Spoiled by Windows
 

I am so used to downloading a program and one click install. I just don't understand how to do it the Linux way. I need someone to tell me step by step how to do an install from download to installed program. (I am not asking to be tough about the Ubuntu software center) I am taking about downloading a program from the INTERNET and then installing it on my computer.

You should definitely be using the Ubuntu Software Center. If there is something you want to install that isn't available through there, then installing it is going to depend on the individual piece of software; you'll need to read the documentation to find out what you need to do.

There is really no step-by-step or universal way to do it, each piece of software is going to tend to be unique in what it needs.

Hi. Anything specific in mind?

Best thing to do is learn to search (and perhaps then ask) well, there are lots of ways, try "how to install such-app on such-OS" plus when you download there should be documentation www.wherever* or from the files in the package (README or INSTALL.) Often it's as easy as the winblows way but you have to learn Linux like you did the other. The second link in my signature has some good starts... best wishes and have fun.

Almost every distro offers the ability to click and go. Some any number of ways. One is to use a built in package management app. Another is to use web page where one click install would happen. Anything out of that may require you to be more creative.

'The Linux way' as you described has several benefits over Microsoft's one click install method. In most Gnu/Linux distributions, almost any program you desire is packaged up for your distro and then stored in a repository. They're designed to work with the rest of the software as fluently as possible (ideally) and the fact that the method to install a program is located in an exclusive place (the software store) you have no need to search the internet for the program and risk accidentally downloading and installing a virus designed to look like a different program.

I couldn't agree more with MS3FGX, that you should get your programs from the software store. If you desire a program that's not in there, there is probably a more conventional 'linux way' of getting it, rather than downloading the program from your browser. If you need help finding the better approach, we will be happy to help, but we will need more information on the matter, such as what the program is and what methods you've tried already.

I have two old computer I want to pay-it-forward. I want to wipe the hard drive and install Linux disto's. I downloaded a program called Eraser. In the download window of my browser, If I click on the folder symbol. I am taken to a window within Ubuntu, were it shows the downloaded file. Where I have the option to add or extract. I have no idea what that means or what to do. I have tried both options. Nether gets me to the place were I can assess it from Imgburn. I wanted to burn eraser on to a DVD. Using Imgburn. When I press the button in Imgburn to look for the file. I am unable to fined it. I have two software centers install on my computer. Ubuntu and Lubuntu neither one seems to have hard drive wipe program. My be one of you folks can show me/us how I can put eraser onto a DVD.

gparted live will erase and format and you can pull the .iso from the site and burn it.

Chris, I think you do not understand what I am trying to do. I want to wipe clean the hard drives of two old computers I own. In order to do that. I need some kind of software that is on a DVD or USB stick that will totally remove all the information on the hard drives. So I can install Linux distro's.

Yes you need some sort of a live CD to boot up the other computer to wipe its harddrive. Or you can install a new distro, as distro installers usually also are capable of wiping the existing contents of the harddrive and put new system on it. Ubuntu installer should certainly be able to do that. No need to separately wipe the drive.

hello don graham

i am a windows en linux user and when ever one of my hard drives is not working properly i use a puppy linux distro
on a live cd because puppy linux is running in the memmery rims there is no hd mounting so it is esier to delete the hd but dont forget to set de bootflag just look in the start menu and then use Gparted

and sorry for my rubbish english

The only DVD you need is a Live Linux CD.
A Live Linux CD will completly erase everything on your HDD. When you allow the partition manager that comes with the installer to write the partitions to disk anything on that HDD will be gone permanetly.

Before I install Linux on my desktop pc I had Windows XP installed.
After I ran the Live Linux CD followd all the on screen instrustions and told Linux to take over the whole HDD Windows (and everything with it) was history and upon rebooting the desktop I had Linux only.

http://www.dban.org/

Gparted live is exactly that, that's why I brought it up

hello chris yes gparted live on a live cd is exactly like that but sadly it will not run always on all computers i have 2 computers who will not boot from gparted live but all other booteble disc start up imediatly

the gparted live cd runs naerly on all of my pc`s but the 2 latest pc will not accept it sadly

but in that case i always use my puppy linux and puppy fixes the job for me perfectly

Don, If I understand right, your aim is to make a bootable DVD and use it to erase a hard drive or two.

I'm not familiar with Eraser. A quick Google turned up a Windows program that cleans hard discs, but I don't know if that's what you meant. If it is a CD/DVD image then imgburn should work, but if imgburn doesn't recognise it then either it isn't a disc image, or it has the wrong extension (the usual extension is .iso).

The "add/extract" options make it sound like a compressed archive, such as a .zip. If the archive contains a disc image then extract it and off you go. If, as sounds likely, it contains a program intended to be installed in an operating system, then you'd need to create a bootable image yourself, including the correct operating system and Eraser, and burn that. It can be done, and instructions are available on the internet, but it's massive overkill if you just want to erase a few hard discs. Download the .iso file of a live Linux distribution and burn it, with imgburn or whatever other method you prefer. ;)

Personally I'd agree with Germany_chris' suggestion, but in fact just about any live distro will have the tools for a basic hard disc wipe. See this article for a quick and dirty method. If you want to wipe really securely, which usually involves overwriting the entire disc several times with random data, then I'd recommend a small program called Shred, which is included in a lot of live distributions including Gparted.

Finally, if you're not worried about wiping or 'shredding' data and just want to make space for Linux, then forget about the above. Just boot the distribution you want to install, and when the installer gets to the disc partitioning stage, tell it to 'use entire disc' and it will delete whatever's in the way.

Dang, four other answers while I was typing! Ah well, maybe it'll be some help anyway. I must remember to install ktouch... :D