer using Universal USB Installer v1.6.0 for all three. They ALL run OK from the USB but when I try to Install any of them I

have problems.

I now realise that the md5sum checks carried out using winMd5Sum [from Nullriver Software] are wrong indicating corrupt files. I have NOT used Torrent to

d/load as it has been slow in the past but have used various mirror sites.

The Linuxmint file was d/l from the Australian ‘Yes’ Optus Mirror [Optus is my ISP] and it d/l reasonably quickly and smoothly. I expected that it would be OK but

not so.

I intent to now use Linuxmint as the preferred version.

Are there any suggestions as to what to do next or is it just a matter of downloading again and again from somewhere else until I get a good one.

Mike

[eiver]

First of all do not be afraid to download Torrent - it is actually more reliable than mirrors because it automatically checks control sums of every part it downloads and in addition to that it automatically checks the control sum of the whole file once its finished. What is more Torrent uses SHA1, which is at least a little more secure than MD5 - only theoretical attacks are now present. On the other hand MD5 is now considered "badly broken" and should never be used for any security purposes.

As for speed - I use Vuze with the Ono plugin, which detects nearby peers as they are more likely to give you better bandwidth. When downloading Mint, I was almost always able to max my 30 Mbit/s link.

Another hint might be winMd5Sum is calculating md5 sums incorrectly.

Try booting Mint from the Live CD (or DVD). And check out this topic: http://forum.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=31310

You basically need to navigate to the location of the CD or DVD and execute:

Code: Select all

md5sum -c md5sum.txt

Note:
Using unverified system to check its own integrity is only ok if you are suspecting random errors during download. You cannot do that if you suspect someone has deliberately malformed any files.