[SOLVED] mvn archetype:generate does not work-no plugin found for prefix 'archetype'

mvn archetype:generate does not work-no plugin found for prefix 'archetype'

I want to build a simple project using a existing archetype. But I can't run mvn archetype:generate as it keeps telling me the following information

[ERROR] No plugin found for prefix 'archetype' in the current project and in the
 plugin groups [org.apache.maven.plugins, org.codehaus.mojo] available from the
repositories [local (C:\Documents and Settings\ccen\.m2\repository), central (ht
tp://repo1.maven.org/maven2)] -> [Help 1]

I was using MS Windows and didn't use any settings.xml in my ~/.m2 folder and all stuff is brand new. Could any one help me to figure it out?

Solution

The other thing that could be going wrong is that your machine is behind a firewall or proxy so your box is not able to hit http://repo1.maven.org/maven2. Try accessing this URL directly in a browser or something to test if you are able to make the request.