Cannot Install Packages from CD and Need Internet Connection

Not sure how relevant this is, but in /var/log/installer/syslog I found evidence of the installer tripping over an extended partition. The installation was made with manual partitions as follows:-
Disk /dev/hda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 920 7389868+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/hda2 921 1000 642600 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/hda3 1001 8000 56227500 5 Extended
/dev/hda4 8001 14593 52958272+ b W95 FAT32
/dev/hda5 1001 1250 2008093+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda6 1251 2000 6024343+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda7 2001 8000 48194968+ 83 Linux

Here are the error messages:-
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu os-prober: debug: running /usr/lib/os-probes/50mounted-tests on /dev/hda3
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.312000] cramfs: wrong magic
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.324000] attempt to access beyond end of device
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.324000] hda3: rw=0, want=66, limit=2
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.328000] isofs_fill_super: bread failed, dev=hda3, iso_blknum=16, block=32
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.356000] SQUASHFS error: Can't find a SQUASHFS superblock on hda3
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.368000] attempt to access beyond end of device
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.368000] hda3: rw=0, want=4, limit=2
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.368000] EXT2-fs: unable to read superblock
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.384000] FAT: bogus number of reserved sectors
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.384000] VFS: Can't find a valid FAT filesystem on dev hda3.
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.404000] NTFS-fs error (device hda3): read_ntfs_boot_sector(): Primary boot sector is invalid.
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.404000] NTFS-fs error (device hda3): read_ntfs_boot_sector(): Mount option errors=recover not used. Aborting without trying to recover.
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.404000] NTFS-fs error (device hda3): ntfs_fill_super(): Not an NTFS volume.
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.420000] attempt to access beyond end of device
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.420000] hda3: rw=0, want=4, limit=2
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.420000] EXT3-fs: unable to read superblock
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.436000] attempt to access beyond end of device
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.436000] hda3: rw=0, want=72, limit=2
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.436000] attempt to access beyond end of device
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.436000] hda3: rw=0, want=128, limit=2
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.452000] attempt to access beyond end of device
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.452000] hda3: rw=0, want=18, limit=2
Oct 25 13:01:10 ubuntu kernel: [17181719.452000] ReiserFS: hda3: warning: sh-2006: read_super_block: bread failed (dev hda3, block 8, si...

Thanks for your bug report. Can you please attach your /etc/apt/sources.list file?

Hello, and thanks for your reply!
Attempting file attachment now...

try commenting out these lines:
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy main restricted universe
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy main restricted universe
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-security restricted main universe
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-security restricted main universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-updates restricted main universe
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-updates restricted main universe

Than afte ryou save and close /etc/apt/sources.list run sudo apt-get update than you should beable to install from cdrom. while you have the net repos enabled its going to look there for the packages instead of cd rom. so comment out all net repos and try it it should be fine. Let me know so i can close the bug.

Hi John,

Thanks for these additional instructions. Earlier today I needed libc6-dev and when I went to install it a bizarre thing happened... synaptic asked for the CD!!! That was a first! Strangely, nothing had changed. A possible factor was that the first time I opened Systems->Language_Support (several days ago) I got an error message saying that the locale was not correctly installed, after which a lot of stuff was downloaded from the net by the language support wizard, including openoffice-core if I'm not mistaken.

Now on to your suggested work-around. After editing sources.list, updating apt and reloading the package list (which must have been cached because the CDROM didn't spin up), the list diminished to 882, of which 856 were installed. I was able to install the serial port driver from the CD, so that part was working. However, uninstalled OpenOffice packages didn't appear in the list. To prove the point, I uninstalled OO-Calc, deleted its package from the apt cache and restarted synaptic. It was gone.

This brought me full circle to the situation described in the first post, i.e. AddRemove said the application list was out of date and would display OO-Calc in the list but wouldn't install it, with the "cannot be installed on your computer type (i386)" error again. After replacing the net links in sources.list and updating the package list I could reinstall OO-Calc but not from the CD.

At this point I have to ask a silly question - is OpenOffice actually on the CD or is this my misunderstanding? If it is on the disc then something is still wrong here. The extended partition and locale problems may have been contributing factors but I don't think they can be the reason the condition persists.

Sorry for so many words over something which seems less important with each passing day. However, the ability to perform stand-alone installations (without net access) is a very attractive feature, one which Ubuntu seems to aim for but one which for whatever reason I haven't been able to achieve with Xubuntu Edgy.

Thanks again for your assistance which is very much appreciated.
Cheers,
clubsoda

OpenOffice is on the ubuntu alternate disc. I'm not real sure if xubuntu alternate cd has OO.o or not i cant remember and my apt just started crashing again.

[Expired for synaptic (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]