Linux Newbie Questions

Hello.
One day ago i got my Acer One with Linux. I don't know anything 'bout linux (except that i installed some version once on a desktop pc and the mouse and anything didn't work. ). Since Yesterday the ONLY thing i got managed was installing some packets over the pirut manager. So i got some questions:


What's the command to search a folder in linpus?
I tried "find", "locate" and "mc" but tat didn't work...
The Search thing on the desktop works onlay with the internet search....
(I want to install new hardware and in the readme of that is written i have to go to a specific folder but i can't find it and do something like " run "cp Makefile.6 Makefile'" but i bet this won't work like the most other commands and things i searched about linux....)

How can i extract bz2 with the terminal?

Most Programms come in versions for Suse, Debian, Ubuntu, .... Will the fedora packets work with linpus? And which pakets will work, Fedora 8 or Fedora 9? (What if i installed a wrong package?)

If i try to use yum for install, it says that a module named "_sha256" is missing. Where can i get that?

How can i mark more files in the file explorer like in Windows with CTRL+SHIFT? (When you use CRTL and Shift you can mark the whole files that are between the two files you clicked) But in Linpus I have to mark all files individual with CTRL.

In pirut i have seen that KDE and GNOME are an option. Is it good to install these environments?

What packet do i have to install that the ipconfig command works?

Is there any way to make a link to "/" to the left side in the File Manager like the home folder or USB sticks and SD cards have when plugged in?

Is there something similar to the Task Manager? (What do i do if a program crashes and won't go off the screen and i'm to lazy to reboot?)

Do i need a firewall for surfing the internet? Do i have to be afraid of virusses anymore? (I guess not but save is save )

I wanted to install this gaim/pigdin thingy, it says i need Gtk. Downloaded gtk. Gtk says i need three more things: atk, cairo and pango. Downloaded atk, cairo and pango. Tried to install them, but all three brought error messages. Is that normal?
How can i then install a programm when every programm needs programs that needs alot of other programs which don't work? Gimp needs also GTK...
atk says at make install: cannot create regular file permission denied usr/local/lib/....
pango says at :/configure: configure error: could not enable any of freetype,x11,cairo or win32 backends

to be continued....

Thanks for reading

 

First run
sudo yum -y update fedora-release

I believe that may be necessary to get yum to work properly.
Afterwards if you try things like like yum -y install gtk you will probably have more luck.

Linpus is a rather odd version of Linux. To get locate to work

sudo yum -y install slocate

Then
sudo updatedb
To untar files by command line see http://home.nyc.rr.com/computertaijutsu/tarball.htm

There are various types with differences in the command.

 

Installing mc is a good idea. Also you can just put a / in the locationbar of the browser...

do:

bunzip2 --help

to see the switches.

Very general advise about installing software in linux: stick with your distribution !
I am a Debian user, so when I find program x on the internet, first thing to do is see if Debian has it ready for me.

KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid

In Linux that is called ifconfig, it is there.

On the commandline: "top"
With top you can see the processnumber and then do "kill -number-"
Or "killall -programname-"

Graphic: gnome-system-monitor

No.

Stick with your distro... The package manager should take care of these things.

You are welcome. --Japser.

 

Survival information with linux/unix:

to see content of folder: ls
with more details ls -lat
to see all files including the subdirectories: ls -R
to get access to the manual : man ls (on internet)

to find a file : find . -name myFileToSearch
if incomplete name: find . -name "myFileToSearch*"
to get access to the manual : man find (on internet)

to find a text in all files in a single directory:
grep someTextToSearch *
grep "text with spaces" *
man grep (on internet)

to find a text in all files in multiple directories:
find . | xargs grep someTextToSearch (first do find . to see effect before pipe |)
or with restrictions
find . -name "myFileToSearch*" | xargs grep "text with spaces" (you can see output of find is ARGumentS of grep)

to limit any output to 1 page at a time:
ls -R | more (click on space; enter to move forward)

 

Finding a directory from command line: say I want to find the directory called php.d, which is somewhere in my whole filesystem:

sudo find / -type d -name php.d

explaining that:
- use sudo becuase you need to be root to see many areas of the filesystem;
- find is the command
- -type d says we want a directory rather than a file
- -name php.d says to look by name for a file called php.d (find can also search by all sorts of other attributes).

Has something gone wrong with your desktop search? It works for finding directories on mine: for the same example I put php.d into the box, change the location from google to desktop, and when the dialog comes up tell it to look in Filesystem and click OK: it finds it immediately.

If you're doing things with a makefile there is a chance you'll need to install development tools (like a c compiler and automake): come back and ask again if the instructions include things like './configure', 'make' and 'make install'.