Solution : How can we update the package lists & install packages in newly installed os [ubuntu] without Internet and Repository DVDs

problem :

My friends having system which is installed ubuntu 9.10 . But they dont have Internet connection to update package list and can’t install any applications.

But I am having Internet connection and I installed many essential packages in my system.

How can we transfer the archives (i.e. deb files ) and as well as packages lists ( i.e. Index list in Synaptic Package Manager ) to newly installed system , os as ubuntu ?

Solution :

Myself and my brother Pasupathy were tried to solve this problem and finally we achieved too.

Just do the following simple steps .

1) Install ubuntu in one system say  ” system A ” and update the system via Internet . Now the index list of synaptic package manager having 28,878 files [ in ubuntu 9.10 ].

2) Install the essential applications and softwares. for eg : ubuntu-restricted-extras , vlc , mplayer , compizconfig-settings-manager , etc.,

Take Backup :

3) copy the package lists and its information to show in synaptic , from the updated system by the following command

$ mkdir   /home/[user name]/backup/

$ sudo cp -r /var/lib/apt/lists  /home/[user name]/backup/

4) copy the package lists in binary format

$ sudo cp /var/cache/apt/pkgcache.bin  /home/[user name]/backup/

$ sudo cp /var/cache/apt/srcpkgcache.bin  /home/[user name]/backup/

5)  Now we are going to backup the archives directory. It contains .deb files.  While installing any application from net , the downloading files are storing in this directory only (as .deb)

$ sudo cp -r /var/cache/apt/archives  /home/[user name]/backup/

Copy this backup folder into Pen drive.

Thats all ! we backuped all our resource from the system which is updated via Internet also installed many applications.

Update & Install the applications in freshly installed [ubuntu] system ( sys ” system B ” ) without Internet and Repository Dvds.

Open synaptic package manager and note the no of index package lists . ( approximately 1300)

Plug the pen drive into this system and copy the “backup” directory into that home directory.

Now

$ cd  backup

$ ls

archives  lists  pkgcache.bin   srcpkgcache.bin

$ sudo cp -r lists   /var/lib/apt/

$ sudo cp pkgcache.bin  /var/cache/apt/

$ sudo cp srcpkgcache.bin  /var/cache/apt/

$ sudo cp -r archives   /var/cache/apt/

———-

Thats alllllll.

Now go and open the synaptic package manager .   Wow ! Oops !   Now the no of packages lists in that is 28,878 .

Now u can install , whatever u backuped installed applications from the ” system A ” , “system B ” also can install those packages without download from the Internet or repository Dvds .

Now try to install ubuntu-restricted-extras , vlc , mplayer , compizconfig-settings-manager .  With 1 min , it should be installed.

I hope , this may helps to ubuntu admin .

The only  , we can not install the application beyond the backuped source from “system A” without Internet .thing

Now in kanchilug , we are installing the packages in various systems by this way only .   It works well !

அருளாளன் . த