Debian User Forums

hi
What exactly are broken packages? I´m trying to install apache on debian and get this message every time.Is it something to do with my debian set up or to do with the incoming data?

Thanx
Rob

It has to do something with the state of the packages. 'Broken packages' means, for example, that one or more of the packages to be installed are depend on packages which are not in the package database.
Normally, this should not happen, however, using some unofficial packages and removing their URL from the sources.list file may have this effect.
If you get this message, it usually means that:
- dpkg was interrupted somehow during installing or removing a package. In this case, 'apt-get -f install' may help.
- some package sources were moved from the sources.list, and the remaining sources doesn't provide a package which is needed by an unofficial package

a ha!
so that means i have to have new sources to enable me to install apache.
if i understand that correctly!!?

Rob

thanx for the advice.
ive managed to install apache now.
cheers
Rob

Or it can simply be that unstable is broken at the moment, and a package is not installeable.