Package list needs to be rebuilt

[SkittleLinux18]

When I try to use the package manager that comes with Kubuntu, I can't find a single package in any of the categories. If I click on updates, it searches for them for 2 seconds and then I get this error message:

The package list needs to be rebuilt.
This should have been done by the backend automatically.

I understand what this means, but I don't know the best way going about rebuilding them since I have never had to do this before. Anybody wanna teach me?

Also, could someone be kind enough to explain to me how this happens, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks, everybody.

[rokytnji]

Just curious (I don`t run Kubuntu). What readout do you get in terminal from a

sudo apt-get update

and how does /etc/apt/sources.list look in your Kubuntu install?

[SkittleLinux18]

Hey Roky, thanks for getting back to me. sudo apt-get update:

Ign cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty InRelease
Ign cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty Release.gpg
Ign cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty Release
Ign cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty/main TranslationIndex
Ign cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty/restricted TranslationIndex
Err cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty/main amd64 Packages
Please use apt-cdrom to make this CD-ROM recognized by APT. apt-get update cannot be used to add new CD-ROMs
Err cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty/restricted amd64 Packages
Please use apt-cdrom to make this CD-ROM recognized by APT. apt-get update cannot be used to add new CD-ROMs
Ign cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty/main Translation-en_US
Ign cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty/main Translation-en
Ign cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty/restricted Translation-en_US
Ign cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427) natty/restricted Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty InRelease
Ign Index of / natty InRelease
Ign Index of / natty InRelease
Ign Index of / natty InRelease
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security InRelease
Hit Index of / natty Release.gpg
Hit Index of / natty Release.gpg
Ign Index of / natty InRelease
Ign Index of / natty-updates InRelease
Get:1 Index of / natty Release.gpg [72 B]
Get:2 Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security Release.gpg [198 B]
Hit Index of / natty Release.gpg
Hit Index of / natty Release
Hit Index of / natty Release
Get:3 Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security Release [27.2 kB]
Hit Index of / natty Release
Hit Index of / natty/partner amd64 Packages
Hit Index of / natty/main amd64 Packages
Hit Index of / natty Release
Ign Index of / natty/partner TranslationIndex
Ign Index of / natty/main TranslationIndex
Hit Index of / natty/main Sources
Hit Index of / natty/main amd64 Packages
Ign Index of / natty/main TranslationIndex
Ign Index of / natty-backports InRelease
Hit Index of / natty Release.gpg
Hit Index of / natty/main Sources
Hit Index of / natty/main amd64 Packages
Ign Index of / natty/main TranslationIndex
Get:4 Index of / natty-updates Release.gpg [198 B]
Hit Index of / natty-backports Release.gpg
Get:5 Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/main Sources [57.0 kB]
Hit Index of / natty Release
Get:6 Index of / natty-updates Release [27.2 kB]
Ign Index of / natty/partner Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty/main Translation-en_US
Hit Index of / natty-backports Release
Ign Index of / natty/partner Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty/main Translation-en
Get:7 Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/restricted Sources [14 B]
Hit Index of / natty/main Sources
Hit Index of / natty/restricted Sources
Hit Index of / natty/universe Sources
Hit Index of / natty/multiverse Sources
Hit Index of / natty/main amd64 Packages
Ign Index of / natty/main Translation-en_US
Get:8 Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/universe Sources [7,103 B]
Get:9 Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/multiverse Sources [658 B]
Hit Index of / natty/restricted amd64 Packages
Hit Index of / natty/universe amd64 Packages
Hit Index of / natty/multiverse amd64 Packages
Ign Index of / natty/main TranslationIndex
Ign Index of / natty/multiverse TranslationIndex
Ign Index of / natty/main Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty/main Translation-en_US
Get:10 Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/main amd64 Packages [146 kB]
Ign Index of / natty/restricted TranslationIndex
Ign Index of / natty/universe TranslationIndex
Get:11 Index of / natty-updates/main Sources [90.9 kB]
Ign Index of / natty/main Translation-en
Get:12 Index of / natty-updates/restricted Sources [14 B]
Get:13 Index of / natty-updates/universe Sources [17.9 kB]
Get:14 Index of / natty-updates/multiverse Sources [1,893 B]
Get:15 Index of / natty-updates/main amd64 Packages [265 kB]
Get:16 Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/restricted amd64 Packages [14 B]
Get:17 Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/universe amd64 Packages [22.0 kB]
Get:18 Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/multiverse amd64 Packages [1,939 B]
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/main TranslationIndex
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/multiverse TranslationIndex
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/restricted TranslationIndex
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/universe TranslationIndex
Get:19 Index of / natty-updates/restricted amd64 Packages [14 B]
Get:20 Index of / natty-updates/universe amd64 Packages [68.3 kB]
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/main Translation-en_US
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/main Translation-en
Get:21 Index of / natty-updates/multiverse amd64 Packages [4,186 B]
Ign Index of / natty-updates/main TranslationIndex
Ign Index of / natty-updates/multiverse TranslationIndex
Ign Index of / natty-updates/restricted TranslationIndex
Ign Index of / natty-updates/universe TranslationIndex
Hit Index of / natty-backports/main amd64 Packages
Hit Index of / natty-backports/restricted amd64 Packages
Hit Index of / natty-backports/universe amd64 Packages
Hit Index of / natty-backports/multiverse amd64 Packages
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/multiverse Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty-backports/main TranslationIndex
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/multiverse Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty-backports/multiverse TranslationIndex
Ign Index of / natty-backports/restricted TranslationIndex
Ign Index of / natty-backports/universe TranslationIndex
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/restricted Translation-en_US
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/restricted Translation-en
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/universe Translation-en_US
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/universe Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty/main Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty/main Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty/multiverse Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty/multiverse Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty/restricted Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty/restricted Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty/universe Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty/universe Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty-updates/main Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty-updates/main Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty-updates/multiverse Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty-updates/multiverse Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty-updates/restricted Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty-updates/restricted Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty-updates/universe Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty-updates/universe Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty-backports/main Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty-backports/main Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty-backports/multiverse Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty-backports/multiverse Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty-backports/restricted Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty-backports/restricted Translation-en
Ign Index of / natty-backports/universe Translation-en_US
Ign Index of / natty-backports/universe Translation-en
Fetched 738 kB in 11s (62.2 kB/s)
W: Failed to fetch cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427)/dists/natty/main/binary-amd64/Packages Please use apt-cdrom to make this CD-ROM recognized by APT. apt-get update cannot be used to add new CD-ROMs

