hey gang,

I've been using mandrake linux 10.0 for a little while now... its really easy and all, but it just wont take any apps I try to install via source code...

./configure, make, make install just wont work on it.. (I'm guessing this is because its an RPM based distro)

I'm looking for something that's as easy as mandrake to setup and get running, but I would like it to be sourced based, I've had enough of this RPM based system now..

I've tried GENTOO, but I cant get past the installer since its still way out of my league.. I just simply dont have the linux know how to install a good system (yes, I was using the handbook and got pretty far into it, but i still have no clue on what modules to load, how to configure the kernel etc.. its just out of my league)

or if somebody can give me a really nice, simple to understand guide of how to install apps from source code into my mandrake linux I'll settle for that too

what errors do you recieve while you try to compile the source codes.

I think you'll find better help if you discuss the problems you are facing while running
./configure , make etc

I dont recieve any errors.. everything compiles and goes through just fine.. but when i try to run the app i compiled and installed it cant find it.. I never know where they install to, and cant even find the programs excutable with locate! (it just finds the files in the source i compiled from).. my friend told me that since Mandrake was a RPM system, that doing ./configure, make, make install just wouldnt plain work.. she suggested that I move over to gentoo linux which is all source based.. but that installer is just too much right now. I still have no idea how to configure my system enough to run that distrobution...

Man, can I relate... I had similar problems with some distros (I have installed quite a few in the last weeks). The makeconfigureinstallstuff just creeps me out. While I can't solve your problem, I suggest a distro with apt. Apt has saved my life. All I do is I go to debian.org, search under the packages for an app that solves the problem I have and I type apt-get install appname and it's downloaded and installed automatically. I am on highspeed, though. Apted GNOME just to see what it's all about, for example. If you have problems with installers (I had them, too), I suggest a HD installation of Knoppix. No problems (unless you have super weird hardware).

Um.... after you extract and do the whole ./configure, make, make install, in the extracted folder there should be a file which has the name of the program. Click it!

RPMs own. They are so easy for a newbie. I wouldnt go to gentoo or slackware yet.

Most compiled software puts things into /usr/local, i.e. binaries in /usr/local/bin, libraries in /usr/local/lib, etc. You can change this (usually) with the --prefix=<some other dir> option to ./configure -- see ./configure --help for more information. And it's certainly possible to compile software from source on RPM distros -- how do you think the RPM was built in the first place?

..btmiller. Half the stuff in my Mandrake 9.1rpm machine were installed as tarballs that I had to compile.

Usually, the README'S in the tarball give details about where the stuff is going to be put.

also,

find / -name filename -print

should find something, though you imply you used this command.