total newbie HELP!!!!!!!!!!

[drkshenronx]

I am a total newbie to the linux os and i need help with the installation of programs.
I have tried numerous times to install the tar.gz files and i cannot figure out what is going on ... i have made it as far as the make command and after that i cannot go any further because i keep getting error messages. Please help me out here.
The program i really want to install is xmms because i need a media player that can play aac files but in the shell when i try to install it i am told i need to install glib and gettext. When i try to install these i keep getting error messages in the shell at the make or make install command. Can someone please help me install these programs ?

[Nerderello]

I believe I'm right in saying that Mandrake supports rpm files. This being so, what I would do is get the files needed as .rpm files (these can be gotten from http://rpmfind.net amongst other places). I'd then use thr rpm command (rpm -i filename.rpm) to install the programs. This way most of the troublesome work has been done for you. If there are files needed that are missing (called dependencies) then you go back to rpmfind, put the dependenciy name in as a search argument and download the required file.

Mind you, if I also had broadband then I'd use yum. yum does all of what I just said, but deals with dependencies automatically.

So, to summarise. Side step your compile problems by using rpm (stands for Redhat Package Manager , as Redhat invented it).

have fun

Nerderello

[drkshenronx]

Hey thanks ... that yum thing did the trick. I guess that i didn't have the depedencies for the files to install properly. Thanks man now I can listen to my .m4a music files

[drkshenronx]

I am having the same problem again with a different program. I am trying to install apache. It only works for mandrake in the tar.gz format for me. I get to the ./configure and everything goes smoothly. Then the make command has a few odd looking things in it. And the make install tells me no such directory exsists. Can someone please give me a walkthrough on installing apache with the tar.gz file ????

[jacelalin]

hi

im kinda new too but..

when i instaklled mandrake i installed using their installation cds (boot cd) and this installed everything, including apache, all in one shot. took a loong time but yes apache was working and so on. it also has a nice graphic user friendly interface on install.

maybe u can use this method instea dof building mandrake yourslef?

[AlexK]

You don't need to renstall Mandrake to get Apache, simply got the MCC and select Software Management. Select Install packages and you should be able to add Apache, Squid etc.

[drkshenronx]

the newest version of apache is wat i wanted The only form you can get this version in is the tar.gz format ..... can anyone help me learn how to install these stupid annoyances ?? Please help me out here ....

[AlexK]

Like I said, goto the MCC and instead of selecting update packages, select updates and you should be able to get the package from your nearest ftp server.

if the file is in *.tar.gz format, type tar xzvf <file name> to unpack it then type ./configure then make all. It should then compile the files and create them. But the correct instructions for installing are usually provided on the website you downloaded from or even from apache.org

[drkshenronx]

I have gotten as far as the make command until today ... today i was actually able to get to the make install command by logging on as the root user. Now i have finished the process of unzipping, configuring, makeing and installing through the commands. The apache program seems to be installed but for some reason the applications in the folder dont seem to work ... would i have to execute them in the shell or in the xorg dekstop ?? Please help me with this i really want to learn the shell prompt and i wanna know how to install tar.gz files because some programs i have found only come in tar.gz form ... And i don't know if everything is installed correctly but i think it was. Can anyone please help ??

[AlexK]

You will have to execute them in the shell as the root user. simply cd to the directory the application is installed then type the name of the program you wish to run.

To configure the apache server, you may need to edit the apache.conf or similar file as root, the server may already be running in the background, you just haven't configured it yet.

Usually, to set up any kind of server, you need to be root.