This problem doesn't just happen in Mandrake, in fact, everthing I've tried seems the same.

Window Manager - KDE 3.1.1 (i think)

Right...

I can't seem to install anything on linux...it's probhably something simple, but I couldn't find anything throufgh searching.

I'm using Mandrake 9.2 and I downloaded the kopete 0.7.3 RPM because I thought it'd be the easiest ot install, however when I click on it the taskbar comes up with a new task - software installer, this just disappears after a while, and I have no software installed. I decided to try the other ones, so I downloaded the 0.8.0 Binaries (i think (kopete-0.8.0.tar.bz2)) and tried to install it using the ./configure script, it "installed" but i cant find it anywhere.
Please help,

Cheers in advance

Probably you didn't get a menu item if that is what you're looking for. Go to a konsole and type kopete and see if it starts up.

you may need to install rpmdrake to use rpm's

open a terminal and type

rpm -q rpmdrake

if it comes back "rpmdrake is not installed"
go to the Configuration>Packaging menu and find it in the list and install it

or
still in the terminal, su to root and type

urpmi rpmdrake

Tried typing Kopete, nothing. Could it be sometyhing to do with it being a Red Hat RPM? (it was the latest RPM there was)

"rpm -q rpmdrake

if it comes back "rpmdrake is not installed"
go to the Configuration>Packaging menu and find it in the list and install it

or
still in the terminal, su to root and type

urpmi rpmdrake"

tried both of these, it says rpmdrake 2.1-35-mdk

and

everything already installed

Any suggestions on how the other method of installation (./configure) went wrong? it all installed as far as I can tell.

cheers,

yes
you need to keep to mandrake rpms

use http://rpm.pbone.net and look for mandrake in the search results

rpm -e kopete will uninstall the version you installed

to find stuff
open a terminal, su to root and type

updatedb
wait for it to finish and then you can type
locate xxx (where xxxis name of desired program/file)

also

there is a bug in madrake 9.2 where menus entries disappear
from a terminal (no need to be root for this)
type
update-menus -v
this will rebuild the menus (after a while this process hangs - just close the terminal with Ctrl + D or with the X button)

Quote:

there is a bug in madrake 9.2 where menus entries disappear from a terminal (no need to be root for this) type update-menus -v this will rebuild the menus (after a while this process hangs - just close the terminal with Ctrl + D or with the X button)

is this fix a one time deal, or do i need to keep doing "update-menus -v" everytime i mess with the menus? and why would the process hang? is there another sure way of solving the menu problem? thanks in advance!

edit: can someone post a link to known bugs (not listed on the mandrake errata) on mandrake 9.2 along with solutions?? thanks in advance!

sometimes when you install something the menus are ok
sometimes they're not
this process ALWAYS hangs (i mean, it doesn't return to the comand prompt - i don't mean the machine locks)

this is mandrake 9.2
10 is much better

ok, when i tried the rpm -e kopete script, it said not installed. Below is what came up after ./configure was ran, There seem to be a couple of issues....


Clicky (too long)

the part which i thin shows a problem is this...

configure: WARNING: linux/tcp.h: present but cannot be compiled
configure: WARNING: linux/tcp.h: check for missing prerequisite headers?
configure: WARNING: linux/tcp.h: see the Autoconf documentation
configure: WARNING: linux/tcp.h: section "Present But Cannot Be Compiled"
configure: WARNING: linux/tcp.h: proceeding with the preprocessor's result
configure: WARNING: linux/tcp.h: in the future, the compiler will take precedence
configure: WARNING: ## ------------------------------------------ ##
configure: WARNING: ## Report this to the AC_PACKAGE_NAME lists. ##
configure: WARNING: ## ------------------------------------------ ##
checking for linux/tcp.h... yes
checking linux/if_ppp.h usability... no
checking linux/if_ppp.h presence... yes
configure: WARNING: linux/if_ppp.h: present but cannot be compiled
configure: WARNING: linux/if_ppp.h: check for missing prerequisite headers?
configure: WARNING: linux/if_ppp.h: see the Autoconf documentation
configure: WARNING: linux/if_ppp.h: section "Present But Cannot Be Compiled"
configure: WARNING: linux/if_ppp.h: proceeding with the preprocessor's result
configure: WARNING: linux/if_ppp.h: in the future, the compiler will take precedence
configure: WARNING: ## ------------------------------------------ ##
configure: WARNING: ## Report this to the AC_PACKAGE_NAME lists. ##
configure: WARNING: ## ------------------------------------------ ##


can someone explain if this is a problem why did it continue configuring?

one final thought...

Why are there sooooo many dependencies for linux, for instance, an application might need GTK+ or libjpeg etc...why cant these be pre intalled anyway?

Cheers

present but cannot be compiled might be the clue there

you need gcc (gnu c compiler) installed before you can compile anything

why so many dependencies?
er
don't know
it appears to be a nightmare at first

when installing mandrake, make sure the development section is ticked, as that's where the compilers etc are found
2 ways to go
either do a bare bones install and do the rest with the package installation menu
or
choose individual package selection during installation
and select them then

I must have installed mandrake about 25 times in the first couple of months
it does get clearer as time goes on
don't be afraid to screw it up and reinstall
don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to

the advantage to using the package manager is that it takes care of dependencies for you whereas with compiling, you have to make sure you have them all yourself.

rpm.pbone is your friend
I must have 3 cds full of stuff from there (am on a 56k modem)

kopete should be on one of the mandrake cd's
and there's an updated version at the Mandrake update site
just run mandrake update (from the packaging menu)

Yea, umm, mandrake update...I tried that, it took about 30 minutes of loading, then it came up with a menu asking me what to install. I wasn't sure what I wanted, but there was 100s of megs of stuff!!!! I'm supposed t download that on update?

The schools just got broadband, so if theres any large files then tell me so I can get em in school and stick em on my flash drive.

Cheers

yes
that's a good idea

there's at least 230MB of patches and updates

i just set it to run overnight and did it across 2 or 3 nights in "night size" chunks

230meg?!?!?!?!?!?!

Ummn, can they be stuck on a cd and then sent to me?

i'm on a 56k modem myself (and don't have the updates saved to cd)
and have just upgraded to mandrake 10
which is FAR better than 9.2
and significantly less buggy

i picked it up from linux central for £10 including p&p
well worth considering