apt update error: The repository 'http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu saucy Release' does not have a Release file

Question

I run "sudo apt -y update" on my Ubuntu 16.04 server, but I got the following error:

# apt -y update                    
Reading package lists... Done                                                                                                       
E: The repository 'http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu saucy Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
E: The repository 'http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu saucy-updates Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
root@yuyue-HP-Pro-3380-MT:/var/lib/apt# apt -y update
Get:1 http://cn.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease [132 B]
Err:1 http://cn.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease                                                                          
  Clearsigned file isn't valid, got 'NOSPLIT' (does the network require authentication?)
Get:2 http://cn.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates InRelease [132 B]                                                          
Err:2 http://cn.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates InRelease                                                                  
  Clearsigned file isn't valid, got 'NOSPLIT' (does the network require authentication?)
Get:3 http://cn.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports InRelease [132 B]                                                        
Err:3 http://cn.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports InRelease                                                                
  Clearsigned file isn't valid, got 'NOSPLIT' (does the network require authentication?)
Ign:4 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu saucy InRelease                                                                           
Hit:5 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security InRelease
Ign:6 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu saucy-updates InRelease
Err:7 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu saucy Release
  404  Not Found [IP: 2001:67c:1562::16 80]
Err:8 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu saucy-updates Release
  404  Not Found [IP: 2001:67c:1562::16 80]
Reading package lists... Done
E: The repository 'http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu saucy Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
E: The repository 'http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu saucy-updates Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.

What could the reason be? How can I fix this problem? Thank you!

Answer 1

Thanks @Videonauth in AskUbuntu. I solved the problem with the help of his answer. This is the commands I used:

sudo -i

cat > /etc/apt/sources.list << EOF
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security main restricted universe multiverse
#deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-proposed restricted main universe multiverse
#deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-proposed restricted main universe multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial partner
deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial partner
EOF

sudo apt clean
sudo apt update
sudo apt dist-upgrade

Answer 2

I execute the command 'sudo apt update' on Ubuntu 18.04 and have the same error. With these experimental packages, the rolling release build may still fail, as it depends on the current configuration of your computer.

• Go to : 'Software & Updates' > 'Other Software' and disable symbol of adding to the list ppa repositories.

• Then run these commands; the last one restarts the computer:

   sudo rm -vf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
   sudo apt clean
   sudo apt update
   sudo reboot 0
  

Answer 3

For anyone that might still face the same issue, the solution above did not work for me. In my case, the root directory partition was full (100% used up), I used

df -h
cd /
du -sch * --exclude=home

to check what was using up the disk space. In my case, there was a backup of mysql data folder in the root directory taking up about 3.7GB out of the 9.1GB space. All I did was to deleted the mysql folder. But be careful of what you delete.