I've read so many help docs and forums and installation notes but I still have no clue why the things I am doing are just failing totally, I'm not even sure what them failing implies. let alone what success is.

So, it took me long enough to get linux on to my system and then get it to dual oot and then get my hardwe to work with it, so of course I want to reap the benefits, which of course is using some good old open source software. But sadly, no matter how many help thing I read or forum threads I follow through I sitll can't get anything to work.

I am running redhat 9 and the two programs (i think) that I have been trying to get to install are Xmule and giFT. Seamed reasonable to start on. I read a bunch of docs and began to try to compile Xmule. Ok, big trouble there. Searched for hours and found this forum and read several threads. I thought I had learned a lot. I thought I had a better grasp on what I would have to do but, it seems now that I did not even come close.

So, it didn't compile because of dependancies, whatever the hell that means. I've used windows for a long time so this stuff totally eludes me in meaning. So I search around for another few hours and figure out I need to compile other programs so that this one had everything to run. Xmuse neede like gtk and pk-config and another of other things that it really does not matter if I list them here or not. I tried getting them, found them, compiled them and thought that everything was going ok. Untill I tried to compile Xmule again and more errors. So then I realized that the other programs did not compile. Ok, so they neede things too. Searched around untill I found what they neede. I did thatcycle a while untill I hit a virtual loop. Could not compile "A" because it needs "B", could not compile "B" because it needs "C", could ot compile "C" because it needs "A" etc. I think that was the case. Either way, nothing was working. I read help texts and forums on each thing and tried repetedly but never gon anywhere.

After several hours I decided that Xmule would wait till some other day. I thenk went and read up on another p2p, giFT. That one looked good too. Got it, tried to compile, needed same things as XMule, I mas very dissapointed. Tried compiling different versions and distros but nothing worked.

I am stuck in a huge world of long files names and quickly scrollng schizsophrenic consoles that don't make any sense to me even though I am reading things posted by as green of newbies as me that seem to be getting everything oh so much quicker. It's neerly driving me up the wall.

I never really post on forums like this because I don't like being "teh n00b" and usually make do with reading other people's. But I started thinking that I never really do get the hang of it if I do that and usually get so peaved withthe thing that I give up and never try to pick it up again. I have been through so much stress getting this to work that if I do not make any headway in it I willgive it up and most likely shun anything to do with linux for the rest of my life.

Anyways, if anyone could help me out by letting me know of a more easily compiled program that they are pertty fammilliar with that they might be able to guide me through so that I can at least try to get the hang of things and feel SOME sort of accomplishment so I don't drop linux like a mob informant into the East River.

It would probably help to have someone familliar with Redhat 9 and maybe even Xmule or giFT or anything related to getting those to run because having those is my middle to long term goal right now.

I jnow it may have been more helpfull to anyone helping me to have me post some of the error codes I got but I don't even know what I am looking for in that regaurd either. Please leave a post here or better yet AIM sn: Lum14 or email: Benethian@hotmail.com me andlet me know if you'd be willing to take me under your wing. Thank you so much for your help, I will really appreciate it seeing as how I am a newbie at being a newbie.

IT is very late. Been up more than 24 hours working on this. Usually my dedication to learn will see e through these things but I am afraid I am getting discouraged enough for that to totally resolve. Not to mention that I am runnig out of Bawls and can't stay up anymore.

I would be in a life debt if someone could take me as their "apprentice" and help me out. I would ask someone around where I live to help me out but, no one here knows Linuk at all. My town needs help you see? Please, be a hero, help a newbie

I'm sorry I can't help you Muiro, as I'm also a newbie. I am still struggling with the hardware problems, so you have got further than me. I am interested in this thread as I know this will be my next stumbling block. I did try installing a video driver, but I also hit the dependancy problem and now need to add other things in order to get the driver to install.

Looking at the number of vistors to this forum, I am sure we have found a great source of help.

The first rule of thumb when trying to compile progs yourself (as opposed to RPM's etc.) its to make sure you have installed the "Development Packages" when installing the system. It certainly makes life a bit easier. The kernel source alone is manditory for things like video drivers etc.

The best advice I can give you is to read, read and when you think you are finished, read a little more . Most distros include the HOWTO's on a regular install and they are a great start. Of course LinuxQuestions is like a "bible" to n00bs and pros alike.

For "circular" dependancy problems, most of these can be resolved by downloading the required RPM's and installing them at once from a console like this: rpm -ivh <package_name_1>.rpm <package_name_2>.rpm <package_name_3>.rpm

When you run into a problem, post any error messages from the console here. The more info the better.

HTH
Baldrick

hi folks,

Now don't worry and never be discouraged to ask ur doubts. the only reason why linux has thrived for so long is because of teh community which never turns it's back to the trobled fella'.

