Cannot Install vim with apt-get

sudo apt-get install vim

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Package vim is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source

E: Package 'vim' has no installation candidate

I've tried sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade but no effect, same problem.

I've just installed Ubuntu. vim works but A B C D are printed when arrow keys are pressed.

# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 13.04 _Raring Ringtail_ - Release amd64 (20130424)]/ raring main restricted

# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.
deb http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring main restricted
deb-src http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring main restricted

## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring-updates main restricted
deb-src http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring-updates main restricted

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any
## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring universe
deb-src http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring universe
deb http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring-updates universe
deb-src http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring-updates universe

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu 
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to 
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in 
## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
## security team.
deb http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring multiverse
deb-src http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring multiverse
deb http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring-updates multiverse
deb-src http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring-updates multiverse

## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ raring-backports main restricted universe multiverse

deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu raring-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu raring-security main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu raring-security universe
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu raring-security universe
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu raring-security multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu raring-security multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's
## 'partner' repository.
## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by Canonical and the
## respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu users.
# deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu raring partner
# deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu raring partner

## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by third-party
## developers who want to ship their latest software.
deb http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu raring main
deb-src http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu raring main

Solution 1:

Jorge Castro suggested: "you can use deb mirror to have the best mirror picked for you automatically.

apt-get now supports a 'mirror' method that will automatically select a good mirror based on your location. Putting:

deb mirror://mirrors.ubuntu.com/mirrors.txt precise main restricted universe multiverse
deb mirror://mirrors.ubuntu.com/mirrors.txt precise-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb mirror://mirrors.ubuntu.com/mirrors.txt precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb mirror://mirrors.ubuntu.com/mirrors.txt precise-security main restricted universe multiverse

IT WORKED FOR ME! I added the above lines in

/etc/apt/sources.list

at the top and then I

sudo apt-get update

and then

sudo apt-get install vim

WORKS!

Solution 2:

From browsing around http://pk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ it seems that the mirror you are using is out of date. You should try changing your mirror to something different, that should then fix the error:

  • How can I get apt to use a mirror close to me, or choose a faster mirror?
  • How do you select the fastest mirror from the command line?