Does apt know what Debian LXDE Maintainers are up to

[ellen1910]

Sometime ago, I installed Debian using <debian-7.5.0-i386-lxde-CD-1.iso>. Recently, while trying to reconfigue/reinstall libreoffice -- which is definitely installed, I promise -- I got

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dpkg-reconfigure libreoffice
dpkg-query: package 'libreoffice' is not installed and no information is available
Use dpkg --info (= dpkg-deb --info) to examine archive files,
and dpkg --contents (= dpkg-deb --contents) to list their contents.
/usr/sbin/dpkg-reconfigure: libreoffice is not installed

Checking, I got

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apt-cache policy libreoffice
libreoffice:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 1:3.5.4+dfsg2-0+deb7u3
  Version table:
     1:3.5.4+dfsg2-0+deb7u3 0
        500 http://security.debian.org/ wheezy/updates/main i386 Packages
     1:3.5.4+dfsg2-0+deb7u2 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages

After days spent searching the internet in an attempt to figure out what was wrong and trying all sorts of corrective measures, I stumbled onto the discovery that many of the apps listed on the LXDE applications menu (leafpad, pstree, lxmusic, pcmanfm, xterm as examples) were, also, unrecognized by apt.

Then, I searched the packages list for installed packages maintained by Debian LXDE Maintainers and ran this:

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~$ apt-cache policy lxappearance lxsession lxde-common lxde-commongpicview libmenu-cache1 lxmenu-data lxpanel libfm-data libfm1 libfm-gtk1 libfm-gtk-bin pcmanfm lxde-core lxde-icon-theme lxinput lxrandr lxsession-edit lxshortcut lxterminal obconf lxde lxpolkit lxtask lxlauncher gpicview
lxappearance:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.5.2-1
  Version table:
     0.5.2-1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxsession:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.4.6.1-4
  Version table:
     0.4.6.1-4 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxde-common:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.5.5-6
  Version table:
     0.5.5-6 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
libmenu-cache1:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.3.3-1
  Version table:
     0.3.3-1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxmenu-data:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.1.2-2
  Version table:
     0.1.2-2 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxpanel:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.5.10-1
  Version table:
     0.5.10-1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
libfm-data:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.1.17-2.1
  Version table:
     0.1.17-2.1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
libfm1:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.1.17-2.1
  Version table:
     0.1.17-2.1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
libfm-gtk1:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.1.17-2.1
  Version table:
     0.1.17-2.1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
libfm-gtk-bin:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.1.17-2.1
  Version table:
     0.1.17-2.1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
pcmanfm:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.9.10-3
  Version table:
     0.9.10-3 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxde-core:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 4+nmu1
  Version table:
     4+nmu1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxde-icon-theme:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.5.0-1
  Version table:
     0.5.0-1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxinput:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.3.2-1
  Version table:
     0.3.2-1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxrandr:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.1.2-3
  Version table:
     0.1.2-3 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxsession-edit:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.2.0-3
  Version table:
     0.2.0-3 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxshortcut:
  Installed: 0.1.2-3
  Candidate: 0.1.2-3
  Version table:
 *** 0.1.2-3 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
lxterminal:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.1.11-4
  Version table:
     0.1.11-4 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
obconf:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 1:2.0.3+20110805+debian-1
  Version table:
     1:2.0.3+20110805+debian-1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxde:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 4+nmu1
  Version table:
     4+nmu1 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxpolkit:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.1.0-4
  Version table:
     0.1.0-4 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxtask:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.1.4-3
  Version table:
     0.1.4-3 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
lxlauncher:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.2.2-3
  Version table:
     0.2.2-3 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
gpicview:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.2.3-2
  Version table:
     0.2.3-2 0
        500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
N: Unable to locate package lxde-commongpicview

Is what I'm experiencing common? Is there a workaround which will get aptitude to recognize that these packages are, in fact, installed?

EDIT: Is it possible that the installation iso I used <debian-7.5.0-i386-lxde-CD-1.iso> installs (and perhaps, loads) the LXDE suite of packages before aptitude is installed? Thus, aptitude knows nothing about LXDE being present.
Note: I think it's implied, but to make sure there are no doubts, LXDE is the only desktop installed on this Debian distribution.

[Bob E]

Hi ellen1910. You might want to double check your sources. Yours are pointing to: debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages

While mine are pointing to:
debian.net/debian/...

Also, you may want try "http://http.debian" instead of "http://ftp.us.debian".

I'm running Siduction LXDE and here is how my sources look:

deb http://http.debian.net/debian/ unstable main

Granted, mine is debian sid, but it's still a debian source. When I get on my CrunchBang machine, I will check those sources to compare to yours. My CrunchBang is debian stable like yours.

[ellen1910]

Hi Bob E. Thanks for the response -- and especially your offer to check out your stable sources.list.

I tried both of your suggestions; as to all LXDE packages the first returns "Unable to locate package"; the second complains of a mal-formed line in sources.list.

I can't quite get my head around why <apt-get update> is a candidate in the solution to my problem (note: you're not the first to suggest it).

Yes, my computer will know about the current state of 36,000 plus packages, but doesn't apt work on what's installed, not what's available? Apt isn't going to upgrade a package it doesn't know is there. dpkg isn't going to reconfigure/reinstall a package it's unaware is installed.

Can you explain? signed "Puzzled Beginner"

EDIT: Isn't the point of <apt-get update> (overwriting the packages cache file?) to give apt (locally) the ability to compare what's up there on the Debian packages sites, currently, with what is installed on the computer, currently? But if apt doesn't know a package is installed (my case) how can it carry out its package comparison function? If it doesn't know a particular package is installed, how can it know if the package can be upgraded? whether another ordered package may conflict with it? etc.?

[Bob E]

OK, here is the exact picture of my sources on CrunchBang.

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## DEBIAN
deb http://http.debian.net/debian wheezy main contrib non-free
# deb-src http://http.debian.net/debian wheezy main contrib non-free

## DEBIAN SECURITY
deb http://security.debian.org/ wheezy/updates main
# deb-src http://security.debian.org/ wheezy/updates main

On this one I noticed Debian is .net, and Security is .org. I've never encountered a problem with sources before, so I don't have a good solid answer for you. The ".net/.org" differences were all I saw that might be causing the problem, and from what you wrote, it sounds like that possibility has already been addressed.

Obviously there is something wrong, but it is beyond my experience. Sorry I could not be of more help.

[ellen1910]

. Sorry I could not be of more help.

Thanks for the effort. I will be giving your sources entries a try.