Can't Install Software Under Cacko 1.22 Lite

[jomo]

Hi, Anton and Stupkid (sorry, don't know your real name).
I got Cacko-Lite installed (that sounds cool. Cacko-Lite). And I was enjoying the hell out of it. And then a funny error cropped up. I de-installed TextMaker and then tried to re-install it, and I kept getting errors. So, as a test, I de-installed a couple more apps, and couldn't re-install them. Frustrated, I re-flashed Cacko and the error got even worse from there. After installing two, maybe three Apps, the system wouldn't let me install anything anymore. It would just return the same two errors. One was vague - Ipkg can't complete. Sorry. The other wasn't much better - The name of this file contains characters that Ipkg can't read. Please re-name. I did some reading on the forums and, after putzing around for a little while, I thought that maybe it was a bad NAND block or two. So I tried changing partition sizes, hoping that I could work around the problem. The number of files that I could install before hitting the problem did change. It varied from eight apps installable to as few as two or three. Finally, I restored a NAND backup of my old Sharp ROM setup (with all of its myriad problems), and it seems to work ok (other than being the Sharp ROM).

The million dollar question is: What went wrong? And why?

--Rich

[stupkid]

Hi, Anton and Stupkid (sorry, don't know your real name).

It's Bryan, but stupkid is also OK with me.

The million dollar question is: What went wrong? And why?

I don't know based on the data provided.  The graphical installer has worthless error messages.  To get a more useful error run ipkg from the command line.  Please post the contents of /etc/ipkg.conf, the output of 'ipkg update', and the output of 'ipkg install <packagename>' (replacing <packagename> with some package you want to install.).

With that information we should have a better idea what is going on.

Thanks!

[jomo]

Attempted to install neocal_1.4.4-lite-1_arm.ipk

Response:

The following package were previously requested but have not been installed:
error
Install them now [Y/n] ? y
ERROR: File not found: /usr/lib/ipkg/lists/Cacko
   You probably want to run 'ipkg update'
ERROR: File not found: /usr/lib/ipkg/lists/Cacko
   You probably want to run 'ipkg update'
filename - __.ipk

Downloading http://cacko.biz/cacko/feed/__.ipk ...
--17:47:11--  http://cacko.biz/cacko/feed/__.ipk
      => '//home/tmp/ipkg/__.ipk'

Resolving cacko.biz... failed: Host not found.
ipkg_download: ERROR: Failed to retrieve http://cacko.biz/cacko/feed/__.ipk, returning

ipkg_get_install: Perhaps you need to run 'ikpg update'?

Tried update:

Downloading http://cacko.biz/cacko/feed/Packages ...
--18:08:12-- http://cacko.biz/cacko/feed/Packages
      => '//home/tmp/ipkg/Packages'
Resolving cacko.biz... failed: Host not found.
ipkg_download: ERROR: Failed to retrieve http://cacko.biz/cacko/feed/Packages,
returning
ipkg_update: Error downloading http://cacko.biz/cacko/feed/Packages to /usr/lib/ipkg/lists/Cacko

Contents of ipkg.conf are:
# Written by Qt Palmtop Package Manager
src Cacko http://cacko.biz/cacko/feed
dest root /
dest tmpinst /home/tmp/ipkg/inst

[Kedge]

Hello jomo,

did you installed the apps over the network or did downloaded the packages? If want to install the apps locally you might try the hint from the Cacko FAQ:

Q: I can't install via the GUI (ipkg said something went wrong). At the console I get the message:


    'The following package were previously requested but have not been installed: error
    Install them now [Y/n]?'
A: Go to a console prompt and type:

ipkg remove error
It will give some complaint about not finding the package "error" and then say it is purging all references to "error" from the database, and then you shouldn't get that message anymore.
If this doesn't help, thend elete /usr/lib/ipkg folder and also similar folders from CF and SD cards. That should help with those error messages and GUI Package Manager will be able to install packages.

Hope this helps.

Kedge

[jomo]

No, I was installing local apps when all this started.  Most of the stuff I use is commercial (no dependencies), and my Zaurus doesn't have a network card anyway.  Tried your suggestion, Kedge, and that didn't work either.  Still the same problem.  No install with the GUI.  However, it seems to install from the Command-Line now.  Now, the question is: Is there a better GUI installer.  Having to do all that typing on a tiny keyboard is annoying.

[stupkid]

Is there a better GUI installer.  Having to do all that typing on a tiny keyboard is annoying.
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

There is no other GUI installer that I am aware of.  If you are not going to install from the network you should comment out the line in /etc/ipkg.conf like so:

#src Cacko [a href=\"http://cacko.biz/cacko/feed]http://cacko.biz/cacko/feed[/url]

If you hate using the keyboard you can:

  1. Run the Add/Remove Packages program
  2. Click "Install packages via networks"
  3. Click on the switch icon in the lower right corner
  4. Click on "Cacko" that is highlighted in the server list.
  5. Click on OK
  6. Exit Add/Remove programs

Just to be 100% sure that you don't have anything left over run the 'ipkg remove error' from the command line as root one more time.  Now you should be able to install packages from SD etc. without problems.

What happened is that when you ran the package GUI it was configured to install from the network.  You don't have a network connection which resulted in a failed package install.  Everytime you tried to install a package after that it was trying to resolve the errors from the last package it thought was on the network that it couldn't talk to.  So, it would fail everytime.

Hope this helps.

[jomo]

Ok, after doing everything Kedge suggested in combination with stupkid's suggestions, it now seems to be working.  What was throwing me, was that it worked fine when I first installed Cacko.  I'd had Cacko up and running for more than a week, installing things on average once a day.  No hitches until Tuesday morning.  Then suddenly "poof".  What confused me was that changing the root partition size SEEMED to change the number of packages I could install before the error popped up.  That's why I thought it was a problem with the flash file system.  On desktops something like that is usually a good sign that your HDD or RAM is hosed.  I don't know if you guys have any of the source for the package manager GUI, but if you do, I'd like to lobby for better error-messages in Cacko 1.23, when you guys get to that point.  

[stupkid]

I don't know if you guys have any of the source for the package manager GUI, but if you do, I'd like to lobby for better error-messages in Cacko 1.23, when you guys get to that point. 
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Nope it's Sharp's, but I suppose a new one could be written from scratch.  If we fix the problems with the Sharp installer incompatibilites could be introduced, which is a concern.  I agree that qinstall sucks big time though.  There are lots silly tricks that have to be done to get packages working right and it would be nice to not have to do those.