Talking abt. compiling and dependencies, check out

http://www.tldp.org

u will find very helpful documentation regarding installation, compilation and dependencies check.

youve gone thru alot already so dont quit now. u will be a new man once u are thru this, ready to take on new challenges.

what distro are you running anyway

http://www.aboutdebian.com/packages.htm

This is for those running debian.

As pointed out by Baldrick65, u have to do a lot of studying. So here goes.

http://www.linux.lk/software/compiling.php

http://www.networkclue.com/os/Linux/rpm.php

http://members.blue.net.au/felgall/linins5.htm

Another few useful links for Muiro:

https://www.redhat.com/apps/support/knowledgebase/
https://www.redhat.com/docs/

These should help you get the most out of RedHat 9

Baldrick

I can't help you on the install but when I work to long on something I get tired and when I get tired I usually miss something really simple. Now, that really simple thing is usually the answer that I was searching for to begin with.

My advice? Take a break, get some sleep and work on it with a fresh head. Using Linux is equivalent to learning (unlike Macroshaft products, which are point and click). Rest your head brother. Drink a beer?

Works for me and that's no joke (the rest part).

Happy Linux'ing...

Slappy...another happy slacker

I can't help with your problem cause I have my own. I have not come close to trying the compiling process yet. There are a lot of easier things to try first.

Just a thought...I heard that RedHat is more friendly to EXPERIENCED Linux users and thus, not the best for beginners. I have Mandrake 9.1 and at first my frustration was like yours. But now I'm making headway.

I was frustrated cause I could not understand a lot of the command processes. I still am figuring it out. However, I found that you don't need to know all the commands to make it work. There are a lot of things you can do by using point and click methods. Mandrake is more like WIndows than most posters say. In windows you learn to use the graphical interface (point and click) cause its right there in your face. You don't use the commands (dos). Well with Linux you learn the commands (dos) and ignore the graphical interface (point and click) cause that make you feel like a computer programmer and makes you feel like your punishing Windows for being so unstable, costly and insecure.

There are things you need commands for, like compiling, but theres a lot to do without them till you get comfortable.

I may be wrong on some of this but thats the way it seems to me.

Good luck

As my dad has told me more than once, " Do not bite off more than you can chew". Newbie just sit back and learn RH9 and what it will do. There is more on that distro to do than you have time in a day. Linux is not Winblows and we in the Linux world have to learn how to make things work that Winblows world has messed up. If you realy want to learn how to compile Linux, then you should get Slackware's four disk set. Disks 3 & 4 will let you compile Linux to want ever your little heart's desire.

So newbie, remember in the Linux world, you get CHOOSE what you want to do. In uncle Bill's world, he has already CHOOSEN what you are going to do. Trusted computing, anybody?

So newbie go get some sleep, get up, go back to your machine, and learn how to choose what Linux will let you do!

Ok, got some sleep, ready to work again fresh. Hmm, choices. My choices were limited. Redhat was honestly the only distro of linux I could get to install. I tried mandrake a few weeks ago, suse a year ago or so, freeBSD(yeah, I know it is different), debian also this weekend. Redhat is the only thing I could get to install. Yes, I did check everything, ran the checksums, burned everything twice, tried network and ftp and hard drive installs for each but none ever worxed. I have masterred windows so I can do everything on this end of Linux installation flawlessly.

One could argue that I sholud get a friend to either give me a copy of theirs or have them put it on for me. I mean, everyone knows SOMEONE that does linux right? No, not really. Not here there isn't. I could go buy it too right? Well, if I wasn' unemployed I could do that.

Not too many choices I have, you see. Redhat 9 is what I got to run so that is what I am using. Trust me, when I was trying to put in the other distros I did EVERYTHING in my power to get them to work. I am not an idiot, I just don't know Linux. During my slow realization that windows was not as good as everyone claims and that I masterred using windows but never got anything done, I decided to take the next step and learn Linux because my brain has the capacity.

Unfortunately, I am not the programming type because why learn to program if I don't have anything TO program. You see, everything works for me so I have no need to fix the things. So the only programming knowledge I have is like flash if you concider that programming and the basics of perl. I stopped using both because I had no need for them.

Redhhat is what will run so it is what I am using. My options are VERY limited in that regaurd. You say I need to get developement packages? Hmm, funny, where how whom. In windows the only thing developement package meant tome was downloading VB5 once! I don't know what anything means. I made a huge leap by putting it on and getting it to run and learning what little I do know in means of commands and I think I did pretty well unasisted. But without that one friend that knows and talks about and can help me with Linux that I think would help a lot and many would have access to, I can't go any farther. I can't read the helpdocs to learn more because I don't understand them. You all were using mordn in your responses that did not mean anything to me at all.

