Pacman stopped working

bt · 2008-07-27 13:51:11

I ran pacman -Sy to upgrade the database - and as usual it worked perfectly. I then ran pacman -Su to upgrade (I do it once a week) and there is nothing. Pacman will not respond to any command. I made no changes.

To be sure, I edited /etc/pacman.conf to conform with the information in the howto for setting up the mirrors, and edited /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist to reflect the correct part of the world (USA). No change. No commands work any more except pacman -V.

Since I made no changes to the system, what could have happened? -- the rest of the system works perfectly. Can't even reinstall pacman from the database.

shining · 2008-07-27 13:58:29

bt wrote:

I then ran pacman -Su to upgrade (I do it once a week) and there is nothing. Pacman will not respond to any command.

Any chances you can be more precise about what is happening? For instance, you could copy/paste the command and its output from the shell.

bt · 2008-07-27 15:13:21

pacman -Sy
No return, no output. Just goes back to the prompt "[root@newnet ~} #"

Allan · 2008-07-27 15:23:04

Try with the "--debug" flag

rooloo · 2008-07-27 15:58:02

check the logs

/var/log/pacman.log

bt · 2008-07-27 16:20:34

I think the following from the --debug flag will explain:

debug: returning error 10 from _alpm_db_open : could not open database
debug: returning error 10 from _alpm_db_register_sync : could not open database
debug: returning error 12 from alpm_db_setserver : database not initialized
debug: closing database 'core'
debug: unregistering database 'core'
debug: closing database 'extra'
debug: unregistering database 'extra'

/etc/pacman.conf shows the following:

RootDir = /
DBPath = /var/lib/pacman
CacheDir = /var/cache/pacman/pkg
LogFile = /var/log/pacman.log

/var/log/pacman.log shows no entries after 7/25/08

Last edited by bt (2008-07-27 16:38:25)

shining · 2008-07-27 16:56:20

Could you have a look inside /var/lib/pacman, and check everything is alright (permissions and stuff).
Start with the top directory : ls -ld /var/lib/pacman then go deeper.

bt · 2008-07-27 17:44:13

/var/lib/pacman drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 2008-07-25 15:55
/var/lib/pacman/local drwxr-xr-x 623 root root 32768 2008-7-20 11:45
/var/lib/pacman/sync drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 2008-07-25 15:55

shining · 2008-07-27 18:19:48

Just in case, paste the whole debug output. Just put it inside code tags.

