diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3b5f86467eb82200465b5d6f1f6a721d7e70423a..e0e013d7d70f70c00619309fadfca48e0c606095 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -123,6 +123,10 @@ However, to make this work, you will most likely have to install some prerequisi
 Time to build: *10 minutes light install, 45 minutes to 1.5 hours full install*
 Hard drive space required: *roughly 2.5 GB*
 
+0. Remember to update your packages:
+
+        sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
+
 1. Install the dependencies (please note that the packages may be named
    slightly differently for different Linux distributions; the given names are
    for Debian/Ubuntu)
@@ -142,6 +146,7 @@ Hard drive space required: *roughly 2.5 GB*
              libfluidsynth-dev fluid-soundfont-gm byacc
 
 2. The gui toolkit may require installing the following extra dependencies
+
         sudo apt-get install gconf2 libnss3
 
 3. Clone the Purr-Data repository *(2 to 10 minutes)*