sources.list

[A. Jorge Garcia]

How do I edit this file so apt-get doesn't get broken after an update and a few installs!

BTW, I'm using KNOPPIX 3.4, clusterKNOPPIX 3.4 and QUANTIAN 0.4.9.6 on debian knoppix-installed PCs. I can't get update or install to work at all in clusterKNOPPIX or QUANTIAN. Anyone know how to fix that?

TIA,
AJG

[PROhan]

what is happening exactly? is it not connecting to a mirror or something?

[champagnemojo]

Might be because of ftp2.de.debian.org being down? If so just take off the 2 as others have suggested.

[A. Jorge Garcia]

I foget which site it is, but it gets stuck on there and times-out. Also, in KNOPPIX I can apt-get install just about anything I want after apt-get update (after knoppix-installer).

However, in QUANTIAN and clusterKNOPPIX, I cannot update or install. If I reinstall my PCs at home with either of these remasters, my kids will kill me if I don't apt-get install bzflag bzflag-server freecraft quake2!

TIA,
AJG

[PROhan]

Ok the best way to do this is to get "apt-spy" from the debian packages you can google it

install that

then run

apt-spy
apt-get install base-config
apt-setup

if apt-spy isnt working out right you probably have to do

apt-spy update
then
apt-spy

still if you get problems then just get the base-config package from the debian packages site.

[A. Jorge Garcia]

Great! Thanx for the info. Sounds like just what I need.

OK, I'm at home right now but I'm installing apt-spy by sshing in to one of school PCs in question. apt-spy is now running. Cool, I see what its doing. Its trying to login to known debian repositories and download a file that should be common to all. As it does this it tracks which sites timeout and makes a note to avoid these, I suppose. Also its benchmarking how fast each site is. Where does apt=spy get its list of sites, I wonder? Looks like this will take a long time....

Well, once apt-spy fixes my sources.list can I simply copy this file to all my other PCs that suffer from the same ailments or do I have to run apt-spy on each one?

BTW, after apt-spy ran, I found only 3 stable sites listed in sources.list! OK, out of force of habbit, after I switched those entries to unstable, I ran apt-get update and then installed everything I wanted! Thanx again.

Just wondering though, what apt-get install base-config would do (I skipped that step)?

TIA,
AJG