installing non-rpm programs

[kilimanjaro]

How do you install files that are not rpms?

 

I have about 6 files that I can not install, and everytime I try to get help I get some arcane instructions that make no real sense to me. I am getting very frustrated. Someone will help me for awhile, but then are gone and I am stuck with a program that won't install. I have tried following the install insructions, but something always, I mean always, goes wrong. I have been tring to install different programs for the past two weeks. I have not been able to install anything but rpms. I just don't know what to do. I am almost ready to re-install windoze.

[mystified]

Sorry to hear your having problems. Here's a thread that discusses the same thing and there are several good links. http://mandrakeusers.org/viewtopic.php?p=60236#60236

 

If there is something in particular you are having problems with please post the details so that we can help you. Sorry but I'm not familiar with your other posts on the subject. :)

[mdg]

You don't say what type of files you are trying to install.

If the extension is .tar.gz the terminal command is "tar -xvzf filename.tar.gz". Then go into the directory that is created and type "./configure". Once that finishes, type "make". Next step is su to root, type "make install". Barring errors, your program should be installed.

 

If the extension is .tar.bz2. the command is "tar -xjvf filename.tar.bz2" and follow the same procedure as above.

 

If it's another extension, post here again

[kilimanjaro]

I get an error

 

tar (child): OOo_1.1.0_LinuxIntel_install.tar.gz: cannot open: no such file or directory

 

This is what always happens. Somebody will be helping me and I will get nothing but errors.

 

I am wondering if something is wrong with mandrake. I am afraid to try reinstalling it. I had someone help me the first time, but i have moved since then. Could I update to 9.2? would that fix any problems?

[Guest anon]

You don't need to re-install. The reason you get

tar (child): OOo_1.1.0_LinuxIntel_install.tar.gz: cannot open: no such file or directory

is probably because your not in the directory you put the file in. You need to be in the directory before the command will work. Lets suppose the file is in your tmp directory, to get there you open up a console and type

cd /home/kilimanjaro/tmp

hit enter.

Then you carry out the command for tar.gz

[kilimanjaro]

It is in the file

 

/home/kilimanjaro/updates/open-office/

 

is where it is at.

 

And before I tried to complie it, I typed

 

cd updates

cd open-office

 

and I was logged in as root

[Guest anon]

 cd /home/kilimanjaro/updates/open-office

 

tar -xvzf OOo_1.1.0_LinuxIntel_install.tar.gz

[kilimanjaro]

Hey !!

 

it did something different!

 

do I

 

./configure next?

[Guest anon]

http://www.mandrakeusers.org/viewtopic.php...p?p=68334#68334

[kilimanjaro]

When I type

 

cd install

 

I get

 

bash: cd: install: No such file or directory

[mystified]

The name of the directory it creates should be OOo_1.1.0_LinuxIntel_install Try that. There's a SETUP_GUIDE.pdf in that directory which seems to be very thorough.

[lawsonrc]

Instead of typing cd install, try typing

 

cd OOol_1.1.0_LinuxIntel_install.

 

BTW, I was able to do this in a semi-GUI-style in MDK 9.1 using KDE/Konqueror file manager. This gives me greater control of actually seeing what is happening with the files and folders. In Konqueror, I went to the Window menu and opened up "Show Terminal Emulator". The Terminal (Konsole) opens up at the bottom of the file manager. I then su'ed to root and typed my password.

I clicked on the above folder to open it and scrolled down to find the install icon. Then I clicked back in the terminal emulator and typed ./install. [Note: I did not type ./install --prefix=/opt because I usually don't put things in the /opt directory.]

 

By simply typing ./install, it put all the files in /home/richard/user/local.

 

After the install finished, I scrolled down on the left side of the file manager (like you do in Windows explorer) and clicked on the + sign next to the /usr directory, then clicked on the + sign next to local, then clicked on the folder for OPenOffice.org.1.1.0.

 

I then clicked in the Terminal Emulator on the next command line and typed "exit" (without the quotes) to leave root and return to being a user (with the $ sign). Here I typed ./setup.

 

I did NOT choose the Workstation option, but the Local User open (or whatever it's called). It installed the program in /home/richard/OpenOffice.org1.1.0.

 

Inside the Terminal Emulator at the bottom of Konqueror File Manager, I typed "exit" once again and it closed the Terminal Emulator at the bottom. I then minimized Konqueror File Manager to the Taskbar on the Panel.

