Hello I have am running suse 9.1 (non-professional). I have been installing the libraries so that I can install MPlayer. I have been using the YAST installation procedures and it looks as though all have installed correctly. I have success configuring Mplayer as non root, but if I log in as root and try to configure mplayer I get the error that I am missing gtk packages. I know that these packages are installed because if I am a regular user I get no such errors. After I configure as user I do get one flag which is like the following:

./configure: line 6254: config.h: Permission denied

clearly permission has been denied because I am not root but this is the only way to get mplayer to compile. Regardless I still get a successful configuration as the terminal tells me. So I go onto "make" and it seems as if it were going well until I get the following error:

mplayer.c:1275: error: initializer element is not constant
mplayer.c:1275: error: parse error before "switch"
mplayer.c:1275: error: conflicting types for `__u'
mplayer.c:1275: error: previous declaration of `__u'
mplayer.c:1275: warning: data definition has no type or storage class
mplayer.c:1275: error: parse error before "case"
mplayer.c:1275: warning: initialization makes integer from pointer without a cast
mplayer.c:1275: error: initializer element is not constant
mplayer.c:1275: warning: data definition has no type or storage class
mplayer.c:1275: error: parse error before "case"
mplayer.c:1275: error: redefinition of `__u'
mplayer.c:1275: error: `__u' previously defined here
mplayer.c:1275: warning: initialization makes integer from pointer without a cast
mplayer.c:1275: error: initializer element is not constant
fore "case"
mplayer.c:1275: error:

this continues for somewhile. I am completely lost on what I may have done. If you can please help me with this I would appreciate it a lot. Thanks again.

are you trying to work as root by doing an 'su' ?

if so, log out completely and login as root

./configure and make should be run as regular user only. Take a look to line 6254 on config.h file and look to what is poiting that you don't have permission (probably read permission).
Change permission while you're root and run the configure script as regular user again.

I don't know what's going on with SuSE and MPlayer that a lot of users have problems with it.

so when i have an application that I am trying to install I should always run the "./configure" as a regular user? I have been using rpm's to install all of my needed libaries as "root" so could that be a reason why i run "./configure" as a regular user I am not able to find "gtk" etc? thanks again.

RPMs are already compiled programs. The only thing RPM do, is to put each file in the right place, thus you need root privileges to access some directories of your system.
While doing ./configure, you don't need to be root at all, so it's an unnecessary risk you're taking that after doing configure, you may change something important of your system.
The reason you're not finding gtk maybe 2 things.
1.- I suppose you have installed the DEVEL pakages for gtk
2.- You have some really weird problem beyond my skills.

It has nothing to do with the fact you have installed RPMs as root (because i'ts the only way to install them). Configure script should be able to find them.

So, summing up, check you have the DEVEL pakages for gtk (the ones ./configure looks for), if you have already installed them, change distro (OMG, how much I hate SuSE...)

lol yeah I know the new version of suse is really a pain in the ass with the lack of development tools etc. but it is the only one that I can use right now so I am making the best out of the worst. I am learning how bad it is first hand lol thanks for the help