Arch Linux

Dinodour

Member

Registered: 2017-05-21

Posts: 6

[SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

I am trying to install Arch on my laptop, with Windows 10 already installed, but every time I run "pacstrap -i /mnt base" I get this output

core is up to date
extra is up to date
community is up to date
error: could not open file /mnt/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db: Unrecognized archive format
error: could not open file /mnt/var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db: Unrecognized archive format
error: could not open file /mnt/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db: Unrecognized archive format
error: could not open file /mnt/var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db: Unrecognized archive format
error: could not open file /mnt/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db: Unrecognized archive format
error: could not open file /mnt/var/lib/pacman/sync/extra.db: Unrecognized archive format
error: target not found: base
==> ERROR: Failed to install packages to new root

I can run "pacman -Syu" fine and I can also install packages with "pacman -S". My mirror list is working fine. I have made "SigLevel = Never" in "pacman.conf" to fix an earlier issue.

This topic has the same problem but was never resolved: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=158372.

Last edited by Dinodour (2017-05-21 18:19:37)

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,350

Re: [SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

Welcome to Arch Linux

Try the advice here: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=135310.  If that does not help, we will dig deeper.

---

Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
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How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

Dinodour

Member

Registered: 2017-05-21

Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

Welcome to Arch Linux

Try the advice here: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=135310.  If that does not help, we will dig deeper.

I have tried this and it has not worked. I can download the databases but pacstrap still gives me the same error.

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,350

Re: [SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

So, at this point, we:

• Have booted from a live Media

• Have connected to the Internet

• Have partitioned the disk

• Have formatted the partitions

• Have mounted the partitions

At this point, what is the output of mount  ?
What are the file system types for each partition?

Last edited by ewaller (2017-05-21 17:37:41)

---

Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

Dinodour

Member

Registered: 2017-05-21

Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

So, at this point, we:

• Have booted from a live Media

• Have connected to the Internet

• Have partitioned the disk

• Have formatted the partitions

• Have mounted the partitions

That is correct

At this point, what is the output of mount  ?

Photo of the output of mount:
http://i.imgur.com/aiEWhQk.jpg

What are the file system types for each partition?

I think the image contains the filesystems at the bottom but I am not sure.

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 12,419

Re: [SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

What does `file /mnt/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db` tell you?

Last edited by Scimmia (2017-05-21 17:58:10)

Dinodour

Member

Registered: 2017-05-21

Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

What does `file /mnt/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db` tell you?

/mnt/var/lib/pacman/sync/core.db: HTML document, ASCII text, with very long lines, with no line terminators

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 12,419

Re: [SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

So you grabbed a web page instead of the databases. Sounds like you don't have internet access; are you behind a captive portal?

Dinodour

Member

Registered: 2017-05-21

Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

So you grabbed a web page instead of the databases. Sounds like you don't have internet access; are you behind a captive portal?

I definitely have internet access, I just installed cowsay using "pacman -S". I am also not behind a captive portal, it is a wpa2 network with known password.

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 12,419

Re: [SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

So take a look at the web page, see what it is. If you're certain you have access now, you can always remove the sync databases and redownload them.

Dinodour

Member

Registered: 2017-05-21

Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] Error with pacstrap, Unrecognized archive format

So take a look at the web page, see what it is. If you're certain you have access now, you can always remove the sync databases and redownload them.

Doing "rm -R /mnt/var/lib/pacman/sync/" worked instead of "rm -R /var/lib/pacman/sync/", thanks.