Trouble installing packages

[michael-r]

Hello everyone -

Well, I RELIGIOUSLY followed the installation manual from Debian's web site on installing v3r3 of the Sarge release. Everything went very smoothly, and the install completed successfully.

I got to the point in the manual where it told me to install the telnet daemon. I followed the command line instructions, and received this error:

E: Package telnetd has no installation candidate

There was something before this that talked about telnetd not being available, but being referenced by another package.

I think I'm getting this message because I used the netcfg image to configure the OS via FTP. My guess is that this error message means I don't have the package to install it ... would that be correct?

That said, I did a little more research, and found the aptitude command. So, I typed that in, and found the X-Windows package that I'd like to install. I'm not sure what I selected, but all of a sudden, it began installing all kinds of stuff. But there were red blocks that said that certain dependencies were missing and unavilable.

I guess my question is - HOW do I install packages from the Internet? I would think that the OS would be able to tell me if I didn't have a certain dependency to meet the requirement, and it would just add it to the list.

Now, under "installed packages", I have several x-windows components, so I think I'm closer, but it still appears there's stuff that needs to be installed that I can't because it says "not available."

Could someone help me get past this?

Thanks much.

[michael-r]

I read a little more, and it talked about editing the sources.list file in the apc directory. I did that, and now I have all the libraries I need.

It would have been helpful to have that tip earlier on in the install process for those didn't burn all 14 CD's - otherwise, they'll scream when they can't follow the instructions like I did!

[eraker]

Did you still need help figuring out how to install stuff?

Generally speaking, debian uses apt-get as its package manager, and apt-get's repository list you already found at /etc/apt/sources.list. Did you add all of your cds to apt-get (using apt-cdrom add)? If so, you should see them listed in that sources.list file.

If you have a good set of repositories, you should be able to get what you need. You can also search for stuff by entering:

apt-cache search name-to-search-for

[craigevil]

Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 -- Installation Manual
http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/installmanual

Debian Tutorial - Removing and installing software
http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/de...l/ch-dpkg.html

Downloading Debian
http://geocities.com/alobiuc/

DebianNetworkInstall - Debian Wiki
http://wiki.debian.org/DebianNetworkInstall

APT HOWTO
http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/ap.../index.en.html


The Debian documentation is great.

Personally I prefer using Kanotix, once installed it gives you a fully working Debian Sid system. Uses normal Debian repos as well. Unlike some of the other distros that call themselves Debian based.

[michael-r]

Thanks for all the great replies. Once I got that sources.list figured out, it was OK. I had to use the VI editor though - THAT was an experience.

Now that I've gotten through this, I have X-Windows issues now, and started a separate thread for that. Eventually, I'll get the hang of it!

Thanks again for the help.

[captain7616]

there is an easier way to install your apt-sources , by using a command called "base-config" when running it open a GUI interface where you can configure apt-sources instead of having to use vi ,

It has all the official apt sites to download from as a selection , you can also edit your sources list manually from the interface,

hope it helps

Cheers