Help with getting Firefox 32-bit version, on Madriva 2007 (free) so I can use Flash
 

First of all, I am a total noob :newbie: to Linux. I really liked Linux when I first installed it (a couple of days ago), and now I am starting to hate it:mad: . But I don't want to hate it:cry: .

I don't know what this means, but I have x86_64. And Mandriva 2007 (free). I have searched the internet :study: for HOURS and can't find out how exactly to get Firefox 32-bit, so I can install Macromedia Flash Player (the plugin). Firefox 1.5.0.7 came as a package when I installed Mandriva.

How do I go about doing all of that? I couldn't find out the details and steps anywhere. Like I said, I'm a newbie, and would really like to have specifics, but whatever you have to offer would be AWESOME! In fact, I will probably send you love letters for the rest of my life. Not really. But I would really appreciate it.

And BTW. I'm thinking that 64-bit is refering to my processor (AMD 64 Athlon) or maybe even to the version of Linux I am running, but I don't know. But what does 32-bit really mean?

If you need more details or something, then I will do my best to tell you, because I really don't know what else to say as of now. So I'm sorry if its vauge. :scratch:

Ohhhhhh it's alright, everyone starts somewhere. :)

32-bit / 64-bit refers to your processor architecture. 32-bit and 16-bit processors are all a part of the 80x86 (Intel) processor family. AMD processors still kind of get clumped in with the "Intel" description because to linux, a 32-bit processor is a 32-bit processor is a 32-bit processor.

It seems from your post that your processor is an AMD Athlon (64-bit, at that, too), so you did a good job on getting linux for your processor architecture (x86_64). Just as a side note, I believe you can install and run 32-bit Unices (a plural form of Unix) on a 64-bit processor, but that's like buying a Ferrari Enzo and walking everywhere - it's a waste of moneys.

So, since you're using Mandriva, get used to using a wonderful tool called URPMI. If you go to the EasyURPMI website (EasyURPMI is a web tool to simplify the setting up of URPMI), follow the dialogs accordingly.

For Step 1, set the three drop-down menus to the following: 2007 official, x86_64 , urpmi.

Step 2, try and pick mirrors that are close to you, and check all of the little boxes by the mirror lists (ie. contrib, main, updates, plf-free, plf-nonfree). If you want, you can also check the "Use Compressed Index" box, but I don't really think it's all that necessary.

Step 3, there's a little gray box on the screen full of commands. Open up a terminal emulator (xterm, konsole, gnome-terminal, aterm, rxvt...whatever) and become root: type 'su' (without quotes), and supply the root password.
Now that you're root, type in each of the commands in the gray box. Here's an example, don't type these in, because I just used the default options (not to mention, these all point to mirrors in Argentina):
Alternately, you could always chain them together into one command, but it's not recommended.
After that finishes, launch the MCC (Mandriva Control Centre) and on the default screen, click on the Install packages button (the icon is a little box with a green plus, +, sign). Now, your package list will contain packages that are exclusively built for your 64-bit processor. :D

If you have any other questions, feel free to post them, or send me an e-mail: nicksaika <at> gmail <dot> com. I check my e-mail pretty regularily, except between the hours of 1615-0100 EST (4:15PM - 1:00AM Eastern Standard Time).

Welcome to the Linux.

groovy
 

Thank you a bunch. That definately helped. I actually stumbled accross a thread that told me how to get URPMI the other day, and downloaded it and everything. But what you posted was still really helpful and explanitory.

My real question is, how on earth do I get Macromedia Flash Player working on my Firefox? Would I have to run my whole system in 32-bit? Or would it just be Firefox? I understand that it would be a waste of resources, but I don't think I could live with myself not knowing how to do it. :)

It might be as easy as going to a site that requires flash and you should be given the option to download the plugin. Sometimes just clicking on this will work. Sometimes it will not and you have to install flash manually. If that happens, you can go here: http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/downl...ShockwaveFlash and install it manually. Basically, you just have to unzip it and then place the correct plugins into the Firefox's plugins folder. I'm not on my Linux system now, but if you have trouble post back and I'll be able to give you more detailed instructions.

Reply
 

Yeah, It says I have to do it manually. So I did. But the Flash player is only good for 32-bit systems or whatever, and mine's 64-bit. So that business won't work. I had already tried that before; I copied the .so file, and the the other one or whatever, and it didn't work. I even tried downloading the new Flash 9.whatever beta version, that supposedly (I think) is good for 64-bit, but that didn't work either.

ALSO, I don't know if this is of any importance or not, but all the directions I've found to install Flash have always said that the plugins folder/directory for Firefox is located in "/usr/lib/" But its not with mine. Its in the one right under it called "/usr/lib64/"
I'm assuming that that doesn't make a difference, but then again, I am a newbie. But anyways, thats where I pasted the .so files, and someother kind of file in the components directory.

I've also tried an alternative flash thing that I found with the package manager thing. It works kind of, but it's a real tit. I had it installed for about a half an hour, and Firefox crashed 3 times, on 3 different sites. So I uninstalled that.

I've also tried downloading firefox i386 (which I think means 32-bit, but I'm not sure) and it was a .rpm, so I went through that process, but it said it was missing something, like key something or whatever, so I just continued with the installation anyways, which may or may not have been a bad idea, becuase I can't make it go.

