Well ... it's kinda sorta ketchup time - RE: June 2011 installation

[Opey]

Greetings. In June 2011, I installed a dual-boot on my laptop of the PCLinuxOS KDE Desktop distribution, the most recent at that time. It was my first venture ever with using anything Linux. I would update it using the Synaptic (?), I think it's called, on a fairly regular basis, and was occasionally exploring it for possible more frequent use in the future.  I posted once, at least, on this forum before, about the updating process.

For personal reasons I had not booted up PCLinuxOS in some time. Yesterday, I booted it up.  I tried to update all marked programs/files as I had done in the past. It's now failing. It appears that the update site no longer exists?

Here's the message I keep getting each time I try:

"The repository might be no longer available or could not be contacted because of network problems. If available an older version of the failed index will be used. Otherwise the repository will be ignored. Check your network connection and the correct writing of the repository address in the preferences."

http://debian.ethz.ch/mirror/pclinuxos/apt/pclinuxos/2010/base/pkglist.main: 404 Not Found
http://debian.ethz.ch/mirror/pclinuxos/apt/pclinuxos/2010/base/pkglist.updates: 404 Not Found
http://debian.ethz.ch/mirror/pclinuxos/apt/pclinuxos/2010/base/pkglist.nonfree: 404 Not Found
http://debian.ethz.ch/mirror/pclinuxos/apt/pclinuxos/2010/base/pkglist.kde4: 404 Not Found
http://debian.ethz.ch/mirror/pclinuxos/apt/pclinuxos/2010/base/pkglist.games: 404 Not Found

What do I not know/understand?  Do I need to find a new mirror?  If so, how is that done?

Do I need to trash the entire distribution and install a fresh one?  If a newer version of this distribution is available, is it a commonplace method to obtain it by downloading it through a new mirror and by using the same method as I have always done to update applications and files from within this distribution?

By the way, now that I reminded myself of the nuances of navigating through that OS distribution, I am taking this opportunity to make mention of how bothersome it is to me that the touchpad does not respond as it does in Windows. It's really worn on me that I have to hit the left and right click-pads below the touchpad to select a given option, rather than just tapping the touchpad.  Considering the fact that this distribution (PCLinuxOS) has always not responded to the touchpad taps to click on an item, I was getting pretty tired of this distribution. The OS does respond to the touchpad steering of the cursor, EVENTUALLY, just not to a tap to even simply place the cursor elsewhere, let alone to click on an item. When I boot up in Windows, the touchpad tapping function resumes working when tapping to click on an item or to move the cursor.

Another annoyance is the time that it takes to load up the OS to begin with.

Thanks for your attention.

[T6]

you install is trying to find a repo section that is not used anymore

we had a major update recently that included some changes in names of packages and changes in repositories sections that forced us to take multiple approaches to securely update form kde 4.6.5 to kde 4.8.3

under this circumstances, it is safer and simpler to just download a new iso of pclinux to reinstall and update, there is already kde 4.9.2

don't forget to make backups of your important files on home and other places you might store them

[Opey]

Ah-hah.  I see.  Well.

Then the question begging to be asked is:  Does the newest KDE version retain the same touchpad characteristic?  If I would still be needing to tap the click-tab below the touchpad each time I want to make some selection or move the cursor, instead of simply tapping the touchpad, then I won't want to bother.  I liked the handsomeness of this OS, but this touchpad issue really is the deal-breaker for me.

Can anyone confirm that the touchpad still does not respond the way it does in Windows?

[gseaman]

There is a solution for you, but you will have to try out your options. There are two custom scripts in synaptic, that do slightly different things, TouchpadToggle and Touchpad-solution. I'm not an expert with these, as my intel laptop works without either of these. If these don't work for what you want, report back and someone will help you.

Galen

[T6]

"Then the question begging to be asked is:  Does the newest KDE version retain the same touchpad characteristic?  If I would still be needing to tap the click-tab below the touchpad each time I want to make some selection or move the cursor, instead of simply tapping the touchpad, then I won't want to bother.  I liked the handsomeness of this OS, but this touchpad issue really is the deal-breaker for me."

that was a problem related to a update the last year, there was a fix last year if i remember correctly(i think i had the problem) if it wasn't a error in configuration on your machine

try the new livecd, download it, burn it to a a dvd or a make a liveusb and try it to see how it works for you

you say you don't want to bother but you abandoned install and had problems and didn't asked for help, it is your decision what to do now