Package 'samba' is virtual - Error when installing Samba

Question

I'm trying to set up an Ubuntu computer as a centralised storage for a few Windows 7 computers on my network. I did a fresh install of Ubuntu 12.10.

However, when I try to install Samba through the terminal using sudo apt-get install samba, I get this error:

Package samba is not available, but is referred to by another package.

If I try to install it by clicking on the directory I want to share, then checking "Share this folder" to trigger the "Sharing service is not installed, Install Server" dialogue box, it results in these errors:

Package 'samba' is virtual.
Package 'libpam-smbpass' is virtual.
Sharing service installation failed

I can't seem to find any information online about these errors - can someone help?

Solution

I had a similar issue and I resolved this by running the following:

sudo apt-get update

I'm surprised the system doesn't automatically do an "apt-get update" immediately after installation - but the above fixes this.

Comments

[guntbert]

Did you sudo apt-get update before trying to install?

[CamArmstrong]

Looks like this was the problem - I remember getting an "Update Failed" type message on installation. The issue is fixed now - thanks!