need sources.list for debian etch (testing)

[tommcd]

I got a problem. I added Lavene's sources.list to my own (seen in my first post). I ran apt-get update, and I got the same warning that Ralvy got. Now I know how to fix that thanks to Lavene's last post.
My problem started when I ran apt-get upgrade. It downloaded and replaced a lot of things. It took a very long time and seemed to hang on 'portmapping'. Anyway, when it finnished I tried to reboot and X would not start. I tried:
dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg
that did not work so I tried:
dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
I can't get Xorg to start. I can get to terminal though. I'm back on ubuntu as I write this.
Any idea what went wrong? Was it that I added Lavene's sources.list to mine, instead of replacing mine with Lavene's? I noticed that Lavene's sources.list says 'testing' and DeanLinkous list says 'etch'. I thought testing and etch were the same things. Are they different? Which should I use? Or would I be better of with sarge? possibly with backports added for more up to date programs?
Any advice appreciated. I love ubuntu, but I am trying to learn as much as I can about linux, so I tried debian. Thanks!

[DeanLinkous]

Well you used the
Official Snapshot i386 Binary-1 (20060314)
so I am sure a LOT got upgraded and likely broke since it is so old. I would suggest a fresh install with a newer installer image.

Testing and Etch are the same thing - right now. When "etch" moves to stable then you will continue using "etch" which will be the stable release whereas with testing you will always be using testing.

Did that make any sense?

[DeanLinkous]

You might try futzing around to get it to work. Remove X, maybe do a apt-get dist-upgrade and reinstall X and futz futz futz and see if you get it going.

[Lavene]

Etch and 'testing' is the same. It might however be a good idea to use "etch" actiually, that way you follow it into 'stable' when that time comes. But as for now it doesen't matter.

It's not easy to say what went wrong with your upgrade. Some exact error messages would be usefull.

You could try to reinstall the X server:

Code: Select all

apt-get install --reinstall x-window-system

as a start but it may not do much. But it can't hurt.

And remember that although Etch fairly stable there is a reason for it being called 'testing'. So untill you have 'learned the ropes' I personally would recomend going with Sarge and backports.

Tina

[Lavene]

Oh! You did 'apt-get upgrade'?? You must use 'apt-get dist-upgrade'
That's important when going from one distribution to another...

Tina

[tommcd]

Thanks for all the help DeanLinkous and Lavene!
I will try to reinstall X as you suggested. If that don't work, well, I just downloaded sarge3.1rev2.
Perhaps I'll go with that.
DeanLinkous, where might I get a newer installer image? I used the beta 2 i386 image from here:
http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/
Thanks again for all the help!

[DeanLinkous]

maybe the weekly image
http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/weekl ... 86/iso-cd/
If you are really brave the daily imags
http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/daily ... 86/iso-cd/

always welcome!

[tommcd]

Thanks again DeanLinkous! I will either try that or try sarge with backports for more up tp date software. I will also try adding the appropriate mirror from here:

http://www.debian-multimedia.org/

Also, I found this:

http://apt-get.org/

which lets you search for a mirror for just about anything!

[DeanLinkous]

I think you are on your way to greatness....now run with it. Debian is a complex distro, not hard - just easy to get lost in all the options it offers and ways it allows you to do things. I think the reason it is often hard for people to get used to debian is because they are use to only having a very limited amount of choices and control so they immediately flounder when presented with so many options, so much information, and so much control. Some just aren't ready for all that....you I think are! I have played with debian for a long time (still dont know half of it) and yet I would never trade it for anything, not anything easier, simpler, quicker, yada yada...

(whew I gotta stop making 4am posts, they sound so silly)

[mark_grieveson]

Just to go back a few posts, I'm having problems with the keyserver stuff for Christian Marillat's multimedia application repository. I checked out the faq page, as suggested by Lavene, yet, I encountered problems when I tried to follow its advice:

Code: Select all

debian:/home/mark# gpg --keyserver hkp://wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net --recv-keys 1F41B907gpg: requesting key 1F41B907 from hkp server wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net
gpg: keyserver timed out
gpg: keyserver receive failed: keyserver error
debian:/home/mark# gpg --armor --export 1F41B907 | apt-key add -
gpg: WARNING: nothing exported
gpg: no valid OpenPGP data found.

Basically, I tried to run the following commands:

• gpg --keyserver hkp://wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net --recv-keys 1F41B907

• gpg --armor --export 1F41B907 | apt-key add -

It didn't work, for some reason. Is there something else I must do?

(later edit ....)

I figured out what my problem was. My firewall was blocking the keyserver. I adjusted this, and now it's fine.

[mark_grieveson]

Hello. For finding the fastest mirrors, I suggest trying "netselect-apt". Install this, and run it. It will write a sources.list for you based on the mirror(s) it determines to be the fastest (it will test several, based on information you provide it about your location.) The sources.list it writes will likely be on your desktop, where you can move it to /etc/apt/sources.list, or copy from it to your actual sources.list.
More info at http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/apt-h ... co.en.html.
It's a great utility.