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by kalwisti
Editor’s Note: A “perfect storm” presented itself over the last half of May that has PCLinuxOS users scrambling to counter. First, RPM was updated to version 6.x, which breaks the compatibility with Synaptic. The version of Synaptic used by PCLinuxOS is a special version designed to work with RPM. That version hasn’t been actively updated or maintained since the early to mid 2000’s. Then, NLUUG changed the path for the PCLinuxOS repository … with NO notification to anyone. That meant that NO ONE could update, regardless of which package manager was being used (Synaptic or PCLinuxOS’s homegrown DNF PM). As a result, a lot of confusion has ruled ever since. Our longtime friend kalwisti has made detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to a) temporarily fix Synaptic so that you can update your system and switch to DNF PM, and b) how to “fix” the path statements in both Synaptic and DNF PM. If you have not already done so, you need to RETIRE Synaptic and make the switch to DNF PM. Otherwise, you may not be able to update your system in the very near future. It would be best to read through the entire article before making any changes.
Disclaimer: Although the first part of this procedure is official, the second portion is unofficial and based on my experiments with MATE 2024.04 in an Oracle VirtualBox VM. This procedure worked for me, but I cannot guarantee that it will work identically on your system.
What Just Happened and Why Must I Manually Fix It?
NLUUG changed the directory structure of their mirror — which is PCLinuxOS’s master public repo — with no advance notice to Texstar or any other party. It is difficult to control if you do not own all of the repositories that people around the world want to use. Tex did not create this mess. Because the repo path was changed, it could not be found by our package managers, and therefore the problem cannot be fixed by an upgrade or any other centralized process. Only a manual intervention on every PCLinuxOS computer can fix the problem. This is unfortunate, inconvenient and has caused much confusion. However, a manual fix is unavoidable (Editor’s Note: barring reinstalling from an updated ISO, which aren’t yet available at the time of this writing).
The Official Fix For DNF Package Manager
IF you’ve already made the switch from Synaptic to DNF PM, then you will need this information to make DNF PM work properly after the snafu at NLUUG.
The official fix given in the PCLOS KnowledgeBase is to issue the "sed" command below from a Terminal/Konsole window:
su -c "sed -i 's|/pclinuxos/apt/|/apt/|g' /etc/repo.d/default.repo"
Important: You must use this command carefully (and ONLY once).
In this case, when you run the command successfully, you will see no output from the Terminal. No output is normal/expected in this case.
(The lack of terminal output from some successful Linux commands stems from a historical [Unix] design choice. [Many Unix systems ran on Teletypes, which ran very slowly. Printing when an operation was successful just wasted time and paper].)
Running the command once will correct the directory path. However, if you accidentally run the command a second time (as I and many others did), the directory path will get messed up (as shown below):
After first run : Correct:
... /distr/pclinuxos/apt/pclinuxos/ ...
After second (accidental) run : Wrong:
... /distr/apt/pclinuxos/ ...
Therefore I suggest that you use this "safer" version of the command (below, kindly provided by Gerrit Draisma). If you unintentionally issue the command twice, it will not incorrectly modify the directory path (entered all on one line):
su -c "sed -i 's|/pclinuxos/pclinuxos/|/pclinuxos/|g' /etc/repo.d/default.repo"
After making this change, open the DNF PM GUI. Double-check to verify that NLUUG is set as the active repo mirror. (It should be, but there's no harm in checking.) Click on the "Refresh" button of the GUI. You should now be able to update your system normally.
Note: In the course of updating, you will probably encounter the "lib64pangomm2.4" issue which will cause the dnf transaction to fail.
Upgreyed posted a simple fix for that. You only need to do this and then refresh dnf:
rpm -e lib64pangomm2.4_1-2.40.1-3pclos2017 --nodeps
Since Texstar has posted numerous times that Synaptic is now dead, you'll need to switch over to using DNF Package Manager (for better or worse).
Another Note: Since you're running Plasma 6.x, be prepared to receive a lot of Plasma updates. Be patient with DNF PM and allow it time to process those updates.
I believe that my guide/overview of DNF PM has enough info to get you started using it productively. It was last updated May 17, 2026 (as of the writing of this article).
Once you have completed the system update via the NLUUG repo, you will have received new "definitions" of the other repo mirrors which are correct/updated. You will then be able to switch to a different repo mirror which is faster and/or geographically closer to you.
NLUUG Updating Failure: How To Fix Synaptic Temporarily & Transition to DNF
I experimented with installing PCLOS MATE 2024.04 in a virtual machine, then updating it.
This ISO predates dnf/DNF Package Manager GUI, so it has only Synaptic.
I wanted to test how to use Synaptic as a temporary bridge to update the system one time, then immediately install DNF Package Manager [DNF PM] and begin using it. (Texstar has posted numerous times that Synaptic is unmaintained/dead, and that all users should now switch to using dnf and/or its [homegrown] graphical frontend: DNF Package Manager.)
If your system lacks dnf/DNF PM and has only Synaptic installed, I hope this procedure can give you a path forward -- a way of transitioning to dnf without having to do a new/fresh installation.
Disclaimer: Although the first part of this procedure is semi-official, the second portion is unofficial and based on my experiments with MATE 2024.04 in an Oracle VirtualBox VM. This procedure worked for me but I cannot guarantee that it will work identically on your system.
