404 error causes apt-get update to fail

[Dan Dart]

Binary package hint: apt

If apt-get update is executed on a bad connection, the apt lists are full of 404 junk from my router.

When I try to apt-get update on a good connection after that, the junk inhibits apt's ability to update, causing errors such as these:

Reading package lists... Error!
E: Encountered a section with no Package: header
E: Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/ubuntu.virginmedia.com_archive_dists_jaunty_universe_binary-i386_Packages
E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.

The file in question is full of BT's 404 junk. I then have to delete the file to allow the updater to work again.

Can a fix be issued such that if a bad file is returned, the file is deleted so it can be got again at some later stage without breaking the updater?

This is a particular problem for newbies. My brother on UNR on an Aspire One often gets confused by these messages and there is no easy way to get around them unless I ssh in and delete the files.

[Charlie Kravetz (cjkgeek)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. We are sorry that we do not always have the capacity to look at all reported bugs in a timely manner.
There have been many changes in Ubuntu since that time you reported the bug and your problem may have been fixed with some of the updates. It would help us a lot if you could test the current Ubuntu development version (10.10). If you can test it, and it is still an issue, we would appreciate if you could let us know.

[Dan Dart (dandart)]

Not sure as of yet - I've moved away from the dodgy connection, and wouldn't have this problem even if it existed. Anything I can do to replicate it?

[Charlie Kravetz (cjkgeek)]

We are closing this bug report because it lacks the information we need to investigate the problem, as described in the previous comments. Please reopen it if you can give us the missing information, and don't hesitate to submit bug reports in the future. To reopen the bug report you can click on the current status, under the Status column, and change the Status back to "New".

I do not honestly know how to reproduce this issue.

Thanks again!