Realplayer 10 problems

[VeeDubb]

here is what you need to do if you tried to install realplayer to your hoem directory.

 

Step 1. NEVER install programs to your home directory.

Step 2. No really, don't isntall stuff there.

Step 3. Simply delete it from your home directory, it won't work from there anyway.

Step 4. Download the RPM package. DO NOT try to install from source or a binary isntaller if you don't know what you're doing. Do offense, but there is a reason so much software is available in rpm packages.

Step 5. Once you have a proper RPM, install it. Usualy just double clicking the RPM will get the job done, but you will be prompted for the ROOT password.

Step 6. Enjoy.

 

 

The rest of this is a bit of an explanation. Things which are stored in /home are not normaly executable globaly. You can't install to /home and then just enter realplay in console and expect it to work. Niether can you expect your browser to be able to launch it, as only you have permission to play around in your /home

 

When you install an RPM, the software is installed as the root user, to /usr or /bin or /usr/bin or maybe even /usr/local/bin depending on what flavor of linux you are using. The important thing is that those files, can be executed by all users from any location.

 

Whenever you install anything that you want to be able to access globaly, you need to install it to /usr as root, because only that directory is globaly available, and only the root user has write priviledges there.

 

So, use the rpm and let me knwo how it goes.

[mada726]

how did it get there in the first place? did you install it with rmp or urpmi?

use "urmpq Real" and "urpmq rea"l to see if you have any packages with those names (remember, package names are case sensitve and this is one of those rare instances that uses capitals in the packagae name, but some older packages were not capitalized)

 

I you installed it with rpm (rather than urpmi) there is a similar query option, I think it's rpm -q (I've been using Mandrake for too long!)

 

If you can't remove it that way, just tar the directory to archive it just in case you want to restore it, then remove it, and install as described in my post.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I've installed the program into my /home directory using these instructions from a .bin file of RealPlayer. Here are those instructions and I am sorry if the admins see me post this:

 

 

Installation Instructions

 

- Ensure that the .bin file you downloaded is executable. You can make the .bin file executable by running the "chmod a+x RealPlayer10GOLD.bin" command from a terminal window.

 

- Run the .bin file by typing "./RealPlayer10GOLD.bin". Follow the prompts provided to finish installing the player.

 

- When you launch the player for the first time, a set-up assistant will take you through configuring your player.

 

- Enjoy your RealPlayer10 for Linux!

[VeeDubb]

First, why would the admins care about you posting this?

 

Any way, please read my instructions. Installing it to your home directory IS the problem. You cannot possibly expect things installed to the /home directory to work. That's just not the way linux works. /home is for storing personal files and settings ONLY.

 

First delete the direcotry it installed in, because that is just a waste of hard drive space.

 

Then, download the proper RPM file here -----> https://helixcommunity.org/download.php/114...050401.i586.rpm

 

That is the latest version of the best player. It's in RPM format so you can't do anything silly with it like install it to your home directory.

 

Once isntalled, you can launch it from a console with the comand 'realplay'

Edited May 2, 2005 by VeeDubb

[adamw]

veedubb: actually, installing programs in your home directory is fine so long as you set up the environment correctly; you need ~/local/bin (or wherever) on your $PATH and you might need to add ~/local/lib (or wherever) to /etc/ld.so.conf , which could be construed as slightly dirty, but is really nothing to sweat about. Remember that Linux is a multi-user system with roots in the mainframe era when a single server would serve hundreds of users with their own home directories and without write access to /usr; many such setups would allow users to install and run programs in their own /home directories, so there's a perfectly good precedent. I often run things from ~/local (my miscellaneous dumping ground) temporarily, and in the case of a few games which would mess up my systemwide trees too much, permanently. Installing Realplayer in /home should run fine and would probably be possible to get working with Firefox with a couple of symlinks, though installing the RPM directly is indeed the simplest method.

[VeeDubb]

I know, adamw, and I have several programs, including UT2004 and Majesty gold. However, as that's not the normal environment, it's really innapropriate for a new user, as it would require numerous symlinks, and a lot of work.

 

Whenever dealing with new linux users, it is always best to take the Occam's Razor approach. All things being equal, the simplest explanation is the right one.

 

It's far simpler to tell someone to delete the program from the folder it realy shouldn't have been isntalled to, and point them to an RPM that can't be installed wrong.

 

 

mada726, let me be more fare. It IS possible to insatll software to anywhere you darn well please, and make it work. However, it is not as simple as just running a binary isntaller and pointing it at /home/mada726/ or even worse, just pointing it at /home/

 

To install things to unusual locations requires changing system variables, which may change the operation of other programs, or logging in as root makein symlinks from all the important/executable files the the standard location.

 

As a new user, you would do well to stick to RPM packages whenever possible, and it is unlikely that you will ever find something that you need, but can't find in an RPM. And when you do, it will probably not be the sort of thing that gives you options about where to install.

[adamw]

Ah, I see you take the schoolteacher's approach; education is the process of lying progressively less to the student as time goes by. :)

[VeeDubb]

Oooooo...... this could get ugly. No. Actualy, you are right in sense, I shouldn't have said things installed there will never work. That was wrong of me, but I maintain that is equaly wrong to overload a new user with complicated junk when what they really need to know to start, is avoid binary installers like the plague and just use rpm's for important stuff untill yo ufigure things out.

 

Prograssively lying to students is wrong, but teaching them arithmatic before you teach them algebra, is kind of obvious, know what I mean?

[adamw]

actually, it wasn't intended to be ugly, I once saw that description of education and it struck me as quite accurate and not necessarily a bad thing. If you try and tell someone the whole truth all at once it's not always the best approach. (another mandriva example - it's much safer and simpler to tell someone that it's always bad to install non-mandriva RPMs...although the truth is much messier and less definitive, it's a lot better to start from the simplification and learn the reality over time).

[VeeDubb]

I know you weren't being ugly, and since I was planning on being a teacher when I started college, I've heard that too. I should have had my [sarcasm] [/sarcasm] going for that one.