"The repository 'cdrom://elementary OS 0.4 _Loki_ - Stable amd64 (20160921) xenial Release' does not have a Release file"

Question

How do I fix this?

W: The repository 'cdrom://elementary OS 0.4 _Loki_ - Stable amd64 (20160921) xenial Release' does not have a Release file.
    N: Data from such a repository can't be authenticated and is therefore potentially dangerous to use.
    N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
    E: Failed to fetch cdrom://elementary OS 0.4 _Loki_ - Stable amd64 (20160921)/dists/xenial/contrib/binary-amd64/Packages  Please use apt-cdrom to make this CD-ROM recognized by APT. apt-get update cannot be used to add new CD-ROMs
    E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.

Answer 1

Did you install cdrom://elementary OS 0.4 _Loki_ - Stable amd64 (20160921) as a repository? See if it's listed with grep ^ /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*

If so, you want to remove it. If you are attempting to upgrade to Loki, you'll need to do a fresh install from boot (not an upgrade). There are installation directions on the official website.

Answer 2

I had a similar issue, except mine was "20160909" instead of 20160921. I don't know where it came from, but I fixed it by installing the "Additional Drivers" app from the AppCenter (I remembered it from Linux Mint), it has a tab called "Other Software" where you can remove/disable PPAs with a click.