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So I'm very new to Ubuntu, I don't know how to edit files, everything I do to improve Ubuntu is done through the Terminal using guides I find online. Basically since I downloaded Ubuntu 13.10 overtop of my Windows 8, I've regretted it. Mainly because most of the things arnt working, gnome-terminal, software centre, etc.

Currently I've done all the things any guide online says to try and fix my Software Centre, I've viewed guides on askubuntu, wikihow, etc etc. None of them worked/work and now I'm getting tired of it. Everytime I try to remove/install a program in the Software Centre, I receive this Error: 

Authentication Error

Software can't be installed or removed because the authentication service is not    
available. (org.freedesktop.PolicyKit.Error.Failed: ('system-bus-name',     
{'name':':1.49'}): org.debian.apt.install-or-remove-packages

If you could please help me fix this, so that I could move on with Ubuntu, it'd be greatly appreciated. When explaining things to me, please be very elaborate - I'm very new to Ubuntu.

Jay
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    What happens if you try to install a package? Can you give us the whole secuence of commands that you entered and got back. Enter this command: sudo apt-get install htop in a terminal, and copy-paste the whole sequence in here, and give us the link in a comment. – Alvar Dec 19 '13 at 22:33
  • htop is a light weight system monitor program, you can remove it when you are done I just want to know how it looks in your terminal. So we know exactly what's wrong here. – Alvar Dec 19 '13 at 22:36
  • I'm unable to post anything given by the terminal, considering I can't open gnome-terminal or Xterm. – Jay Dec 19 '13 at 23:29
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    What happens when you try to open gnome terminal? – Alvar Dec 19 '13 at 23:36

2 Answers2

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It is probable that you have had an error in the installation procedure. What I would do in your case is reinstall Ubuntu.

You may need another PC to accomplish this steps:

  • Check the integrity of the Ubuntu-13.10 ISO.
  • If it is OK, run the LiveCD
  • Now resize/delete or format partitions in a way to let one for data and the other for Ubuntu. (see How to resize partitions?)
  • Install Ubuntu (yes, again) and now everything should work properly.
Community
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Lucio
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    This is what I would have done in your situation, since it's the fastest solution from what we know right now. – Alvar Dec 19 '13 at 23:53
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    You might also want to consider installing 12.04 instead of 13.10 as it has been around longer and therefore less likely to be buggy, moreover it's guaranteed to be supported for 2 years. – virtualxtc Dec 20 '13 at 04:08
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All what you need is to type your password correctly onto the dialog box that appears just after you clicked Install/Remove. Debian package management system and the nature of Ubuntu requires the Administrative Rights for system-wide package installation. And the dialog you saw before this error(the password dialog you have cancelled most probably) asks for those rights.

Erkin Alp Güney
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  • I do not receive a dialogue box requesting a password upon installing/removing. I'm the Administrator. – Jay Dec 19 '13 at 22:15
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    Are you sure? Can you check if you have policykit installed issuing dpkg --get-selections|grep polkit and dpkg --get-selections|grep policykit from a terminal? They should return a few package names and the state install after a tab stop. – Erkin Alp Güney Dec 19 '13 at 22:20
  • I'm pretty sure. I'll try this. – Jay Dec 19 '13 at 23:29
  • I cant copy and paste anything from the ctrl + alt + f2 terminal, but everytime I entered the commands you listed above, it did say the name 'policykit/polkit' in red with the state install after a tab stop. – Jay Dec 19 '13 at 23:32
  • So PolicyKit is installed, right? Try groups <yourusername>. It should list groups adm(this is needed for PolicyKit) and sudo among a few more ones. – Erkin Alp Güney Dec 20 '13 at 19:13