Hi all, this is obviously the best place for me to be at the moment.

I am a systems admin guy and very comfortable with all things Microsoft, so to try Linux has been interesting. I am trying Linux mainly to get with all the hype and see what it's all about and also because I believe it will benefit my career being fluent in both OS's.

That said, can someone please tell me how the heck I install software??? I have tried for days but can't seem to get the hang of it.

I am running Mandrake 9.2 which is the distro I am most comfortable with.

The package I want to install is a network packet sniffer/analyser. It is called "linuxarm.tar.gz" (also, can someone please explain to me the extensions of .tar and .gz and what their oposites would be in Windows). When click on this icon it opens and I can see some stuff there that doesn't make too much sense.

I feel really dumb at the moment, especially seeing as I am a MS expert, so please go easy on me and be patient. In time the penny with drop and I will suddenly "get it".

Thanks....

You are correct about a great number of things. Linux is powerful. The amazing part is that linux is more powerful that windows and people donate their time.

The command that you seek to open the package is

gunzip -c PACKAGE | tar xvf -

You will need to open a CLI window which is under system tools ----> terminal

Typically when you compile that package you should consider ./configure as a user login as root and follow the rest of the README.

If you continue to have trouble message me back & I will try to help. Also, try this link:

http://en.tldp.org for documentation on every aspect of linux.

Also *.tar extention mean it is an archive. *.tar.gz is a compressed archive. the command I gave you prevents you from having to run gunzip creating the archive and the tar the directory. If you follow the stucture you won't wind up with extra directories that you don't need. It does it in one step. the output of one is passed directly to the input of the next step.

Mandrake has a RPM tool
here is a link:
http://urpmi.org/easyurpmi/
You should also checkout the Penguin Liberation Front <G>
A Mandrake add-on site, for packages Mandrake is unable to put in their distribution
http://plf.zarb.org/packages.php

Enjoy....

Sorry, but none of that makes much sense to me. I am working here in a totally GUI environment. All I have is the program on my desktop and I can't figure out how to install it. Very frustrated.

where to start? ??

OK,

1. "linuxarm.tar.gz" this file has been compressed with a program called Gunsip and a program called tar. I use the following CLI command to extract it

tar zxvf linuxarm.tar.gz

the switches zxvf can be found by typing "tar --help"

This file however looks to me like it's some kind of program for an ARM processor for like a sharp Zaurus. At least that's what I find when I google for it.

Any time you download a program that has been compressed with tar or gunzip it usually is source code and you have to compile it. and normally the provider of that file gives instructions on doing this, again it's done at the command prompt. an earlier post gave you instructions on getting a terminal window opened to do this.

One of the other replies to your post suggests you installing an RPM package. This is the program precompiled and the binary files packaged as an RPM file. Mandrake uses RPM packages for it's primary software management system. The primary tool for managing software packages in Mandrake is called "urpmi". In mandrake you can use urpmi from the command prompt or use the GUI software package management system, this can be found under the menu "Configuration -> Packaging".

The nice thing about urpmi is that it will find software packages and updates for you on the internet. It will also resolve any softwre dependencies for you and install them as well. if you go to the web site easy urpmi it will give you instructions on configuring urpmi sources so the GUI can find software for you on the net.

2. I would suggest you at least start your linux adventure at This site

you asked for a windows equivalent, well that would be winzip, btw i maybe newer than you, an i cant install things either, just read background info at the mo

I'll give it a try as well to explain how things go...

At first you must understand that installing things on linux usually happen from the command line. To get one you need a terminal (e.g.konsole), this terminal is a bit like the command prompt under windoze. To get one push ALT+F2 and type konsole. Now a terminal opens and you can type commands.
Next you 'cd' to the directory where the *.tar.gz file is at, just like you do in dos (btw. 'dir' works under linux, but 'ls' is more often used). Then:

$> tar -zxvf <filename>.tar.gz

this will add a directory to your tree, 'cd' to that directory (it will probably be the same as your filename without .tar.gz):

$> cd <directory>

The package you downloaded is source code so you have to compile it. To compile source code, you need to build a config-file for your system (this contains things like what kind of processor you have,etc.). This is all done by a script called configure. So you type:

$> ./configure

then the actual compile:

$> make

To install the program you just installed, you have to be root. There is a way to become root without logging out, just type:

$> su

a password will be asked, you type the root password. Now you have root permissions and you're able to install the program by typing:

$> make install

Just push CTRL+D or type exit and you are back a normal user. Then type the command to start the application (e.g. if you installed smb4k-0.3.1 it will probably be smb4k). Actually, most of this is explained in the 'README', a file that came with your package.
This is an explanation for most packages, some packages don't follow this path, in that case you just read the README-file and all will become clear.

Oh and another thing, if you have mandrake, try to avoid source packages, use packages with extention .rmp, these can be handled by the package manager, all you have to do then is double click on it. Still I hope you start using the command line, that's were Linux gets its real power.

much luck and if there are still questions, just post them...

I think a linux equivalent of WinZip might be "Ark".

yes, ark, file-roller,...

on the command line tar usually does the trick.

Learn the command line, you'll be gratefully when you know it.

OK, getting further, the last couple of posts really helped...thanks. However, I still can't get this darn thing to install. I know I might be pushing my luck, but I am hoping someone might have the time to have a look at this package and then see if you can give me a step by step on how to install it...

www.ethereal.com

Also, when I am in the console mode, I cannot use the backspace key? Strange, but I have to hit the back arrow, then the delete key. Any ideas?

Hi

For the keyboard i think , try to change the keyboard layout type (US BR etc..) This should help.
be carefull if you have used special characters in the root password though as these characters change when you change keyboards ( Trust me as a new user it was a small mission at the time for me to find the special character that i needed to log in as root
suggest changing root password to something simple first with only letters.

If you look under the rpm package installer Ethereal actually comes on the disk1 i think , it also has the graphical frontend.

Have a look through all the packages that are available to you, you will be quite suprised at how many things arnt installed.

Anyway , i hope this helps a little
cheers

No THAT was easy...who would have thought that it was already on the Mandrake CD. I have it installed and running in less than 2 minutes. Thanks.

Now I just have to figure out how to use it to capture specific port information...hmmm.....

Thanks everyone for being patient with me on this one. I will be posting again soon :-)

This was what I told you earlier, try installing rpms instead of source code. It can be terrible because of dependencies, but often it installes like a breez. Still it doesn't hurt if you're able to compile from source, since there are a lot of packages that require it.

good luck with your linux adventures

Oh, I forgot to mention that the graphic tool for installing packages in mandrake is urpmi, try it from the command line some time. It has quit some features, you can add sources, so you won't need your cd's and can download and install packages of the net with just typing
$> urpmi <packagename>
or if you don't excactly know the name
$> urpmi --fuzzy <packagename>

it really is a great tool, look at this site for more info: http://urpmi.org/easyurpmi/index.php