bt · 2008-07-27 19:14:11

[root@newnet ~]# pacman  --debug -Sy
debug: config: attempting to read file /etc/pacman.conf
debug: config: new section 'options'
debug: config: logfile: /var/log/pacman.log
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/passwd
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/group
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/shadow
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/sudoers
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/fstab
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/raidtab
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/ld.so.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/rc.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/rc.local
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/modprobe.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/modules.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/lilo.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: boot/grub/menu.lst
debug: config: HoldPkg:
debug: config: IgnorePkg: openoffice-base
debug: config: IgnorePkg: pycddb
debug: config: xfercommand: /usr/bin/wget --passive-ftp -c -O %o %u
debug: config: new section 'core'
debug: setlibpaths() called
debug: option 'logfile' = /var/log/pacman.log
debug: option 'cachedir' = /var/cache/pacman/pkg/
debug: registering sync database 'core'
debug: opening database 'core'
debug: opening database from path '/var/lib/pacman/sync/core/'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: config: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: attempting to read file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirrors.unixheads.org', path '/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp-linux.cc.gatech.edu', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirror.cs.vt.edu', path '/pub/ArchLinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.archlinux.org', path '/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'http', server 'mirrors.easynews.com', path '/linux/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'http', server 'holmes.umflint.edu', path '/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'http', server 'mirror.neotuli.net', path '/arch/core/os/i686'
debug: config: finished parsing /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: new section 'extra'
debug: registering sync database 'extra'
debug: opening database 'extra'
debug: opening database from path '/var/lib/pacman/sync/extra/'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: config: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: attempting to read file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirrors.unixheads.org', path '/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp-linux.cc.gatech.edu', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirror.cs.vt.edu', path '/pub/ArchLinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.archlinux.org', path '/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'http', server 'mirrors.easynews.com', path '/linux/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'http', server 'holmes.umflint.edu', path '/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'http', server 'mirror.neotuli.net', path '/arch/extra/os/i686'
debug: config: finished parsing /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: new section 'unstable'
debug: registering sync database 'unstable'
debug: database dir '/var/lib/pacman/sync/unstable' does not exist, creating it
debug: opening database 'unstable'
debug: opening database from path '/var/lib/pacman/sync/unstable/'
debug: returning error 10 from _alpm_db_open : could not open database
debug: returning error 10 from _alpm_db_register_sync : could not open database
debug: returning error 12 from alpm_db_setserver : database not initialized
debug: closing database 'core'
debug: unregistering database 'core'
debug: closing database 'extra'
debug: unregistering database 'extra'
[root@newnet ~]# clear
[root@newnet ~]# pacman  --debug -Sy
debug: config: attempting to read file /etc/pacman.conf
debug: config: new section 'options'
debug: config: logfile: /var/log/pacman.log
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/passwd
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/group
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/shadow
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/sudoers
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/fstab
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/raidtab
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/ld.so.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/rc.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/rc.local
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/modprobe.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/modules.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/lilo.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: boot/grub/menu.lst
debug: config: HoldPkg:
debug: config: IgnorePkg: openoffice-base
debug: config: IgnorePkg: pycddb
debug: config: xfercommand: /usr/bin/wget --passive-ftp -c -O %o %u
debug: config: new section 'core'
debug: setlibpaths() called
debug: option 'logfile' = /var/log/pacman.log
debug: option 'cachedir' = /var/cache/pacman/pkg/
debug: registering sync database 'core'
debug: opening database 'core'
debug: opening database from path '/var/lib/pacman/sync/core/'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: config: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: attempting to read file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirrors.unixheads.org', path '/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp-linux.cc.gatech.edu', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirror.cs.vt.edu', path '/pub/ArchLinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.archlinux.org', path '/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'http', server 'mirrors.easynews.com', path '/linux/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'http', server 'holmes.umflint.edu', path '/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'http', server 'mirror.neotuli.net', path '/arch/core/os/i686'
debug: config: finished parsing /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: new section 'extra'
debug: registering sync database 'extra'
debug: opening database 'extra'
debug: opening database from path '/var/lib/pacman/sync/extra/'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: config: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: attempting to read file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirrors.unixheads.org', path '/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp-linux.cc.gatech.edu', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirror.cs.vt.edu', path '/pub/ArchLinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.archlinux.org', path '/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'http', server 'mirrors.easynews.com', path '/linux/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'http', server 'holmes.umflint.edu', path '/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'http', server 'mirror.neotuli.net', path '/arch/extra/os/i686'
debug: config: finished parsing /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: new section 'unstable'
debug: registering sync database 'unstable'
debug: database dir '/var/lib/pacman/sync/unstable' does not exist, creating it
debug: opening database 'unstable'
debug: opening database from path '/var/lib/pacman/sync/unstable/'
debug: returning error 10 from _alpm_db_open : could not open database
debug: returning error 10 from _alpm_db_register_sync : could not open database
debug: returning error 12 from alpm_db_setserver : database not initialized
debug: closing database 'core'
debug: unregistering database 'core'
debug: closing database 'extra'
debug: unregistering database 'extra'
[root@newnet ~]# clear
[root@newnet ~]# pacman  --debug -Sy
debug: config: attempting to read file /etc/pacman.conf
debug: config: new section 'options'
debug: config: logfile: /var/log/pacman.log
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/passwd
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/group
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/shadow
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/sudoers
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/fstab
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/raidtab
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/ld.so.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/rc.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/rc.local
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/modprobe.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/modules.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: etc/lilo.conf
debug: config: NoUpgrade: boot/grub/menu.lst
debug: config: HoldPkg:
debug: config: IgnorePkg: openoffice-base
debug: config: IgnorePkg: pycddb
debug: config: xfercommand: /usr/bin/wget --passive-ftp -c -O %o %u
debug: config: new section 'core'
debug: setlibpaths() called
debug: option 'logfile' = /var/log/pacman.log
debug: option 'cachedir' = /var/cache/pacman/pkg/
debug: registering sync database 'core'
debug: opening database 'core'
debug: opening database from path '/var/lib/pacman/sync/core/'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: config: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: attempting to read file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirrors.unixheads.org', path '/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp-linux.cc.gatech.edu', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirror.cs.vt.edu', path '/pub/ArchLinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.archlinux.org', path '/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'http', server 'mirrors.easynews.com', path '/linux/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'http', server 'holmes.umflint.edu', path '/archlinux/core/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'core': protocol 'http', server 'mirror.neotuli.net', path '/arch/core/os/i686'
debug: config: finished parsing /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: new section 'extra'
debug: registering sync database 'extra'
debug: opening database 'extra'
debug: opening database from path '/var/lib/pacman/sync/extra/'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: config: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: attempting to read file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.ibiblio.org', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'locke.suu.edu', path '/linux/dist/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirrors.unixheads.org', path '/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp-linux.cc.gatech.edu', path '/pub/linux/distributions/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'mirror.cs.vt.edu', path '/pub/ArchLinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'ftp', server 'ftp.archlinux.org', path '/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'http', server 'mirrors.easynews.com', path '/linux/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'http', server 'holmes.umflint.edu', path '/archlinux/extra/os/i686'
debug: adding new server to database 'extra': protocol 'http', server 'mirror.neotuli.net', path '/arch/extra/os/i686'
debug: config: finished parsing /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
debug: config: new section 'unstable'
debug: registering sync database 'unstable'
debug: database dir '/var/lib/pacman/sync/unstable' does not exist, creating it
debug: opening database 'unstable'
debug: opening database from path '/var/lib/pacman/sync/unstable/'
debug: returning error 10 from _alpm_db_open : could not open database
debug: returning error 10 from _alpm_db_register_sync : could not open database
debug: returning error 12 from alpm_db_setserver : database not initialized
debug: closing database 'core'
debug: unregistering database 'core'
debug: closing database 'extra'
debug: unregistering database 'extra'
[root@newnet ~]#

