Help The Linux Newbie (renamed)

I was really excited to finally install a program only to figure out it doesn't work right. The forward and back buttons don't work, etc. I'm starting to get really frustrated with linux. I'm having a hell of a time installing apps I need. Just about everyone i've tried in the add/remove programs thing tells me i'm missing dependencies and it won't work. Does anyone have a link that explains how to install a tar.gz or a .rpm? Everyone i've seen either assumes i know too much or gives me error messages. Finally, how do i uninstall the crap i've put on here like this firefox. I don't see it anywhere on the add/remove programs thing. Answers to any of these problems would be appeciated.

edit add: i finally just got adobe flash working. however, i had to try three times because there was like 5 different installers at the website. the rpm one finally worked. anyway, i have 3 libflashplayer.so files on my hard drive. /opt/firefox/plugins, usr/lib/flash-plugin, and /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins. i don't know which one i'm actually using. am i using all three?

 

Re: Screwed up Firefox plus other issues

I'm going to assume that you've got the AA1 running Linpus Lite.

• Have you activated the right-click menu?[/*:m:1lrfi5wn]
• Have you run Pirut, or installed Yumex? These are both package managers for (un)installing software in Linpus.[/*:m:1lrfi5wn]
• What apps do you need to install?[/*:m:1lrfi5wn]
• Have you added the Livna, freshrpms or ATrpms repositories?[/*:m:1lrfi5wn]

an .rpm file should be installable by double-clicking on it. You might find that there are dependency errors with .rpms - I certainly did, which is one of the reasons I ditched Linpus in the first place.

Repositories are net-based data warehouses that Linux operating systems use to install software. If you need help with repos, just ask - I'm sure I or others will be able and happy to help. Again, you may encounter dependency problems when using non-Acer repositories, as Acer use customised libraries (a bit like DLLs) for the One.

Which version of Firefox are you trying to uninstall? Why? If you installed Firefox 3, you need to go back and fix some broken packages that other programs use to operate.Tthere's a guide on how to properly install FF3 on the Register website. I recommend you read it thoroughly.

The most important questions, that you really need to answer in order for us to help you, are in the list above :

 

Re: Screwed up Firefox plus other issues

1. right click is enabled.
2. never heard of yumex or pirut. i'll check into it.
3. i want the new open office, firefox 3, and i should be relatively happy. don't want to fool around too much because i think i'll break something.
4. never heard of those repositories, what do they do
5. i have figured out the rpms are easier to use. unfortuneately not everyone makes them

i'd like to get into ubuntu someday but i've tried it like 3 times before and each time i make it about a week before the computer is so unstable that it no longer functions. maybe when i get better at this i'll try again.

 

Re: Screwed up Firefox plus other issues

The repositories I mentioned carry 3rd party programs that you won't find in the default Fedora and Acer-specific repos that come 'out the box'. Livna, for example, carries codecs that mainstream distribution vendors can't supply with their operating systems as they violate the GPL (the MP3 codec, for example). You want the Fedora 8 Repository, by the way.

Personally, I think Ubuntu is easier - what are you doing to make it unstable?

 

Re: Screwed up Firefox plus other issues

If I knew what I was doing to screw it up, I wouldn't have done it. :lol:

Anways, I had a sucessful past hour. I got open office 3.0 up and runing thanks to a great howto. I also installed the Opera using the fedora rpm package. I couldn't find the program when i installed it but i was able to bring it up using the run program thingy and typing in opera. I'm sure this is basic stuff, but i was excited.

Anyways, I love opera so much that I want to dump firefox (it helps that opera actually works). whats the best way to go about this. Also, i would like to know how to re-map the the "browser" icon on the desktop to open opera instead of firefox.

Thanks for your help. my morale is increasing.

Edit: for no reason, my mail just quit working. Won't open. If anyone wants to troubleshoot with me, that would be great.

 

Re: Screwed up Firefox plus other issues

Just booted to a black screen. This is what I'm talking about. Restore time.

edit: restored. The only thing I think I could have done was to uninstall firefox using the add/remove programs thing. It removed a whole bunch of crap from the computer and everything started going crazy after that. I'm guess that was bad?

