How to install downloaded software.

Mikey007 · 12-29-2009, 04:12 AM

I recently went to the Intel website and downloaded a Video Driver for my old Gateway that originally came with XP Home Edition. The name of the file is ......IntelGraphics_060704.tar.gz......and I do not know how to go about installing it in Linux (I am running Mint 8 Helena).I am TOO used to CLICKING on .exe files that 90% of the time will install in Microsoft Windows with just a minimal amount of input by me. PLEASE try to give me a step by step instruction about the install if you could, or point me to one on the "Net". Again, I am not that well versed in "command line" typing. Thanks!!
...Mikey007

linuxlover.chaitanya · 12-29-2009, 04:26 AM

Well tar.gz is an extension for the files that are first archived and then zipped. You need to extract it first and install it. You should have a README file which you can use for getting help.

Use tar to extract it.

tar zxvf <package>.tar.gz

colucix · 12-29-2009, 04:33 AM

Well, installing a driver from source is not as straightforward as installing a software. First you have to install the kernel sources (that is the development files of your currently running kernel). They are needed because drivers are kernel modules and the installation requires all those files related to the kernel which usually are not installed by default.

Installing kernel sources is as easy as opening your favorite package manager and look for them. Just be sure to install the sources matching exactly your kernel version.

Anyway, before proceeding I'd wonder if you really need to install the i915 driver from source. The intel graphic chipsets are well supported by linux and the i915 driver is usually loaded out of the box at the time of the system installation. You can check it by issuing the following command in a terminal:

Code:

lsmod | grep i915

Here is the result from the machine on which I'm typing, which uses the Intel Graphic Chipset embedded into the motherboard:

Code:

$ lsmod | grep i915
i915                   28232  2
drm                    74644  3 i915

The dollar sign in the above example is just the shell prompt (it helps to distinguish between the typed command and the resulting output below). As you can see I have the i915 driver already loaded and I had not to install anything from source. Hence my question: did you notice some problem in the graphic display? Or in other words: why do you need to install the graphic driver from source?