I looked at some of the links you gave and can't understand them. Concider it from my viewpoint: To me, this is trying to learn chinese withthe aid only of a textbook WRITTEN in chinese. Think about that and you will snap right into my perspective.

I don't know how to tell you what is wrong and what is right. That is what I asked that someone who knows redhat 9 talk to me and pick a program that they know well and turn me loose on it and see what I get to work and what I don't then help me figure what went wrong, what I need to do and then how to fix it. That is all I am asking.

I can't get a different distro and I don't know how to make sure I have these developement packages. I just need someone to grab me and say "Do this and tell me what happens" and then tell me what it all means. I have gotten as much as I can from forums and helpdocs and howto's as I can right now. Maybe after I have a better grasp on what I NEED to learn and how to understand the learning materials I will read them. But right now I need a crash course. I know my learning style, and I need to DO it to learn it but if I don't know how to start doing it then I can'tstart learning it. Dig?

When I installed Mandrake, it gave me a list of sections I wanted to be installed. Things such as Games, Web servers Mail Servers etc
One of them was also Development.

Perhaps it is this that you should have ticked during the installation.

Hmm, alright, interresting. My peserverence gave me more headway. I got all the developement packages installed through my own volition and xmule installed, I think.

During it's initialization, it crashes. Not sure what to do about this. Don't know how to debug this stuff at all.

OOPS! - Seems like xMule crashed
--== BACKTRACE FOLLOWS: ==--

[0] xmule(_ZN9CxmuleApp16OnFatalExceptionEv+0x40) [0x81e24f0]
[1] /usr/lib/libwx_gtk-2.4.so.0(wxFatalSignalHandler+0x26) [0x403ae736]
[2] /lib/tls/libpthread.so.0 [0x405d18f8]
[3] /usr/lib/libwx_gtk-2.4.so.0(_ZN12wxWindowBase12SetValidatorERK11wxValidator+0x1b) [0x4038775b]
[4] /usr/lib/libwx_gtk-2.4.so.0(_ZN8wxWindow10DoAddChildEPS_+0x18) [0x40288808]
[5] /usr/lib/libwx_gtk-2.4.so.0(_ZN12wxStaticLine6CreateEP8wxWindowiRK7wxPointRK6wxSizelRK8wxString+0x9b) [0x40277a5f]
[6] xmule(wxDefaultPosition+0) [0x82ccfa8]
[7] xmule(_Z7muleDlgP8wxWindowbb+0x161) [0x8102f41]
[8] xmule(_ZN9CxmuleDlgC1EP8wxWindow8wxString+0x391) [0x81e4a11]
[9] xmule(_ZN9CxmuleApp6OnInitEv+0x29c) [0x81dfb3c]
[10] /usr/lib/libwx_gtk-2.4.so.0(_Z7wxEntryiPPc+0x1f5) [0x402392cd]
[11] xmule(main+0x1b) [0x81df67b]
[12] /lib/tls/libc.so.6(__libc_start_main+0xe4) [0x42015704]
[13] xmule(_ZN18wxBaseArrayPtrVoidD2Ev+0x35) [0x80a08d1]
Aborted


Not sure what any of this means. Please give me a word on it if you can.

Not sure what it means either, but a little sidenote for this debate: When I started using linux I found it imensely easier to just make a full install and avoid most of the dependency struggle. Are you sure it didn't give any errors during compiling? I think that would be more helpful, if you want to figure out what is wrong.

I am pretty sure that it did not give any errors because I would have stopped right there to try to figure out the problem.

I have run into a MUCH more pressing problem. The monitor had a very low refresh rate so I chnged it using thu GUI. I set it right at what my monitor's max vert refresh was. I restarted and now the GUI wont boot up. It gives me the X Server error dialogue but when I say to run the setup for it, it just tries to boot the X server again and never brings up the screen to modify the settings/ the default settings and just goes right back to the error screen.

So, I can't get into the GUI and I am not sure how to change it using the console. I ave located XF86Config and have tried to edit it but I am not sure of how to do this. There is also a backup file for XF89Config but I am not sure how to get rid of the new one and load the backup.

Please help me out here. I am not good at the console, being a newb, and there isn't much I can do from windows about it, lol.

XF86Config problems:
You have the file and backup. Good. Now rename the current config, this way (of course, change file paths if you have different):
mv /usr/X11/XF86Config /usr/X11/XF86Config.bak
or similar (you can also remove it using 'rm /usr/X11/XF86Config', but you may want to use the settings from this file later)
Now copy the backup file back on place:
cp /somewhere/XF86Config /usr/X11/XF86Config

I can write you more about dependencies, but I think it may be too much for one time Make you X running first.