How to Install tar.xz file in Redhat Linux
 

Hello Experts,

I am trying to install "gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz" in redhat Linux Workstation 4
through TAR command but it is showing some error.

I have tried so many command in terminal like as:

tar xvf gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz
tar xvzf gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz
tar -xvzf gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz
tar zxf gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz
...............
................
...............

But Still having same problem.....

Plz help me

Try the -J flag.

You need the package xz-utils installed, the syntax for the command is:
Regards

Hi ift38375,
After installing the package xz-utils (It might be there in your system) run the following.

xz -dvk <filename.tar.xz>
--
Thanks,
Bijo

EL 4 :

/usr/bin/xz is provided by the package 'xz' :
The rpmforge repo http://repoforge.org/ > http://repoforge.org/use/
The el4 packages http://pkgs.repoforge.org/xz/
Or find the package at http://rpm.pbone.net

'xz' depends on the package 'xz-libs'.


"gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz" can be unpacked with :
1) xz -d gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz
2) tar xvf gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar

.

Your biggest problem is that you will really, really struggle to resolve all the build dependencies needed for gnome-disk-utility on such an old distro (in fact I'm doubtful it can be done). Why are you using such an old distro and can't you simply upgrade it?

That said, if you really want to try. You could also quickly compile up a XZ decompressor binary and use that to help you open the gnome-disk-utility archive. You don't have to install the full XZ Utils. ;)

Once this is installed you can open gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz as follows:

That won't work because you wrote 'z' instead of 'f', his tar is too old to automatically detect xz compressed tar archives and because he doesn't have xz installed.

This is the now unsupported RHEL4 , so....
that is unless the OP is paying red hat a ton of cash for the "extra" extended life support

if at all possible contact your red hat sales rep and buy RHEL6.3

Hi experts,

I tried all commands given by all of you
but still it is showing two errors :

1. bash : xz:command not found

2. Tar: this does not look like a tar archive
tar: skipping to next header

Note:

I do not want to upgrade existing version of linux
so tell me alter way to rectify this. is there any
possibility to upgrade bash shell or Else which is
related to this command ? Plz Unprofessional members
keep away from this thread............

# 9
Please read post # 5.

Hi,

Solution Given by you is not Working,
xz command not exists....
Plz Tell me the procedure Step by Step
so that i can do it easily

Let me reiterate again that even once you open the gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz package you will have a far bigger problem. It has multiple build dependencies that are not found in such an old version of Red Hat. You will struggle to get it to work, particularly if you are already having issues with opening an XZ compressed tar archive (no offence intended). Perhaps you would be better stating why you feel you have to stick with such an old distro and someone could help you get around that (I honestly believe this will be an easier problem to solve than getting gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1 working). Alternatively if you explain why you want gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1, someone here may be able to suggest an alternative that is easier to get running on your old system.

That said, if you really feel you want to try by all means go ahead but when asking for advice it would be much more helpful if you posted the exact (copy and pasted or typed up word for word) error messages at each stage of you attempting to follow the instructions you have been provided, then someone here can see exactly what failed and give you better advice.

knudfl was very clear and yet you have not explained if you were even able to install the XZ packages he linked to or not and if you couldn't install them, why not? What error message did you get?

That said, I'll try again using the links he gave you previously. Firstly, install the xz-libs-4.999.9-0.2.beta.20091007git.el4.rf package and then the xz-4.999.9-0.2.beta.20091007git.el4.rf package

If you use i386, i486, i586 or i686 Linux:
xz-libs-4.999.9-0.2.beta.20091007git.el4.rf.i386.rpm
xz-4.999.9-0.2.beta.20091007git.el4.rf.i386.rpm

If you use x86_64 Linux:
xz-libs-4.999.9-0.2.beta.20091007git.el4.rf.x86_64.rpm
xz-4.999.9-0.2.beta.20091007git.el4.rf.x86_64.rpm

If you are unsure if you are using i[3-6]86 or x86_64, use the following command in a terminal window:

If it prints something other than i386, i486, i586, i686 or x86_64 then please post back here and state what it printed.

If you have problems installing the rpm packages, please post back with the exact error message(s) you received.

Once these are installed you can open gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz as follows:

or

or

# 11

Testing the xz install on an old EL4 system :

1) wget http://pkgs.repoforge.org/xz/xz-libs...l4.rf.i386.rpm
2) wget http://pkgs.repoforge.org/xz/xz-4.99...l4.rf.i386.rpm

3) su <password>
4) rpm -Uvh xz-libs-4.999.9-0.2.beta.20091007git.el4.rf.i386.rpm
5) rpm -Uvh xz-4.999.9-0.2.beta.20091007git.el4.rf.i386.rpm
6) exit

7) $ xz --help : 'xz' is present and works.
7a) $ which xz : The reply is : /usr/bin/xz


... And : @ruario is of course right : xz makes no "gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1".
"EL 4" is an ancient OS !