 

Re: Screwed up Firefox plus other issues

I think you're problem with missing dependencies is caused mainly by you trying to install RPMs whilst you are offline. Usually when you have an active internet connection the missing dependencies are downloaded from the repositries for you. Opera installed because it requires no libraries from the fedora repositries.
I never try to install anything without an active internet connection brcause the vast majority require libraries from the repositries

If you want to install other packages with yum, a repository thats recommended is http://rpm.livna.org.
You can add this repository by following these instructions.
Open a Terminal, then become root. You should be able to either do sudo su - and then entering the password for user, or just do su -, and entering the root-password.

$

Code:

sudo su -

Enter your password

Code:

yum -y install yum-priorities

Open and edit the file /etc/yum/pluginconf.d/priorities.conf.

Code:

mousepad /etc/yum/pluginconf.d/priorities.conf

Make the contents of the file look like so:

[main]
enabled = 1
check_obsoletes = 1

Save and close the file. Now finally, install this package and you should be set:

Code:

rpm -Uvh [url]http://www.fedorafaq.org/f8/yum[/url]  [url]http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-8.rpm[/url]

The above I got from this website. http://jorge.ulver.no/2008/08/06/acer-aspire-one-tips-and-tricks/


You may also like to read this thread about adding desktop icons http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4350

 

Re: Screwed up Firefox plus other issues

Hmm, I definately had an active internet connection for everything i did. I was just using the add/remove programs app. I'll try that repository collection you gave me. Thanks.

 

Rather than flood the board with a new thread. I'm just going to used this one to ask further questions. When I have a new one, I'd add it. For right now, just one question:

I just installed open office 3 using the macles guide. I still have the tar.gz on my hard drive. I can delete this right?

 

Yes you can delete the original archive.

 

Thank you. What about /home/usr/OOO300_m9_native_packed-1_en-US.9358? It's a bunch of licenses and RPMs. Can it be deleted as well?

I have other .rpm and .tar.gz files on my computer of programs i installed...Wesnoth for example. I'm assuming it's always alright to delete these after the install?

 

Generally I would say yes.
The only time I would say no is if you have compiled and installed from source code, then its handy to leave the source code files and folders on the machine to faciltate an effective uninstall if you require it. With RPM packages you can remove them and still use the package manager (System >> Add/Remove Software) to remove the application.

 

OK that makes sense. Speaking of uninstalling. The last time I bricked the system was when I uninstalled firefox 2.0.14 (default) from the add/remove programs thingy. When I uninstalled it, it appeared that it was removing a bunch of dependencies or something with it. When I restarted, i had a black screen. Can you explain what exactly happened so I don't do it again.

 

This happened to me in the past too I forget which package I was uninstalling but the package manager managed to select a shed load of libraries I never meant to remove and before I realised I had botched up the entire OS. Reinstall from recovery stick was my only option. Why it did this I am not sure. I have used the package manager to uninstall since however with no issues, but I always check the libraries being removed before I commit.
On an aside, I do know that the Acer mail client & calendar all rely on Firefox 2 libraries. So if you use those it's unwise to uninstall FF2.

 

Thanks for the info.

When I delete stuff, I don't get any hard drive space back. Is there a trash can someplace i don't know about?

 

Open any iteration of the file manager in the Files section of your desktop and from the window menu select Go >> Trash.

 

Nest Question:

I'm trying to install Frostwire. I went to the website and downloaded the RPM, then installed it. I can't find it anywhere. I tried typing frostwire into the run program dialog box to no avail. there is a file on my computer under /usr/lib/frostwire/ but it is just an icon and nothing more.

 

Assuming you typed in the program name correctly, usually all lowercase letters then I'm lost as I don't use it.
You might be better served by asking your question on the FrostWire Community Forums.
http://www.frostwire.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1

 

it says that Java is required for it to run. Does AA1's OS have java or do i need to get it. that may solve it.

 

I've never used an app that needed it, but you could read this from the Macles Blog.
http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/09/installing-sun-java-on-acer-aspire-one.html