I'm a Linux newbie and I chose to use Slackware because I understand it to be the most UNIX like. (That's just what I heard not my own claim since I don't really know. I do understand that it isn't supposedly newbie friendly and I actually prefer it that way since the more I screw something up the better I learn what NOT to do.)

Now, I went with most of the default packages and Firefox 1.0.6 was installed and I downloaded the latest tar.gz which is 1.5.0.3 and I want to install this new version, but there is not a script or executable labeled install, ./install or whatever and there is also no RPM at least not obviously so to me. I have even run ./firefox at a konsole set to this extracted directory and it just opens the old version of Firefox. I ran the command that is listed on Mozilla's site to do the extraction and ended up extracting it to my home folder.

Am I correct in thinking that what I need to do is extract it to a currently existing firefox directory that holds the old installation for overwriting? Where would that be?

What should I be doing here?

I'm a newb too. This might work.


First of all. When you extract the tgz file into a directory there is probably a README or INSTALL file extracted there too. If my way doesn't work then you might want to try to read through those.

Try this in the extracted directory.
type: ./configure then type: make

Then as root type: make install


That should do it. If configure doesn't work you can still try the make command in some cases. If make works then do make install as root.

All else fails. Look for files in which there might be a predefined procedure for you to follow. 9 times out of 10 if I'm stuck, the answer is in the documentation...

Don't extract it to an existing firefox directory, make a new one in /home/* or wherever.

Regards

here is a slackware package of firefox-1-5.0.3 from an official slackware mirror

http://slackware.cs.utah.edu/slackwa...0.3-i686-1.tgz

the ./ configure tells me no such file or command
make and make install tell me no rule to make target install
The install texts just sends me back to firefox's release notes and all they say under install is to extract all of the files from the tarball

DL'd the file you linked 'okie'
and I don't see what I'm supposed to do with that, what am I overlooking or not seeing?

I'm still lost

you don't need to install anything. just untar the tar.gz, which will create a firefox directory. to run it, go into the directory and do ./firefox.

that file i linked to will install as a slackware package, as root run either pkgtool or as root run installpkg mozilla-firefox-1.5.0.3-i686-1.tgz