 

Then I made a shortcut on the desktop in KDE as follows:

 

Right-click on the desktop and choose New>Link to Application.

Click on the Execute tab then click on Browse. This opens up a new window which at the top shows (for me) "home/richard" (w/o the quotes)

 

Under Name, scroll down to and click on the folder labeled OpenOffice1.1.0. After it opens, click on the folder labeled program. Scroll down to "fromtemplate" and click on the little shell icon on top of a document. Near the bottom of the window next to Location: you will see

"from template". Now click OK.

 

Next, click on the General tab and click on the cog wheel. Here we will choose an icon for your shortcut. Activate the radio button next to System icons if needed. Then on the right click on the down arrow to change Devices to Applications if Applications is not already showing. Scroll through the icons to ooo_gulls and click on it (there are two, choose either one). Now change the words "Link to Application" to OpenOffice1.1.0.

 

Click OK. Click on your shortcut desktop icon and it will open up the Templates and Documents window just like the Quickstarter icon in Windows on the taskbar/system tray. Here you can click on New Document and choose which program to open: Text Document (Writer), Spreadsheet (Calc), Presentation (Impress), or whatever.

 

Now if you want, you can simply drag to desktop icon to the panel and put it there and use it on the panel (in KDE). After you do that, if you like a clean desktop with only a few icons on it, you can right-click and delete the shortcut off the desktop.

 

Please reply back and let us know if this tutorial was helpful to you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Richard L :wink:

[kilimanjaro]

I'm sorry, but it really wasn't much help, because I really don't know what you are talking about.]

I finally did manage to get it installed (I think) , but most of the time when someone gives me advice, they are assuming that I know the basic steps that led up tp what they are telling me. It makes a girl very frustrated. But, Thank you anyways.

[Steve Scrimpshire]

Here's a newbie-ized version of that. Everything inside [ ] is just a comment from me or an action and not actually to be typed. Of course you're going to hit Enter after each line. I assume you've already opened a console:

cd /home/kilimanjaro/updates/open-office

tar -zxvf OOo_1.1.0_LinuxIntel_install.tar.gz

cd OOol_1.1.0_LinuxIntel_install

./install

 

A whole bunch of stuff is going to fly by the console screen while it installs. It may wind up saying something like "Exiting Install [Error 1]" or whatever or it may be successful. Watch where it makes the new directories in your /home/kilimanjaro directory and then 'cd' in there to run the setup by

 

./setup

 

Now that was just Oo and they had a install.sh script. This is pretty generic for most *.tar.gz or *.tar.bz files. This time, I'm going to show you the console prompts, so you know when you are regular user ($ prompt) and when you are root (# prompt). Don't actually type the $ or the #. ;)From what I've seen, you already know how to open a console and then use the 'cd' command to get to the directory where you put the *.tar.gz file. I made a directory in my /home/omar directory especially for downloaded tarballs. Once again, anything inside of [ ] are comments from me or actions:

I downloaded stuff-v2.03.tar.gz (it might be called stuff-v2.03.tgz, it means the same thing):

$ tar -zxvf stuff-v2.03.tar.gz [if it were a *.tar.bz2 file, I would substitute $ tar -jxvf instead of tar -zxvf]

$ ls [to see what the name of the new dirctory is that it created, if you're quick, you can watch it uncompress and see the name of the new directory, but usually it just the name of the file without the .tar.gz]

$ cd stuff-v2.03

$ ./configure && make

[if you get errors of missing dependencies, usually it will happen during ./configure]

$ su [hit enter]

[type in your root password, you won't see the cursor move as you type it, and hit enter]

# make install

 

In between these two steps:

 

$ cd stuff-v2.03

$ ./configure && make

 

I make it a habit of doing

 

ls

 

to see if there is a README or an INSTALL file and then do

 

cat README | more

 

to read it. You use the enter key (or down arrow) to scroll down and the up arrow to scroll back up. When you're done reading it, hit the 'q' key. I always read the README and the INSTALL file and look for special instructions.

[kilimanjaro]

It actually siad that installation was successful. I messed around with it until something happened.

 

How can I tell if it is actually working?

 

When I use openoffice it still says it is the 1.0.2 version.

I had the same thing happen with gnutella where I installed the latest version, but there doesn't seem to be any difference and the version number hasn't changed.