shining · 2008-07-27 20:36:08

Hmm, well I can't say for sure what is happening, but this has to do with the unstable repo which was removed.
Just remove it from your pacman.conf and you will be fine.

What I don't understand is that it works fine for me, even by letting the unstable repo in pacman.conf, but I am also using pacman 3.2 (not released yet) instead of 3.1, and the code dealing with that could have changed.

bt · 2008-07-27 20:49:39

unstable repo removed from pacman.conf and pacman worked perfectly. I do not understand the reasoning, or why it changed over a five minute period. Strangest thing that has ever happened to me in Arch.

Shining - Many thanks for your help

shining · 2008-07-27 21:40:56

Well, it is not every day that a repo is removed
The current repo was renamed to core a while ago, but that was different.
Here is the reasoning behind the drop of unstable, if you are curious :
http://www.archlinux.org/pipermail/arch … 05870.html
As you can see, it took a few months to get it done.

But I would still like to know if you are the only one who ran into that issue.

shining · 2008-07-28 09:57:02

I managed to reproduce that issue, after doing the following :
1) create a /var/lib/pacman/sync/unstable file
2) Add some Server lines before the Include line

Well, I guess I could find out how the 2) step affect this issue by examining pacman code (probably different return code handling when handling Include lines recursively), but the real problem is the 1) one. I have no idea how the hell this could happen.
And the worst is that I think I saw that it happened on one of my box, I had a /var/lib/pacman/sync/unstable file instead of a directory.
But now, I do not find any ways to reproduce it, so no way to debug it

Arch Linux

#1 2008-07-27 13:51:11

Pacman stopped working

#2 2008-07-27 13:58:29

Re: Pacman stopped working

#3 2008-07-27 15:13:21

Re: Pacman stopped working

#4 2008-07-27 15:23:04

Re: Pacman stopped working

#5 2008-07-27 15:58:02

Re: Pacman stopped working

#6 2008-07-27 16:20:34

Re: Pacman stopped working

#7 2008-07-27 16:56:20

Re: Pacman stopped working

#8 2008-07-27 17:44:13

Re: Pacman stopped working

#9 2008-07-27 18:19:48

Re: Pacman stopped working

#10 2008-07-27 19:14:11

Re: Pacman stopped working

#11 2008-07-27 20:36:08

Re: Pacman stopped working

#12 2008-07-27 20:49:39

Re: Pacman stopped working

#13 2008-07-27 21:40:56

Re: Pacman stopped working

#14 2008-07-28 09:57:02

Re: Pacman stopped working

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