programs don't install

Ok, something went wrong with some package during installation. To open a command line or 'terminal' go to Applications --> Accessories --> Terminal. It will look very similar to a Windows command line, but of course the commands are different.

In the terminal window you will need to type whatever command it tells you to. In this case that will be:-

sudo dpkg --configure -a

Note the placement of spaces between the dpkg and the -- and the configure and the -a.

Thanks for the answer Alan. Now I am getting a new error message when I issue the command. It says that the package is corrupted or not working. So how do I solve this problem? Can I use the install disk from the download I burned of version 6.1 to reinstall into the same hard drive volume? I have the disks I received in the mail for version 6.06 that I never installed. Can I install that earlier version to replace 6.1?

Perhaps a better solution is to uninstall 6.1 and install 6.06 instead. But how do I uninstall Ubunto?

Thanks for the help?

Jack

Are you able to paste the actual output of the dpkg command? Then we might be able to solve the problem rather than resort to a reinstall.

I ran the command. It seemed to work as no error message appeared. But now when I try to use add/remove program to install any of the included packages in the distribution, I get this error message:

E: The package desktopsecure needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it.
E: Internal error opening cache (1). Please report.

Also, I am now getting an error icon on the top line of the desktop that says an error occured and to please run Package Manager from the rifht-click menu or apt-get on a terminal to see what is wrong. The error message was 'unknown exceptions.systemerror' (E:the package was desktopsecure needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it)'

When I run package manager form this right-click menue, I get this error message:

E: The package desktopsecure needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it.
E: Internal error opening cache (1). Please report.

I had tried to install the Panda Software beta security package for Ubuntu. that ran into error messages saying that it could not find the package, similar to the messages above.

So maybe the version 6.1 that I downloaded and installed from my own burned ISO file is faulty. How do I replace this installation with the 6.06 installation set I received in the mail?

Perhaps uninstalling and reinstalling is the best solution. But how do I do the uninstall and reinstall? Can I start up the computer with the 6.06 disk in the drive and do an install from the CD-ROM?

Thank you for the help.

Jack

One last question on this problem: Is there a way to cancel the error icon that is now on the top right of the top menu bar on the desktop?

Also, is thee a way to undo or cancell the failed third-party program installation (PANDA SECURITY) so I can start all over again?

Thanks.

Ugh. Yes, you can undo it.

Open a terminal as I described above then do this..

sudo dpkg --purge desktopsecure

That should get rid of it. Let us know how you get on.

OK. The errant program is now purged. But I am still getting the same error messages related to the Package Manager so I can not install any of the available bundled programs (or anything else, for that matter). So perhaps the version 6.1 is buggy. How do I uninstall it so I can install the previous version for which I have the installation disks mailed from Unbantu?

Thanks.

Whilst I am happy to talk you through fixing the problem you have, I can understand you wanting to start afresh. You don't need to uninstall at all, when you install 6.06 it can overwrite the existing installation. During the paritioning step it will reformat the partition anyway, wiping what you have already. So backup any data or settings you want to keep before you do it.

Good luck!

And as an aside, I'd personally avoid products such as Panda Desktop security in this release or indeed in 6.06.

Thanks for the directions. I thought there might be problems with 6.06. But if it isn't a problem, I will keep it and try to resolve the problem with the Package Manager.. as a last resort, if it doesn't start working I will reinstall 6.06. As I understand it, I can just repeat the installation option from a live CD session, correct?

For what it is worth, I was not able to have either version partition my 120GB hard drive when I installed the OS. I had to buy Partition Magic to do that job. Then the Linux installation worked.

I will avoid Panda Desktop. I have read mixed reports about the need for firewall and antivirus protection with Linux. Is there a malware threat?

Thanks again for taking the time to help me with this. I will let you know if I have any more problems. Maybe one more fix command for Package Manager will work.

Well, I tried the purge command. This is what I got:
dpkg: error processing desktopsecure (--purge):
 <<Package is in a very bad inconsistent state - you should
 reinstall it before attempting a removal.
Errors were encountered while processing:
 desktopsecure>>

So I still cannot install anything. Is there any other approach you can suggest? Is it worth a shot at downloading a new copy of the desktopsecure file to install it just so I can try to uninstall it? Or isa a reinstallation of the OS all that is left to try?

Thanks for the help.

hello again friends. here i am back with a similar issue. when i download programs and try to open them, i get a message saying that i do NOT have the appropriate application to open and install the file with. what is it, and how can i get it? thank you so much for your help.

Hi. I had the same situation with VirtualBox. I purged the installation and came up with the same error. BUT,After this I was able to do another install attempt of the software that game me the error (VirtualBox)(I downloaded the package again). Now everything works again. :-)