"Size mismatch" error is unhelpful
Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Software Updater |
Invalid
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned | ||
update-manager (Ubuntu) |
Invalid
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned |
Bug Description
i don't actually know where the "Size mismatch" errors come from, but i think it's if an "apt-get update" is done (either manually or by the system?), and then the package on the server is replaced with a newer one without the client doing another "apt-get update". if there's a way for the server maintainer to fix this, it would be good to have a message saying that there's a problem with the server and that the user should point the server administrator to <some document that explains how to avoid inflicting this on users>.
but i'm getting ahead of myself...
if you're in the situation above, where "apt-get upgrade" would report:
Failed to fetch http://
E: Unable to fetch some archives, maybe run apt-get update or try with --fix-missing?
update manager shows you the first line but not the second. so you're given no clue as to what "size mismatch" means (mismatch between what sizes, exactly?), or whether that's a server problem, a client problem, or -- as i believe -- a client/server mismatch problem. and you're not given any clue about how to resolve the problem.
ideally, i guess, update manager would either "apt-get update" as a matter of course when it starts. or it could do it if it gets these kind of errors. or as a minimum, it could do what "apt-get upgrade" does and suggest that a sufficiently clueful user (and presumably this can only really happen if you or your system administrator has added lines to your /etc apt sources?) run a specific command.
even if this is something a sufficiently clever .deb repository maintainer can avoid, it would be nice to have some kind of "repository <x> in your <sources file> if maintained by bozos; please point them at <useful URL> which explains what they need to do to avoid this problem; in the meantime try <end-user work-around>".
Changed in update-manager: | |
status: | New → Invalid |
Can you please attach the files in /var/log/ dist-upgrade to this bug report. Thank you for reporting this with us today.