Subject: Installing Lenny -- how to deal with expired repo signing keys?

From: Rick Thomas <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2016 22:05:13 -0700

It's a long story, but I need to install a fresh-out-of-the-box Debian 
amd64 Lenny system.

I found ftp.us.debian.org/debian-archive/debian/ which has installer 
images for old Debian releases, including Lenny.  The README file says I 
need to use
     deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ lenny main contrib
for the sources.list entry.

This works OK when I boot a l"live" cd, though it complains about the 
repo keys being expired and requires me to type "Yes" if I want to 
ignore that and install packages anyway.

So my first question is: Is there something I can do in apt preferences 
somewhere that will make it accept the expired keys by default?

After some experimentation with my "live" system, I decided that I 
really needed a fully installed system that didn't loose all my 
configuration stuff on reboots.

So I downloaded a "netinst" CD and tried to install using it.  Of 
course, I had to give it the archive repo URL manually (netinst isn't 
really happy without a network repo).  It accepted that but then it 
appeared to hang.  Looking at the <ALT>-F4 screen revealed that it was 
asking the same question about whether I wanted to accept the expired 
repo keys, but this time there was no way to give it the required "Yes" 
answer.  Or at least no way that I could see.

So my second question is: Does anybody know how to give it the necessary 
answer?  Or, failing that somehing I can do in the <ALT>-F2 screen that 
will prevent it from asking?

Thanks! in advance,

Rick

---

From: "Andrew M.A. Cater" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2016 10:41:09 +0000

On Fri, Sep 09, 2016 at 10:05:13PM -0700, Rick Thomas wrote:
> It's a long story, but I need to install a fresh-out-of-the-box Debian amd64
> Lenny system.
> 
> I found ftp.us.debian.org/debian-archive/debian/ which has installer images
> for old Debian releases, including Lenny.  The README file says I need to
> use
> This works OK when I boot a l"live" cd, though it complains about the repo
> keys being expired and requires me to type "Yes" if I want to ignore that
> and install packages anyway.
> 
> After some experimentation with my "live" system, I decided that I really
> needed a fully installed system that didn't loose all my configuration stuff
> on reboots.
> 
> So I downloaded a "netinst" CD and tried to install using it.  Of course, I
> had to give it the archive repo URL manually (netinst isn't really happy
> without a network repo).  It accepted that but then it appeared to hang.
> Looking at the <ALT>-F4 screen revealed that it was asking the same question
> about whether I wanted to accept the expired repo keys, but this time there
> was no way to give it the required "Yes" answer.  Or at least no way that I
> could see.
> 
> answer?  Or, failing that somehing I can do in the <ALT>-F2 screen that will
> prevent it from asking?
> 
> Thanks! in advance,
> 
> Rick

Download DVD1. Install a minimum system from it (if it has enough for you, 
build the whole system). In fact, the netinst will work and produce a 
_really_ minimal base system if you don't add a network mirror.

Use apt-key add to add the expired keys if you must.

Install whatever you need.

At this point, I'd suggest doing this _only_ in a virtual machine to start with
before doing this for real on the machine you intentd to use long-term.

Unless this is an absolutely "must do this on Lenny, nothing later will ever work
and there's bespoke software that we must use and it must be on a real physical 
machine" it is probably worth moving this to a VM at some point / moving to a later
version - given that Wheezy LTS expires in 2018 (that's current oldstable) and we'll
be releasing Debian 9 early next year at which point you'd be three major versions
behind.

HTH,

All the best,

AndyC

---

From: Rick Thomas <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2016 05:06:05 -0700

On Sep 10, 2016, at 3:41 AM, Andrew M.A. Cater <[email-masked]> wrote:
> before doing this for real on the machine you intend to use long-term.
> 
> version — given that Wheezy LTS expires in 2018 (that's current oldstable) and we'll

Thanks Andy.  That worked perfectly!

See below for a full explanation (TL;DNR)

What I needed to do was unbrick a Marvel OpenRD/Ultimate machine.  But the current (Jessie/Stretch) version of the openocd package doesn’t talk to the USB serial/JTAG interface.  I’ll be submitting a bugreport for that.

When all was said and done, Lenny was too far back (openocd would talk to the device, but it didn’t have any config files for OpenRD).  What I really needed was Squeeze.

So this is what I did:

  Download and burn the squeeze DVD-1.

  Use it to install a minimal Squeeze on a spare disk in an otherwise unused Windows PC.  If I didn’t have the PC available, I probably would have used a VM, as you suggested.

  Follow the unbricking directions at
    https://www.newit.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2835.0
  and then restore the boot-loader environment as described at
    https://www.cyrius.com/debian/kirkwood/openrd/install/

Big thanks! to Malcolm and James at NewIT and Debian’s own Martin Michlmayr for clear and straightforward instruction on the various parts of this process.

Happy ending: My OpenRD/Ultimate is back from zombie-land and feeling fine!

Enjoy!
Rick