Signature verification error running apt-get update

Question

The following error occurs when running apt-get update:

An error occurred during the signature verification.
The repository is not updated and the previous index files will be used.
GPG error: http://za.archive.ubuntu.com precise Release.
Failed to fetch http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/precise/Release

I am running the update from a fresh install. The only configuration change I made was to change the network from DHCP to static.

Here is the error output from the apt-get update command:

W: Failed to fetch bzip2:/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/za.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_main_source_Sources  Hash Sum mismatch

W: Failed to fetch bzip2:/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/za.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_restricted_source_Sources  Hash Sum mismatch

W: Failed to fetch bzip2:/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/za.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_universe_source_Sources  Hash Sum mismatch

W: Failed to fetch bzip2:/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/za.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_multiverse_source_Sources  Hash Sum mismatch

W: Failed to fetch bzip2:/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/za.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_main_binary-i386_Packages  Hash Sum mismatch

W: Failed to fetch bzip2:/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/za.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_restricted_binary-i386_Packages  Hash Sum mismatch

W: Failed to fetch bzip2:/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/za.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_universe_binary-i386_Packages  Hash Sum mismatch

W: Failed to fetch bzip2:/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/za.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise_multiverse_binary-i386_Packages  Hash Sum mismatch

E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.

Here is my /etc/apt/sources.list file:

# 

# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.5 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release i386 (20140806.1)]/ precise main restricted

#deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.5 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release i386 (20140806.1)]/ precise main restricted

# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.
deb http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted
deb-src http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted

## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates main restricted
deb-src http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates main restricted

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any
## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise universe
deb-src http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise universe
deb http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates universe
deb-src http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates universe

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu 
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to 
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in 
## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
## security team.
deb http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise multiverse
deb-src http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise multiverse
deb http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates multiverse
deb-src http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates multiverse

## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://za.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse

deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security universe
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security universe
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's
## 'partner' repository.
## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by Canonical and the
## respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu users.
# deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu precise partner
# deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu precise partner

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Ubuntu's
## 'extras' repository.
## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by third-party
## developers who want to ship their latest software.
# deb http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise main
# deb-src http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise main

Check this http://askubuntu.com/questions/15569/update-manager-error-authentication-error — M. Becerra, Oct 26 '16 at 10:48

score 9 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 11 '21 at 04:21

9

Try the following commands

sudo apt-get clean
sudo mv /var/lib/apt/lists /tmp
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/apt/lists/partial
sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get update

edited Nov 11 '21 at 04:21

Zanna

70,465

answered Oct 26 '16 at 11:08

Naresh S Nash

270
1
8

2

What will the mv and mkdir commands attempt to do? I am updating from a fresh install with a manual network configuration afterwards. – Hendré Oct 26 '16 at 11:15
mv for move and mkdir for make directory – Naresh S Nash Oct 26 '16 at 11:22
3

That is not what I meant. :) What will the commands do to the apt system. – Hendré Oct 26 '16 at 11:24
2

This seems like a ripoff of this answer: https://superuser.com/a/1090271 – Anas Tiour Jul 05 '19 at 01:30

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 10 '21 at 22:18

0

You can also get this error if your /tmp directory is full.

answered Nov 10 '21 at 22:18

Earl Ruby

735

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 30 '16 at 16:47

0

It appears the URL for fetching your package list is wrong. Please check /etc/apt/sources.list if the address is http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ ; to me it appears as if the entries in your sources.list miss the ubuntu/ part.

answered Oct 30 '16 at 16:47

d1bro

2,304

else if you have an gui, just try the solution in the comment by M.Beccera – d1bro Oct 30 '16 at 16:49
The URLs cannot be wrong. I made no edits to the sources.list file. This happens after a fresh install. The only configuration I made was to change the network configuration from DHCP to static. – Hendré Oct 31 '16 at 06:21
@Hendre pls just check your etc/apt/sources.list - I believe you, you did not change anything, yet simply run cat /etc/apt/sources.list and we will see. Because your system rightfully complains that it can not find the file under that url, because the file is not there. – d1bro Nov 01 '16 at 10:37
I updated the question with sources.list output. – Hendré Nov 01 '16 at 11:03
The repository is now za instead of us. The same problem exists. – Hendré Nov 01 '16 at 11:10
1

okay I googled "apt hash sum mismatch" and mostly all solutions that came up are a variation of @Naresh S Nash's solution; his commands in a simple term move the apt list-cache to /tmp and then forces to get them again, thereby it will also pull new hash sums. – d1bro Nov 01 '16 at 15:01

Signature verification error running apt-get update

3 Answers3