GRRRRRRRRR! I have to make my thread again! Stupid forum rules! (Wouldn't let me post a URL, clicked back, message is gone...).

Anyway...

OK. I can't figure out how to make a file work. It's a simple executable file that I downloaded to install BOINC on my linux box (google it if you don't know, I tried to make it easy and post the URL but due to forum rules this is impossible for me at the moment). I click on it and nothing happens. I used ls -l to figure out its permissions, and I think it has the right ones (r,w,x). What's the deal?

Thanks.

executing binary files goes basically like this (I assume you have cd'ed into the dir the file is in)

chmod u+x binaryfile.bin
./binaryfile.bin

if binaryfile.bin is the file you're trying to run. instead of "./binaryfile.bin" you can use "sh binarifyle.bin" too I guess....

...eh???

I don't know that it's a binary file - the actual name of the file is boinc_4.05_i686-pc-linux-gnu. I can't see that it has an extension...

Well, you're best bet is just trying sh boinc_4.05_i686-pc-linux-gnu and seeing what happens. If it's an executable, that should do the trick. By the way, a binary file and executable are the same thing .

file boinc_4.05_i686-pc-linux-gnu
The file command will tell you about the type of that file

Now this is more like it. You have to remember, my signature is no exaggeration.

I tried the sh command, and it says "cannot execute binary file". What is the sh command, anyway?

The file command came up with this: "ELF 32-bit LSB executable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSU), dynamically linked (uses shared libs), not stripped".

*bump*

Anybody?

If u go into a file manager, and right click and open, usualy it figures out what command to do, to start it up. I've been doing that lately other then command line, cuz it seems to be the same, just easier. O ya, if u want to figure out what it is, go into a file manager, and right click on the file, and go to properties, it shoul say what the file exstension is, cant miss it.

sh invokes the shell program, which basically just runs the program you want.

try doing chmod 755 file, then sh file

OK. I right click file, hit open. It says, couldn't find the program [filename].

I open the shell, type sh [filename], it says cannot execute binary file. Is there something wrong with the file?

Try ./boinc_4.05_i686-pc-linux-gnu

This worked! Thanks very much.

(What is that command, and why did it work when the others didn't?)

Glad to see it worked. "./" is the "path" to the command you want to run, so when you enter a directory that is not in your PATH you must precede the command with the "./". You can avoid this if you add the "." (the dot) to your PATH which is not recommended.
Regards

I hope I upset no-one by upping this thread, but it seemed the best thing to do rather than annoy and make a new thread.

I mostly still in love with Windows, but I do want to make a go of using Ubuntu 7.04
I´ve downloaded boinc_5.8.16_i686-pc-linux-gnu.sh and I really just do not know how to install this. I only know how to do this the windows way. The above poster called himself a noob, but to me appears far advanced to what I can do on linux. I´m hoping that if I learn how to do this, I can install other programs. Can anyone offer advice to a damn fool?