i installed a program called sound-monitor. i have no idea where it is at, and don't know how to un-install it. whenever i try to re-install it simply gives me the message that it is already installed. i'm getting very frusterated. i've done searches on this program and everytime it keeps coming back as no files listed. however, i know it has to be on there somewhere. someone please, please help.

Give some specifics on what you downloaded and how you installed it.

# Linux filesystem structure
Directory Navigation Help File
Filesystems, Directories, and Devices Help File

# Guides to software management
LNAG - How do I install a program I downloaded from the Internet?
Rute Guide's software explanation
You might want to check out CheckInstall to manage source code installations/uninstallation

the file is called sound-monitor2-1.9.1-1.i386.rpm. I just double clicked on it and let it do it's thing. afterwards i tried to find it to run it, and had no luck doing that. the problem may be, that i have an i686 processor and i installed one that is i386. however it seemed to install properly. it just boggles my mind that i install a program, it says it's installed, and yet i still can't find it anywhere.

another thing i havn't been able to understand yet, is why is it that sometimes after double clicking on a .rpm file to install it, it sometimes comes up with the Preparing System Update, and then all of the sudden it just disappears without installing all of the way. does that mean i just have a corrupt .rpm file or what?

su -
[passwd]
rpm -qa | grep sound-monitor

will search for any installed programs resembling sound-monitor

su -
[passwd]
rpm -e soundmonitor

will un-install it

(replace soundmonitot with whatever rpm -qa | grep sound-monitor outputs.

and yah, ALWAYS install rpm's from command line !

rpm -ivh Package (install)
rpm -Uvh Package (upgrade a previously installed package to a new version)
rpm -q package (is package installed ?)
rpm -qa (pront a list of ALL installed packages)
rpm -qa | grep patters (search for a patters in installed packages

the h parameter is not impoortant, it just shows a scroll bar made of hashes
and v means verbose, in other words, explain whats happening, as it happens.

this way, if u get a failed dependency, you can go to rpmfind.net, and install it.

It is hard to tell when you do something through the gui because you can't see the error messages. Open an x terminal, su - to become full root, and use commands to install/uninstall and run stuff until you get it right.

These links explain better than I can
LNAG - How do I install a program I downloaded from the Internet?
Rute Guide's software explanation

Here is the "bible" for rpm
Maximum RPM

# Red Hat links
Red Hat Linux Manuals
Get your mp3 support here
Maximum RPM
rpmfind
Easier software management: apt4rpm - Red Carpet
Red Hat 8.0 Tips & Tricks

# Red Hat 7.3 down configuration commands
setup leads to several configuration tools

# Red Hat 7.3 up configuration commands
Configure soundcard:
redhat-config-soundcard
Configure X server:
redhat-config-xfree86
Configure network:
redhat-config-network
Manage software:
redhat-config-packages
Red Hat 9.0 Package Management Tool
Manage users
redhat-config-users

# Handling NTFS
New Technology FileSystem (NTFS) HOWTOs
Linux NTFS project

ok so it shows it's installed.....now how do i go about finding where it's located?

also thanks for the quick reply's and being very helpful......i bet you can't tell i'm a newbie at Linux....haha......thanks again

It depends upon what the "it" is you are referring to. Programs have executables, config files, necessary libraries, etc.

See Linux and the tools philosophy

Here are good guides to how the Linux system is set up.
# Linux filesystem structure
Directory Navigation Help File
Filesystems, Directories, and Devices Help File
Proper Filesystem Layout

personally i'm not sure what "it" refers to either considering i'm not at all familiar with the program. i assume it, is an executable of some sort. the program is suppose to take an input signal from your soundcard and analyze it in some way. all i know is when i type the command:

rpm -qa | grep sound-monitor

it returns with:

sound-monitor-1.99.0-1.i386

so i suspect there is a problem an executable/applet somewhere to run. i know there are some files under usr/share/sound-monitor2 that have to do with this program, but most of those files have the .png extenstion. i believe that must be some sort of image file.

Executables for users are usualy in the binaries directories:
/bin
/usr/bin
/usr/local/bin

For root
/sbin
/usr/sbin
/usr/local/sbin

What happens if you open an x terminal and command

sound-monitor

lol.....
ever heared of the path variable ?
the path variable holds the location where binary's are installed, it doesnt reealy matter where the binry installed itself.

the package is cakked sound-monitor-blah blah blah
so the binary (99.9% of the time)
will be called sound-monitor

open a console ant type
sound-monitor &
(the & allows it to run in a seperat thread, independent from the console)
then in the console exit.

if that launmches your program, which it will IF the install went okay and didnt run into any missing dependency's then just create an icon or whatever in your desktop of start menue, and make it execute sound-monitor.

and usually, you can read up on somthing with
man programname
(man as in manual)
so have a look at man sound-monitor
should tell you how to use the program.

you may have info sound-monitor in addition to man sound-monitor.

A good man is easy to find and info isn't much harder to find.