Hello EOS community
I install EOS on older computers for people, both to make Linux better known and to save older hardware. For the most part these individuals are not particularly Linux savvy, though they know how to do things like update the computer with
yay -Syu
In the last few months one of these users has come to me on more than one occasion with the following error on updating:
:: Starting full system upgrade...
error: could not open file /var/lib/pacman/sync/community.db: Unrecognized archive format
error: failed to prepare transaction (invalid or corrupted database)
-> error installing repo packages
The fix is easy enough.
sudo rm -R /var/lib/pacman/sync
does the trick, after which the update runs smoothly, as expected. The only trouble is that the problem returns, maybe not on the next update but soon enough to be a nuisance.
Sorry, as the computer isn’t mine I don’t have it with me to give you more details about it, other than it is an EOS system that’s been regularly updated. But perhaps someone knows the answer to any of the following:
1, What is triggering this error.
2. Why does removing /var/lib/pacman/sync solve the problem,
3. Why does the problem return, and
4. How to solve the problem permanently.
Looking forward to any help.
Thanks