W: Failed to fetch cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427)/dists/natty/restricted/binary-amd64/Packages Please use apt-cdrom to make this CD-ROM recognized by APT. apt-get update cannot be used to add new CD-ROMs

E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.

sources.list file:

deb cdrom:[Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427)]/ natty mai$

# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.
deb Index of /ubuntu natty main restricted
deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty main restricted

# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.
deb Index of /ubuntu natty main restricted
deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty main restricted

## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb Index of /ubuntu natty-updates main restricted
deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty-updates main restricted

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any
## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb Index of /ubuntu natty universe
deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty universe
deb Index of /ubuntu natty-updates universe
deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty-updates universe

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in
## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
## security team.
deb Index of /ubuntu natty multiverse
deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty multiverse
deb Index of /ubuntu natty-updates multiverse
deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty-updates multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'backports'
## repository.
## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb Index of /ubuntu natty-backports main restricted univer$
# deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty-backports main restricted $

deb Index of /ubuntu natty-security main restricted
deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty-security main restricted
deb Index of /ubuntu natty-security universe
deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty-security universe
deb Index of /ubuntu natty-security multiverse
deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty-security multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's
## 'partner' repository.
## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by Canonical and the
## respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu users.
deb Index of /ubuntu natty partner
# deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty partner

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Ubuntu's
## 'extras' repository.
## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by third-party
## developers who want to ship their latest software.
deb Index of /ubuntu natty main
# deb-src Index of /ubuntu natty main

[rokytnji]

W: Failed to fetch cdrom://Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427)/dists/natty/restricted/binary-amd64/Packages Please use apt-cdrom to make this CD-ROM recognized by APT. apt-get update cannot be used to add new CD-ROMs

You have enabled in /ect/apt/sources.list

deb cdrom:[Kubuntu 11.04 _Natty Narwhal_ - Release amd64 (20110427)]/ natty mai$

comment that sucka out or disable cdrom in synaptic.

Then run

sudo apt-get update

again. There should be no errors. Then try synaptic again.

[SkittleLinux18]

I disabled the cdrom in the package kit and then ran

sudo apt-get update

I got this error message after running all the Ign http.... so on and so forth

Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/universe Translation-en_US
Ign Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu natty-security/universe Translation-en
Fetched 72 B in 12s (6 B/s)
Reading package lists... Error!
E: Encountered a section with no Package: header
E: Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/security.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_natty-security_main_i18n_Translation-en
E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.

The package manager still isn't finding a single package and checking for updates gives me the same message about the package list needing to be rebuilt.

[rokytnji]

Unfortunately skittle. I don't run Ubuntu natty. If Me. I would google for a stock Ubuntu Natty /etcapt/sources.list on the net. Copy it to gedit or some text editor. Compare it with yours. Or Overwrite your /etc/apt/sources.list with the one you downloaded.

Me. I have a great reference for my Debian Testing and Debian Unstable AntiX installs to use at my leisure.

Re: Need /etc/apt/sources.list

I am guessing that the

package list needing to be rebuilt

error has more to do with mistakes in your /etc/apt/sources.list than anything else. Maybe a wrong space or missing / or something in urls for repositories. Hence the error messages

I am not sure where your installation went south with this. I have never seen a problem like this and I run

#apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrades

in Debian Testing and Unstable on a regular basis.

Biggest error I am getting lately is only a nuisance.

Unpacking xfburn (from .../xfburn_0.4.3-3_i386.deb) ...

Processing triggers for hicolor-icon-theme ...

Processing triggers for man-db ...

/usr/share/themes/Cukoo-spit/gtk-2.0/iconrc:4: Unable to locate image file in pixmap_path: "stock_about.svg"

/usr/share/themes/Cukoo-spit/gtk-2.0/iconrc:5: Unable to locate image file in pixmap_path: "stock_volume.svg"

Which does not mean a hill of beans in testing.

Edit: Another thing> I forgot to mention. I was having trouble with American USA servers for Debian Testing so I changed my server repositories to Canadian. I did this through smxi, which you don't have in Ubuntu. Synaptic though should be able to handle that though.

[SkittleLinux18]

Alright, thanks man. The good news is this is only a wubi install on my laptop. My desktop, that you've seen screenshots of on here, is not having these problems. So I think I will just uninstall the wubi install via Windows 7. Thanks for your help, man!