There are lots of "add-apt-repository" posts out there, but I think I have seen and tried the solutions in most of them.
I am trying to install Java on Ubuntu Server 12.04. Some searching lead to the most common solution below:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install oracle-java7-installer
However, when I run
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
I get the following error:
sudo: add-apt-repository: command not found
So, more searching and troubleshooting has led me to the following:
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
Which gives me (now, at least – the first time, it actually installed the package):
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Other advice suggested the following might be needed:
sudo apt-get install python-software-properties
Which gives the following error:
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
python-software-properties : Depends: python-pycurl but it is not installable
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.
So I tried:
sudo apt-get install python-pycur
and get this:
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
E: Package 'python-pycurl' has no installation candidate
Kind of stuck now. Any ideas where to go next?
Per Thomas W.'s suggestion, here are the contents of /etc/apt/sources.list:
# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.5 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release i386 (20140806.1)]/ precise main restricted
#deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.5 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release i386 (20140806.1)]/ precise main restricted
# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted
## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates main restricted
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-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 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise universe
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise universe
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates universe
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-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 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise multiverse
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise multiverse
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates multiverse
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates multiverse
## 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 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted
Also, results of sudo apt-get update may be useful:
W: Failed to fetch http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/main/source/Sources Hash Sum mismatch
W: Failed to fetch http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/restricted/source/Sources Hash Sum mismatch
W: Failed to fetch http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/universe/source/Sources Hash Sum mismatch
W: Failed to fetch http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/multiverse/source/Sources Hash Sum mismatch
W: Failed to fetch http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/main/binary-i386/Packages Hash Sum mismatch
W: Failed to fetch http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/restricted/binary-i386/Packages Hash Sum mismatch
W: Failed to fetch http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/universe/binary-i386/Packages Hash Sum mismatch
W: Failed to fetch http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/multiverse/binary-i386/Packages Hash Sum mismatch
E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
Best Answer
Ok. Thanks to Thomas W. for comments that led me to the solution.
The cause seems to trace back to broken packages. I had previously searched how to fix broken packages, but none of the solutions fixed the whole problem. I searched instead for the Hash Sum mismatch error I was getting at the end of apt-get update, and found this solution, that solved the problem.
Answer copied here for completeness:
Remove the content of /var/lib/apt/lists directory:
sudo rm -fR /var/lib/apt/lists/*then run:
sudo apt-get updateApparently, and you gurus can correct or elaborate, the clean and autoclean flags for apt-get didn't completely purge the problem children from apt/lists directory.