And finally, I'm dual booting Windows XP along with Mandriva 2007, on two seperate hard drives. And I downloaded wine with the software manager thing (before I did that URPMI thing) and I've tried to run the firefox I have on windows, since that already has all the necessary plugins. But it said:

[aaron@localhost ~]$ wine firefox
wine: could not load L"c:\\windows\\system32\\firefox.exe": Module not found

So I am getting close to giving up. Any advice that anyone could give me would be awesome. THANKS

--Aaron

When you installed firefox i386, the "i386" part is the processor architecture! Don't cha just love how "processor architecture" keeps coming up?! :D

Simple breakdown of architectures:
x86 - Good for any 32-bit Intel/AMD processor.
i386 - Optimized for Pentium 1 (and the AMD equivalent) - 32 bit
i486 - Optimized for Pentium 2 (and the AMD equivalent) - 32 bit
i586 - Optimized for Pentium 3 (and the AMD equivalent) - 32 bit
i686 - Optimized for Pentium 4 (and the AMD equivalent) - 32 bit
x86_64 - Optimized for 64-bit processors.
It's easier just to use Pentium processors to explain this breakdown, because Pentiums have very specific clock speed limits for each chip...AMDs (a much better processor, in my opinion) keep the same names for their processors, and just up the clock speeds.

Installing an i386 build is nothing to sweat about. Ideally, if you're running a 32-bit system, optimized for an i686 architecture, and you install an i386 optimized program, that program will run so quickly. Keep in mind, the joy of Linux, is that it's backwards compatible (95% of the time).

For installing the plugins, I would suggest just putting them into /usr/lib/whatever...

Now, about that trying to run the firefox you have installed in windows. I don't think it'll work. You could always try, though. Suppose you have your windows drive mounted to /mnt/win_c:
I'm not sure what the exact path to Firefox is in Windows, but I'm think I was close.

Because you typed "wine firefox" at your home directory, it looked in Wine's c:\system32\blahblahblah folder, and not the one that was actually in your windows partition.

I can sympathize with you frustration, though. When I first started, I probably went back to Windows 3 or 4 times before I finally got settled into Linux. Ever since that day though, Windows has never graced (*cough*sarcasm*cough*) a single computer of mine.

32 & 64 bits what to expect
http://enterprise.linux.com/article..../09/07/1632253

Some backround on the issue, good reading to start from

Wrong, indienick!!!! Correct is:
i386 - Optimized for i386 processor (had about 16MHz)
i486 - Optimized for i486 processor (about 33-100MHz)
i586 - Optimized for Pentium (first generation)
i686 - Optimized for Pentium 2

i386 and i486 were already 32bit processors.

Try putting the flash plugin in the /home/yourusername/.firefox/plugin directory (from memory, you can use konqueror), just mind the point before firefox. Of course you have to use your username. This way the plugin will only be installed for one user alltough.

this is good reading as well

32-bit browsing in a 64-bit system
http://internet.newsforge.com/articl...1640216&tid=13

I am soon setting up a 64 bit system, but I have no current experience,
so I cannot tell if it is easy to have 32 bits and 64 bits library
coexisting with mandriva

nyctophiliak, a lot of people with AMD64 just run a whole 32 bits
distribution rather than going in these complications.
Saying that more and more do go full 64. And going 64 makes sense.
As a newbie you might want to consider just going for a full 32 bits install
it may save you a lot of headaches

Cannot tell you if you can force the mandy 2007 dvd to install the 32 bits
version rather than 64. It does autodetect the processor, but there might
be an overide in F1-F4 menus at the start

I have the 64bit version of Mandriva/Mandrake. I'm a silver member & have the powerpack. On a default install flash works out of the box. The thing this is all rpms for firefox are 64bit.
I even downloaded flash9 and that work with no problem. So did Mandriva do a switch and name all 32bit firefox as 64 bit or what?

thanks for correcting me, hansalfredche. :)

even on a 64 bit OS you could have a 32 bit firefox.
It is not a naming thing; it is a question of libraries 32 vs 64, and for the
OS being able to handle both at the same time.
Whether it is clever linking, clever management of the libraries, I do not know,
I do not know the status of firefox extentions, not sure they exist for 64 bits
I do not have a 64 bits PC

I forgot some flash solutions for 64 bits

google for nspluginwrapper (not ndiswrapper!)
try konqueror flash
try opera

I too am nub and just installed the 86_64 version of mandriva 2007 free about a week ago
I too am having the same issue. This is what i've discovered so far :
the version of firefox that is installed on mandriva free by default IS ONLY 64 bit, (help - about says it's 86_64 bit program.)
flash IS ONLY 32 bit according to a few posts i found from developers of flash, basicly saying there slowly working on 64 bit compadibility, adn it won't be out in flash 9 right away.
I've also found info that basicly says i need to install the 32 bit libs as well as the 64 bit libs in order to run both sets of programs....but i can not find the 32 bit libs anywhere. I'm sure if i can find an rpm of 32 bit firefox it would most likely auto install them, but i'm having trouble with that as well.

this info probably doesn't help you much, coming from a fellow nub, but thoguht i'd throw it out there in hopes someone could help us :D

go to website easyurpmi
set up some repositories as 32 bits
install firefox 32 bits...
then disable these 32 bits repositories (drakconf /packagae management / "source media" then uncheck boxes
Quite a risky method I suppose

If you just go to mozilla-firefox and get tge tar.gz firefox file
it will be 32 bits and will live in /usr/opt
independently to the 64 bits version
(that is the way I would go about it)