[SOLVED] Debian won't install .DEBs

brianL · 12-13-2009, 04:10 PM

See my previous post #26.

Lorax · 12-13-2009, 04:15 PM

BrianL,
I did what you said. It worked. But why does it NOT work in GUI????
Before I SOLVE this thread, I want to try it with another file...

evo2 · 12-13-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorax

cd /home/nrc3/Desktop:
reveals the file on user's desktop. I knoew it was there. I put it there! I just don't know where the error is...
If it matters, I'm using root terminal...

You say it is there, but you don't *show* us.
Please do the following:

Code:

cd /home/nrc3/Desktop
ls | grep deb
dpkg -i packagename.deb

The 2nd command will just list all the deb files.

Then cut and paste the commands and their output from your terminal and post it here.

Cheers,

Evo2.

brianL · 12-13-2009, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorax

BrianL,
I did what you said. It worked. But why does it NOT work in GUI????

Don't know. I've always installed .deb files from the terminal. As far as installing anything from a GUI goes, I only use Synaptic. Otherwise, it's the terminal with dpkg or apt-get.

worm5252 · 12-13-2009, 04:22 PM

Lorax, your problem was a matter of location

You downloaded the file and saved it in /home/nrc3/Desktop. However when you became root you changed to the /root directory. This is done automatically when you change to root in some cases. This is why i had suggested the command 'pwd'. In your case you had 2 options to installing the flash 10 file.

1. You can change to the correct directory and install it

Code:

cd /home/nrc3/Desktop
dpkg -i filename.deb

2. You could run the dpkg command with an absolute filename.

Code:

dpkg -i /home/nrc3/Desktop/filename.deb

It may be worth it to you to read up on the difference between relative and absolute file paths. It will help you understand how to navigate your system when in command line. In a nutshell an absolute file path is the location of a file starting from /. A Relative file location path is the location of a file starting from where ever you currently are. Once you learn the difference you will find yourself using it without even thinking about it. You will start running commands like "cd ../../Foldername/" or "cd /usr/share/".

evo2 · 12-13-2009, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorax

BrianL,
I did what you said. It worked.

Ok, so basically the cause of your problem whas that you were runnning
"dpkg -i packagename.deb" in one directory, while the file was in a different directory.

Quote:

But why does it NOT work in GUI????

To tell you the truth, I was never aware that "clicking on" a deb file was supposed to install it... but I don't used file browsers. Can anyone confirm that this is even the expected behaviour?

Quote:

Before I SOLVE this thread, I want to try it with another file...

Just make sure you confirm the file is where you think it is :-)

Cheers,

Evo2.

worm5252 · 12-13-2009, 04:31 PM

Lorax,
Here is a tip to help you in the future. When you change from your normal user account to root, you can do it 2 ways. You can type 'su' and enter the root password. This will make you root without changing what directory you are in. The other way is to type 'su -l" and enter your root password. This will change you to root and move you to the /root/ directory.

Lorax · 12-13-2009, 04:31 PM

ok, i must restart my FF. Too slow, brb...

Lorax · 12-13-2009, 04:47 PM

evo:

Quote:

nrc3@LORAXNETWORK:~$ cd /home/nrc3/Desktop
nrc3@LORAXNETWORK:~/Desktop$ ls | grep deb
debian-multimedia-keyring_2008.10.16_all.deb
install_flash_player_10_linux.deb

I already installed per Brian's instructions

Quakeboy02 · 12-13-2009, 05:07 PM

Quote:

To tell you the truth, I was never aware that "clicking on" a deb file was supposed to install it.

It's not. A .deb file is just a collection of files; much like a tar file. You'd need to setup gnome or kde to run something like "gksu dpkg -i $1.deb" before a GUI could automatically install it. Given that normal users aren't supposed to be installing packages (other than with sudo), as well as that you should normally use apt (apt-get, synaptic, etc) to install packages from a repository, there's little reason to setup the GUI to install a .deb.

Lorax · 12-13-2009, 05:12 PM

Evo, worm, brian, Eric, quake! Thank you all! Thumbs-up all around! You all were right, but Worm's statement about shifting user-to-root was balls-to-the-walls dead on!

I am sure that I have seen somewhere, "download this .deb file and double-click, or you can dpkg from terminal..."
I thought the icon was to be used in the GUI, no? Why is it there if it really has no use????

Somebody mentioned Synaptics. I have seen that around... I think it belongs in this thread as a (part of a) solution. Please eleborate on what it is and how it is used, and if it is a file that I can download...

Now it's time to relax with a Dubian!

Thanks, friends!

brianL · 12-13-2009, 05:26 PM

Did you start off with KDE, or start with Gnome and add KDE (like I did) when you installed Debian? Synaptic is a GUI package manager, you can browse all the available software and install from it. It comes as standard with Gnome, but if you've just got KDE I think you'll have to insall it using aptitude or apt-get in the terminal:

Code:

su root
aptitude update
aptitude install synaptic

or

Code:

su root
apt-get update
apt-get install synaptic

I think those are right.

Lorax · 12-13-2009, 05:47 PM

I started with Gnome, but can't find any reference to Synaptic on my system. A weird thing, though: I installed Amarok media player today, and now I seem to have a partitial KDE as well!

worm5252 · 12-13-2009, 05:50 PM

Amarok requires KDE so it is likely that kde-base was installed as a dependency for Amarok. Synaptic is a GUI package manager for Gnome. It is a GUI front end for apt-get/aptitude.

brianL · 12-13-2009, 05:50 PM

It's in the System => Administration menu. For Gnome, that is.