Getting Started
I suggest that you first check whether you have these tools installed by issuing the command below from a Terminal/Konsole:
$ dnf list --installed | grep dnf
If dnf is not installed, you will see the output below:
[david@pclos-mate-old-test ~]$ dnf list --installed | grep dnf
bash: dnf: command not found
If dnf is installed, you will see something like this:
[david@pclos-openbox ~]$ dnf list --installed | grep dnf
dnf.x86_64 5.4.2.1-1pclos2026 x86_64
dnf-package-manager.x86_64 1.14-7pclos2026 x86_64
dnfzypp-sources-list.x86_64 1.0-5pclos2025 <unknown>
lib64dnf5.x86_64 5.4.2.1-1pclos2026 x86_64
lib64dnf5-cli.x86_64 5.4.2.1-1pclos2026 x86_64
If you already have "dnf" installed, skip down to the instructions in the "Bid Farewell to Synaptic" section.
If you do not have "dnf" installed, you will need to install it via Synaptic.
I will try to offer a quick-and-dirty summary of how to solve the "bad/changed URL at NLUUG" problem.
What Works (If You Are Careful): The Official Fix (for Synaptic)
The official fix given in the PCLOS KnowledgeBase is to issue the "sed" command below from a Terminal/Konsole:
su -c "sed -i 's|/pclinuxos/apt/|/apt/|g' /etc/apt/sources.list"
Important: You must use this command carefully (and ONLY once!). Enter your root password if/when prompted. In this case, when you run the command successfully, you will see no output from the Terminal. No output is normal/expected in this case. Running the command once will correct the directory path. However, if you accidentally run the command a second time, the directory path will get messed up.
Therefore I suggest that you use this "safer" version of the command (kindly provided by Gerrit Draisma) (entered all on one line). If you unintentionally issue the command twice, it will not incorrectly modify the directory path:
su -c "sed -i 's|/pclinuxos/pclinuxos/|/pclinuxos/|g' /etc/apt/sources.list"
Wrong Path -- Before the Fix:
rpm http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/pclinuxos/pclinuxos/apt/ pclinuxos/64bit x86_64 kde5 xfce4 mate
(Note the double occurrence of " ... /distr/pclinuxos/pclinuxos/ ... ")
Correct Path -- After the Fix:
rpm http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/pclinuxos/apt/ pclinuxos/64bit x86_64 kde5 xfce4 mate
Update Your System (Once) via Synaptic
After making this change, open the Synaptic Package Manager. Double-check to verify that NLUUG is set as the active repo mirror. In the Section(s): box of Synaptic, I left "kde5" as it is; I did not change it.
Note about the "Unknown Unknowns": If you are a Plasma 6.x user, I'm guessing that specific section will/should have already been changed to "kde6."
(The "kde5" section of the NLUUG repo is empty/no longer exists. However, in my experiment, the system update was successful even though I left the "kde5" unchanged.)
Use Synaptic to "Mark All Upgrades" as usual.
In my experiment, approx. 700 packages were upgraded. It took a while but the update was successful.
After the update finishes, reboot your system for good measure.
Note: As part of this update, you should receive both of these packages:
dnf 5.4.2.1-1
dnf-sources-list 2.0-1
The "dnf-sources-list" contains correct, updated 'definitions'/URLs for the other PCLOS repo mirrors around the world.
Bid Farewell to Synaptic and Update Your System via dnf
Tip: Even if you do not yet have the dnf-package-manager package installed, you now have the dnf package installed. So you can first update your system via the Terminal/Konsole, NLUUG will have been set as the default repo (in the directory /etc/repo.d/default.repo) for dnf. However, it now has the correct repo directory path, so you do not need to adjust it.
Note: Even if you do not yet have the "dnf-package-manager" package installed, you now have the "dnf" package installed. So you can update your system via the Terminal/Konsole.
(NLUUG will have been set as the default repo (in the directory /etc/repo.d/default.repo) for dnf. However, it now has the correct directory path, so you do not need to adjust it.)
To do that, first acquire root/superuser privileges by typing " su - ". (There is a single space and a single hyphen following the "su".) You will be prompted to type the root password.
Next, issue these commands:
dnf check-update
dnf distro-sync
You should be able to update your system normally.
Note: In the course of updating, you might encounter the "lib64pangomm2.4" issue, which will cause the dnf transaction to fail.
If so, Upgreyed posted a simple fix for that. You only need to do this and then refresh dnf:
rpm -e lib64pangomm2.4_1-2.40.1-3pclos2017 --nodeps
To install the DNF PM GUI, type this command (still as root user):
dnf install dnf-package-manager
Another Note: If you're running Plasma 6.x as your DE, be prepared to receive a lot of Plasma updates. Be patient with DNF PM and allow it time to process those updates.
Once you have completed the system update via the NLUUG repo, you can switch to a different repo mirror which is faster and/or geographically closer to you.
In my virtual experiment, after installing the DNF PM GUI, I changed the repo mirror to "princeton.repo" [Princeton, NJ, USA], successfully removed several packages and successfully installed the Geany editor.
Here is a link to the most recent English-language version of my DNF Package Manager (GUI) guide. You may download the PDF [24 p., 2.6 MB] from my personal Box.com account. (You do not need to create a Box account in order to download the file). This guide was last updated May 17, 2026 (as of the writing of this article).
These instructions are also available as a downloadable PDF [4 p., 123 KB] from my Box.com account.
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