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I see that more people have asked this question without reply.

I have tried to reinstall the software-center, but without luck. anybody ever managed to fix this problem? i really like browsing for software..

this is how it looks:

this is how it looks

it is something that's been around now for some months..

thanks in advance :*

Banjoo Mørmaid
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    Sorry I can't offer any advice on the issue (I use aptitude (text) or only very rarely synaptic), but would like to suggest you try the Software-Boutique which comes with Ubuntu-MATE. For a GUI tool, i've been very impressed (even though I don't use it) It doesn't list everything, but tries to list the 'best-of-class' (with exceptions for 'taste' eg. browsers). I'll refer you to a question where I suggested it as an answer (if you have more questions; please just ask me). ps: it works on any *Ubuntu; not just MATE.. – guiverc Jul 27 '18 at 10:44
  • https://askubuntu.com/questions/1058304/is-there-a-program-like-fedy-but-for-ubuntu/1058306#1058306 (sorry I forgot to paste the link I was referring to...) – guiverc Jul 27 '18 at 10:51
  • good suggestion, and i installed it with snap, but it doesn't show up anywhere.. and when i type it in terminal to start it.. it just says it is in development.. any idea? – Banjoo Mørmaid Jul 31 '18 at 11:23
  • and synaptic really confuses me – Banjoo Mørmaid Jul 31 '18 at 11:23
  • thanks for comment (re: software-boutique), this machine didn't have it installed so I installed; realized your issue and have no added more instruction in the answer where I used software-boutique (ie. commands needed to install, plus run the snap version) – guiverc Jul 31 '18 at 13:18
  • The answer may have something to do with the fact that neither editors picks nor featured are dynamically displayed. I noticed that mine started crapping out at the same time as my connection. It's far from an answer, but at least it's a possibility. – Nate T May 02 '21 at 21:32

2 Answers2

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UPDATE: 19/8/2018 as mentioned by @geras, an official fix for unescape metadata on fwupd.xml has been committed to ubuntu xenial -proposed repository (see here). It permanently fixes the issue even though the fwupdmgr refreshes. To do that you can first go to Software & Updates > Developer Options > check the Pre-release updates. Then, sudo apt update && sudo apt install fwupd/xenial-proposed. After that reboot the PC.

Are you experiencing these errors when updating your ubuntu using sudo apt update: 

AppStream system cache was updated, but problems were found: Metadata files have errors: /var/cache/app-info/xmls/fwupd.xml
Reading package lists... Done
E: Problem executing scripts APT::Update::Post-Invoke-Success 'if /usr/bin/test -w /var/cache/app-info -a -e /usr/bin/appstreamcli; then appstreamcli refresh-cache > /dev/null; fi'
E: Sub-process returned an error code

If so, you can try the solutions provided on this link: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/appstream/+bug/1644498

1) Open fwupd.xml file

sudo gedit /var/cache/app-info/xmls/fwupd.xml

2) Edit line #265

<checksum filename="Firmware_SF30&SN30_Pro_V1.26.dat"

becomes

<checksum filename="Firmware_SF30&amp;SN30_Pro_V1.26.dat"

(change & with &amp;)

3) Refresh the appstreamcli

sudo appstreamcli refresh --force

These tricks are worked for me to solve the Ubuntu Software problem.

zuv
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  • No.. apt is working perfectly.. i tried it anyway.. nothing changed.. also, the line number was 265.. not 256. . but thanks though :) – Banjoo Mørmaid Jul 31 '18 at 11:14
  • @zuv I did have exactly the errors that you described and your solution worked for me but only temporarily. After some time the file reverts to the '&'-containing version. However, maybe it will be enough to wait for a fix to this bug to be released: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/appstream-glib/+bug/1780442 – geras Aug 02 '18 at 18:55
  • @BanjooMørmaid, I see. Sorry I cannot provide you another solution since I solved this problem with this trick. :( Also, for the line number, it's my mistake. It should be 265. :) – zuv Aug 18 '18 at 19:14
  • @geras, thank you for sharing that link. I have checked and confirmed that the fix is worked for me. I think that will be the official fix for ubuntu (xenial). – zuv Aug 18 '18 at 19:22
  • Unfortunately, it doesnt work for me – BugKiller Aug 25 '18 at 17:25
  • @zuv, it's my bad, your solution help me indeed and ubuntu software go smoothly now – BugKiller Aug 27 '18 at 09:33
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I installed Gnome Software. It works while Ubuntu software doesn't fully work, at least for exploring for apps. I pinned it to the favorites bar. It is available on the Ubuntu Software app, I believe.

Robin Pettit
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