.

ruario #

Actually purpose to install this *.tar.xz" file
to create Partion of Linux hardisk in GUI mode
because i do not have access of DRUID window,
DRUID not comes after installation of Linux.

knudfl #

I will let you know after complete
whole procedure....I think "TAR" command
is not used for installation,it is used for
Compress and Decompress the file But you not
mentioned some installation command like
./configure,
make,
make install

I have some general Queries to All of you:

1. How to know the directory / folder of installed
Linux applications / programs like as .rpm, .tar.gz,.tar.xz
whatever. what is exact location where program Installed,
mean to say, /etc or /usr or /var or else.
is it take path itself or can we choose according to ourselves ?

2. What is difference between .rpm and .tar.gz/xz/??


Plz explain with correct commands

The package you want to install is a "source package". It would need to be extracted, and then compiled into binary code to use it. You can't simply install it.

If you want a graphical tool for Linux partitioning use GParted. An old version may be available for RHEL4 and if not it doesn't matter as you don't even need to install GParted, since you could use a Parted Magic LiveCD to boot your machine, do the partitioning and reboot. In fact this is a safer/better way if you intend to re-partition the disk on which your Linux install currently lives.

Partioning is a risky business in any case so before you attempt it remember to backup any important data first.

I'm not knudfl but I will answer nonetheless. Indeed tar is not typically used directly for installation. It is an archive format (like zip on Windows machines) but before you can compile the software (a.k.a. './configure && make && make install') you would have to extract the contents of the source archive. You do not want to attempt this however with gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz on RHEL4. Use GParted as explained above.

For a bit of background. To compile software you would need to install a compiler (e.g. gcc), various related tools (e.g. make), and some development libraries first. In addition you would need to satisfy all the 'build dependencies' first (other applications that the program you want to compile needs pre-installed first). For something like gnome-disk-utility-3.6.1.tar.xz on RHEL4, this would be a nightmare.

To put this into perspective, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 was based on Fedora Core 3, which was first released on the 8th of November 2004. So this distro is based on technology that is over 8 years old. In Linux world where technology moves so fast this is a different era, considering how much has changed. Version 3.6.1 of GNOME Disks (a.k.a. gnome-disk-utility) is the very latest version, released just 2 months ago. To build it you will also need GTK+-3.6.2, Intltool-0.50.2, libsecret-0.11, libpwquality-1.2.0 and UDisks-2.0.0 and all of their dependencies.

Each of these will present problems as they in turn will have multiple dependencies that will not be available on your old system either. Perhaps the worst problem is the Udisks (a.k.a. DeviceKit-disks) requirement because it was designed to replace certain aspects of HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer), which is what RHEL4 uses. HAL is very low level and not something one would wish to replace within an old distro like RHEL4 as numerous other things will depend on it, each of which will have to be tweaked, updated or replaced, which in turn will have a cascade effect on other components of the OS. Long story short, this will be an incredibly hard and time consuming job as you track down, build and replace various components. Additionally to be able to keep track of all that you would have to replace, you will also need to spend time learning about rpm packaging and make actual packages or the system will quickly become unworkable and unmaintainable.

At the end of all this your distro will be "upgraded" in some sense since it will have various modern components and will not at all resemble other RHEL4 systems out there. Or to put it another way, you either upgrade your distro the traditional (and easier) way or you upgrade it the hard, time consuming way. One way or another you have to upgrade your distro, there is no getting around it if you really wanted version 3.6.1 of GNOME Disks.

Which brings us back to, just use GParted from a LiveCD and save yourself a world of hassle. ;)

For rpm or deb no you cannot decide the path (technically there is something called a relocatable rpm package but these are very rare so you might as well pretend they don't exist for now). For software you have compiled from source you can generally tweak the directories where applications install but in most cases you would only want to choose between a few common locations.

Also with the exception of some software that installs everything under /opt, most applications do not install all their files into one location on the disk, i.e. some files may be put in /etc (configuration files), others in /usr/bin (executables), others in /usr/lib (libraries, which are like dlls in the Windows world) and so on.

On Windows this might be considered a problem for people who remove software manually (outside of the official uninstall routine). That is generally a bad idea even on Windows (unless you really understand what you are doing) but is an even worse idea under Linux. The packaging managers on Linux are pretty advanced so you need not actually worry about where the various components of the software are installed, just trust the package manager to handle it. Though if you are curious you can also ask the package manager to tell you where various files belonging to a given package have been placed. There are various query commands for this kind of thing.

You only want to worry about where files are installed for software you have installed from source (and even then there are tools to assist you) but installing software from source is an advanced topic and if you are new to Linux I would stick to using official package appropriate for your distro. In the case of Red Hat, that would be rpms.

An rpm is the native install package format for Red Hat Linux and a range of other distros. A tar.{gz,bz2,xz,lz,lzop} is an archive format like zip on Windows. It is just a collection of files.

One more point. Why not backup any important files from your RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) 4 installation and do a clean install with a modern version of Linux. During installation you will get a chance to alter the partitioning on your disk anyway.

Running RHEL4 these days is a bad idea. It does not receive security updates any longer so it is not safe unless you have a special, "extra" extended life support contract with Red Hat or you understand how to upgrade and maintain the old software yourself, which (no offence intended) is unlikely as it is a highly skilled job and you appear to be a new user.

