synaptic package manager loop

You mean Ubuntu 14.04. There is no Ubuntu 14.

What is the output of :

sudo apt-get update

You haven't said what file is causing the problem. The above command will show it for you

Thanks. Excuse the shorthand....14.04 it is. It should be obvious that
I am a newby so be kind.

I don't know which file is causing the problem and I probably couldn't
do anything about it anyway. Let me step you thru the steps I took.
You'll have to forgive me if I don't use the correct terms. The Syn Pkg
Mgr is dead as a result of the problem so I can't do anything until I
reload U14....I don't know any other way to solve the problem.

I tried to follow the instructions in the Opencpn manual...the short
form. I entered what they have in the instructions under 11.04...the
http://.... line. That didn't work and I got an error message which I
can't replicate right now. I noticed that the system offered a sample
of what the line should look like (very different from the Open manual)
so I put my request in that format as best I could. It also produced an
error which I can't reproduce. That error causes the Syn Pkg Mgr to
raise an error each time it starts and will go no further. When I now
try to open the Software Center it also crashes.....or more accurately
gives an error message and closes. I assume it is referring to the same
error as the Syn Pkg Mgr.

Is there any reason that version 14.04 would not handle the suggested
format in the Open manual?

I will try to get an answer to you re sudo......

Thanks again, Bruce

On 6/3/2014 1:16 PM, actionparsnip wrote:
> Your question #249701 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/249701
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> actionparsnip requested more information:
> You mean Ubuntu 14.04. There is no Ubuntu 14.
>
> What is the output of :
>
> sudo apt-get update
>
> You haven't said what file is causing the problem. The above command
> will show it for you
>

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the response to sudo....

E: Malformed line 58 in source list /etc/apt/sources.list (dist parse)

E: The list of sources could not be read._
_

Thanks.
__*__*

On 6/3/2014 1:16 PM, actionparsnip wrote:
> Your question #249701 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/249701
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> actionparsnip requested more information:
> You mean Ubuntu 14.04. There is no Ubuntu 14.
>
> What is the output of :
>
> sudo apt-get update
>
> You haven't said what file is causing the problem. The above command
> will show it for you
>

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http://www.avast.com

What is the output of:

cat -n /etc/apt/sources.list

Thanks

Please do this:
- edit your /etc/apt/sources.list file (sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list).
- Go to line 58.
- fix the syntax error on line 58 or delete it if it's not needed.
- Save and exit.
- Try again with sudo apt-get update

If you need more precisions about what to do with your syntax error in /etc/apt/sources.list, feel free to post the content of that file.

Still waiting for the output of my command too......

@Olivier: the correct command for GUI applications like gedit is the following command:

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

sudo should never be used with GUI applications, because it may mess up user permissions in your $HOME directory if used incorrectly.