I downloaded the YUM rpm from the Duke University site. Wn\hen I try to open it I get this message..."yum-2.6.1-1.src.rpm" is a source RPM which cannot be installed with system-config-packages."

What does that mean and how do I fix it?

It means that you downloaded a source rpm. Source rpms end with *.src.rpm. What you actually wanted was a binary rpm, which just ends *.rpm.

Why are you trying to install yum? Most Linux distros that use it come with it pre-packaged.

You may be right but I sure can't find it. FC4. Tell me where to find it, if you will.

BTW, my download choices were the src version or a targz (sp?) version. ??

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Hold the phone. I found all the little YUMmie files in the etc directory.

Does that mean it's "installed"?

If so, how come I don't see it in the list of installed packages? It's not there at all.

How do I install it?

What's the little blue check-mark in the upper right-hand corner all about? Is that associated with another method of updating??

Please don't skip any questions or I might hurt myself. Can't have that.

You mean you found the file /etc/yum.conf that contains the configuration for yum? If you're running Fedora Core 4, I would be very surprised if yum wasn't already installed. It is installed by default and I wouldn't have a clue how to set up FC4 without it.

What are hoping to do? Stanton Finley has written a setup guide for Fedora Core 4, which includes instructions on how to use yum. I'd advise reading that.

To install a package, you need to be root. You can then install with the command 'yum install <packagename>' (where <packagename> is the name of the package you wish to install). If you'd like a graphical frontend to yum, try yumex ('yum install yumex').

If you can, I'd advise upgrading to Fedora Core 5 too. It gets more updates than Fedora 4.

Thank you for the info, I'll take a look.

Again, what's the relationship between YUM and the little blue check-box in the top-right corner of my screen?

You mean the icon that's sometimes a blue circle with a tick in it, and sometimes a red circle with an exclamation mark? In theory, if it's blue it means that all your packages are the most up-to-date version currently available from yum, and if it's red then some of your packages could be updated. In practice, I found that this tool did not always show the right thing.

that's redhat's 'up2date' utility, like a really crappy, nasty version of Yum, stick to yum, it works alot better imho.

and the files for FC 4 (assuming you don't have yum, you should though) you want to .tar.gz to compile it from source

The icon itself isn't up2date, but if you click on it it will launch up2date. As ethics says, it's best avoided! You really don't want to end up compiling stuff from source, if you genuinely don't have yum working I strongly advise re-installing, following a setup guide to make sure everything works properly. Yum is one of Fedora's greatest strengths, if you don't have it then everything else will be a lot more difficult.