Program Manager not working anymore

Hi Maemo cracks,

I'm having a problem with my N900:
since a couple of days (don't know what triggered the issue) the program manager is not working anymore. This means, I cannot update my O/S or install any new applications anymore. Although all program catalogues are still there, it doesn't recognize the application installations anymore and also cannot find any updates.
A quick look into the log file shows this:

hildon-application-manager 2.2.51-1
E: Encountered a section with no Package: header
E: Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/downloads.maemo.nokia.com_fremantle_ssu_apps_._Packages
E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.
E: Encountered a section with no Package: header
E: Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/downloads.maemo.nokia.com_fremantle_ssu_apps_._Packages
E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.
E: Encountered a section with no Package: header
E: Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/downloads.maemo.nokia.com_fremantle_ssu_apps_._Packages
E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.

Has anybody any idea how to fix this or should I go ahead and re-flash the device?

Thanks a lot in advance

Juergen

Seeing the error messages, this looks like any `apt' problem under a Debian-based system. I've asked Google about it and there seems to be a bunch of people having similar issues (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=40174 right here, http://www.mail-archive.com/maemo-users@maemo.org/msg09166.html on the mailing list, http://mg.pov.lt/maemo-irclog/%23maemo.2009-02-01.log.html on IRC, etc.) but nowhere a clear, user-applicable solution to be found. The guy on IRC is recommended to hack into his Maemo device by means of copying a well-known SSH key from a desktop machine onto the mobile and then SSH'ing in as root or re-flash if that doesn't work. Is that the gist of it, re-flashing because of a measly package manager mess-up, or does anybody have in-depth info on how to solve this?

>
> Hi Maemo cracks,
>
> I'm having a problem with my N900:
> since a couple of days (don't know what triggered the issue) the program manager is not working anymore. This means, I cannot update my O/S or install any new applications anymore. Although all program catalogues are still there, it doesn't recognize the application installations anymore and also cannot find any updates.
> A quick look into the log file shows this:
>
> hildon-application-manager 2.2.51-1
> E: Encountered a section with no Package: header
> E: Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/downloads.maemo.nokia.com_fremantle_ssu_apps_._Packages
> E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.
> E: Encountered a section with no Package: header
> E: Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/downloads.maemo.nokia.com_fremantle_ssu_apps_._Packages
> E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.
> E: Encountered a section with no Package: header
> E: Problem with MergeList /var/lib/apt/lists/downloads.maemo.nokia.com_fremantle_ssu_apps_._Packages
> E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.
>
> Has anybody any idea how to fix this or should I go ahead and re-flash the device?
>
> Thanks a lot in advance
>
> Juergen
>


Update feb 26:

Just for those who might be interested: I fixed the problem by updating the O/S to the latest version via the Nokia Software Updater (NSU) provided in the Nokia PC Suite.

Thanks for all helpfull contributions.

jay