I have been trying for a long time now to figure out how to install and run .exe and .bin files (e.g., Real Player). I don't understand what it means to "set execute permission, unpack, and run the program." If I downloaded the file, then I think I already have execute permission.

In windows, I used to double-click the icon, and it would install itself. Can someone help me? Please note that I do have a program to run specifically for Linux (a fax program).

Thank you.

There are programs like Real Player that come with most distros. You did not mention which distro you are using. .EXE and .BIN files are windoze executables. Linus executables usually do not have the same kind of extensions.

I'm using Mandrake 9.1. It came with several audio programs that play mp3's, audio CD's etc. For example, I use Grip to play audio CD's. The programs you have will depend on which distro you have.

If you "have to" run Realplayer.exe under Linux, you will have to install Wine. That is no small challenge, especially if you are new to Linux.

Most software installation is done from RPM's or RPM like package managers. They vary with distro. You can also get software in source format. Then you can learn to compile and install your own software. Again, this is a new process to learn, and will take some time. There are several good sources of information on the "how to".

Hope this helps.

http://www.linuxheadquarters.com/how...alplayer.shtml

linux does not care about extensions or how a file is named. Further more any exe file is probably for windows and will not run on linux. Files have permissions for read, write and execute. The console command chmod changes the permissions for a file. See man pages for details.

You can search www.freshmeat.net for all kinds of linux apps.

http://www.cds-inc.com/swreg/linuxdload.html Here is the web site from which I downloaded the .bin fax program for Linux. Can't get it to work. . .

Set execute permission on the file, ie is permissions a probably now 'rw-r--r--', or something like that, and a file needs at least 'rwxr--r--' to execute (note the 'x'). Set it using the 'chmod' command (chmod 744 primafax_l.bin), or, if you use kde, right-click the file, click properties, then click the Permissions tab, and make sure you have 'x' selected for eXecute.

In order to run the file, first chmod it as mentioned above, and then you can run it by cd-ing to the directory where the executabe is, and then running it by using the file name.

Example. I have a program named run.bin that I want to execute. It is located in my /home/user directory. First, I must make the file executabe. So I:

chmod 777 /home/user/run.bin

Next, I change to that directory:

cd /home/user

and then I run the file:

./run.bin

The period before the slash is not a type-O. It needs to be there. What the period means is 'in the current directory'. So the command is 'in the current directory, execute the file run.bin. ./run.bin

Hope this helps.

slight

Thank you. This helps. I will keep working on trying to download my program.