[SOLVED] Could not refresh the list of packages

[Torquemada288]

Hi all,

I've encountered an issue after doing an update earlier today. If I start the Update Manager, it falls over with the following errors.

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E: Encountered a section with no Package: header
E: Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/packages.linuxmint.com_dists_katya_import_i18n_Translation-en
E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.
E: _cache->open() failed, please report.


Now I can't update or install any packages with Synaptic or Software Manager.
I'm running the 64bit DVD version of Katya.
Any help with this annoying problem would be much appreciated.

[dawgdoc]

Run this terminal command

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sudo rm /var/lib/apt/lists/* -vf

followed by

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sudo apt-get update

and you should be set. (You can find other references to this fix by searching for header.)

[Torquemada288]

Run this terminal command

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sudo rm /var/lib/apt/lists/* -vf

followed by

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sudo apt-get update

and you should be set. (You can find other references to this fix by searching for header.)

If I had a uterus, I'd have your babies.
Due to my pesky Y chromosome, all I can offer is my thanks.

[dawgdoc]

Glad to be of assistance, you are most welcome.

[biggocharley]

Followed the instructions above and got this result at the end of the "sudo apt-get update".
What is the significance of this and should I be concerned?
<W: GPG error: http://archive.ubuntu.com lucid Release: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 40976EAF437D05B5>

By the way I'm running LMDE

[dawgdoc]

What is the significance of this and should I be concerned?
<W: GPG error: http://archive.ubuntu.com lucid Release: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 40976EAF437D05B5>

By the way I'm running LMDE

I'm guessing you added an Ubuntu repository or PPA for some app available of LM 9 - Isadora or Ubuntu 10.04 - Lucid Lynx because of the address of the archive. LMDE will not be prefectly compatible with Ubuntu since it is based on Debian instead of Ubuntu. Is that correct? I guess you could have edited your sources.list in some other manner.

From the LMDE release announcement

FAQ about LMDE
1. Is LMDE compatible with Ubuntu-based Linux Mint editions?

No, it is not. LMDE is compatible with Debian, which isn't compatible with Ubuntu.
2. Is LMDE fully compatible with Debian?

Yes, 100%. LMDE is compatible with repositories designed for Debian Testing ...

If you happened to have added a PPA which will work with LMDE then look to the PPAs instruction page for the Signing Key. You should be able to adapt these instructions for adding the key.

Step 5: Back on the PPA's overview page, look for the Signing key heading. You'll see something like:

1024R/72D340A3 (What is this?)

Copy the portion after the slash but not including the help link; e.g. just 72D340A3.

Step 6: Now you need to add that key to your system so Ubuntu can verify the packages from the PPA. In your terminal, enter:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 72D340A3

Replace 72D340A3 with whatever you copied in the step 5.

This will now pull down the PPA's key and add it to your system.