As an added bonus you will have access to a wider selection of modern applications, which will be easier to install due to advances in package management over the last 8+ years. The system will also be easier to configure and work better with modern hardware, due to similar improvements elsewhere in the OS.

Trying to use RHEL4 if you are new to Linux is just going to make everything harder for you as I suspect you are beginning to realise.

Hi ruario thnx to you for your Best Suggestions,

1. How to check gcc compiler is installed or not in Linux ?

2. Plz give me examples of configurations files, Executable file.
.rpm, .tar.?? comes under in category of files ?

3. I want to transfer file from source to destination, then
which command i will use, SCP or UUCP??

4. How to create Partion in GUI mode, can u plz share
documents which have step by step instructions.

# 17
1) $ which gcc
1a) $ gcc -v
2) $ g++ -v : Because no g++ probably means that gcc isn't working.
I.e. the important packages 'glibc-devel' etc. are installed as dependencies
for the package that provides g++ : 'gcc-c++'.


Already answered by ruario : Use the Gparted live cd.

.

This would call the program and ask it to prints its version. If it exists it will report back:

Alternatively you could ask the rpm package manager

I'll use a program as an example, e.g. 'wget' which knudfl used in one of his examples to fetch rpms from the web. Let's ask the package manager about what this package is, '-qi' will give you information on a package:

Now let's see what files are part of that package, '-ql' will give you a list of the files in the package:

The file /etc/wgetrc is the main system wide configuration file for wget. The file /usr/bin/wget is the main executable that runs when you type 'wget' on the command line. The directory /usr/share/doc/packages/wget contains various documents with information about wget, e.g. who made it (AUTHORS) and its license (COPYING). The files /usr/share/info/wget.info.gz and /usr/share/man/man1/wget.1.gz are the main manuals explaining how the program works, e.g. if I type 'man wget' I see the information stored in /usr/share/man/man1/wget.1.gz or 'info wget' would show me information from /usr/share/info/wget.info.gz ('man' and 'info' files are just two rival formats for displaying information manuals. In most cases they will show roughly the same data). The files in /usr/share/locale/ are translations to the wget interface and messages with the subfolders representing different languages, e.g. pl would Polish.

If you really want to understand the Linux directory structure and the rules for where different files that make up packages are stored check out the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard. It is long and detailed but it explains all of this and more.

It depends on what is running at the destination. Assuming an SSH server, scp would be an appropriate command but there are multiple ways to transfer stuff between machines, just like there are on other operating systems.

Here is a link to the GParted online manual

Thanks ruario,knudfl :

2) .rpm and .tar.?? are configuration file or Executable file or else ?

3) what is use of UUCP ?

You can also try searching online for Gparted Tutorial. There are lots of hits. ;)

P.S. There are also videos on YouTube

rpms are neither. Strictly speaking it is an archive format (collection of files) with meta data used by the rpm package manager to understand what the package is, what it depends on and what its contents are. So it is best to think of it as an installation file. If you have come across .msi files on Windows or .dmg files on MacOS you can probably think of it as something like those.

Tar files are are files for archiving, storage or backup. Like zip files they are just a collection of different files.

These days? Not much, at least for every day users. Perhaps I can turn the question around and ask why you want to know or why you think it is important?

Actually i am Preparing for post Graduation and Linux is in my Syllabus.
That's why i was asking about UUCP command.

@ift38375: You might want to post an intro in the intro forum. I already read your first post where you stated:

However it would be nice to know a little bit more about you. That way people could pitch their answers better to you as they have a better understanding of your IT background.

I wouldn't mind knowing stuff like:

1. What computer systems have you used before? Windows, Mac, etc. What versions?
2. Why are you interested in Linux? For a job, school, or just to teach yourself more about IT? EDIT: Ok, I see you just answered this one above.
3. How technical do you consider yourself, perhaps with examples of how you use or have used computers previously?
4. How old are you?

And most importantly:

5. How did you end up with a machine running such an old distro? ;)

Regarding that last point most people's introduction to Linux is via a recent version of one of the more user friendly distros like Ubuntu, Mint, openSUSE, Mageia or Fedora. Your choice is therefore a unusual so you might want to explain it. ;)

If you do post an into, use the intro forum however, not here as it would be fairly off topic. ;)

Read the wikipedia article on UUCP in particular the sections on 'Decline' and 'Last uses and legacy'. Not many people are interested in UUCP these days, unless they are interested in it from a historical perspective.

I suggest you better get the basics of linux read. There are tons of tutorial on net. rpm or tar are not configuration file or executable files. They are packagers. You can archive a set files to tar. The xz you mentioned earlier is a compersion type. So what you mentioned earlier was a compressed and archived file. you can use a software to delivered as tar file and you can install software from them. Once uncompressed and expanded you can use make tool to install the software. rpm is another tool to install the software. .rpm is not a config or executable by itself. You install it using #rpm -iv <file>.rpm and it puts the executable and configuration files in places the developer of the software has choosen as the right place. Same with tar file.

Atleast read the basics of Linux before you work on it. There are thousands of tutorials on internet , google it.