can i run other distro RPMs on Mandrake?

I ask this question because theres a lot of software for other distros out there that i want to be able to use on Mandrake but I dont want to try installing it if its going to cause kernel problems or such like. it seems some software is only written for a specific distro like Mame. I cant find an rpm equivalent for mandrake and all theirs are for Fedora.

thanks.

Hi!

It should work and most likely will not give you any problems. Just make sure _not_ to use a force install. There's one thing that you've to keep in mind though: A rpm made for Redhat 8.0 is most likely to work well with Redhat 9.0. However, the opposite most likely won't be possible. That's because the rpm you want to install (made for Redhat 9.0) in Redhat 8.0 has newer dependencies too. Like, for example, a new gtk-library or a newer zlib. You should maybe need to upgrade a whole lot of your Redhat 8.0 to get something working (this is just an example, and it obviously depends of package in question).

With that in mind, a rpm made for Fedora Core 1, 2 and perhaps 3 would work just fine in Mandy 10.1. Well, you can always try and see how it goes. It won't brake anything (but could, not only because the rpm was built to another distro, but rpms in general can brake things...ghehe), as long as you are not forcing an install.

You can find a lot of rpm for Mandrake here:

http://rpm.pbone.net/

and I'm pretty sure mame is int there too

Good luck!

I have had good luck in past. I always use a Suse Mp3gain rpm in mandrake so I can normalize mp3's on my iPod using a mandrake gtkpod rpm. Never had problems with that one, although it is an easy install with no dependancies to worry about. I always try it first, worry about concequences later.

Generally its ok to do this with end-user applications - eg. stuff like web browsers, instant messengers, video editing apps etc. But you should never replace system components (glibc for example) with RPMs from another distro or even another version of the same distro. Also I don't know of any software that's written just for one distro, what usually happens is that projects which release RPMs target Fedora because that's one of the most popular and well known Linux distros.

Fortunately you're wrong about this for MAME Goto http://easyurpmi.zarb.org and setup access to the software repos. Now use urpmi from the command line or menu->System->Configuration->Packaging to install the 'xmame' packages. They also seem to have packaged the frontend for it in the 'gxmame' package. Remember when you install software on Linux look in your distro's package management system first, don't download stuff directly off websites (the Windows way) unless you have to.

okay.. thanks a bunch guys... i just wasnt sure.. i have pretty much the same mind as Lakota as far as "no guts no glory".. lol.. worry bout the crap AFTER it hits the fan.. but i didnt feel like messin things up tonite for nothing.. lol..

Generally speaking its not a good idea to install other distros rpms on a different distro. They may or may not work, and if the rpms are essential system packages, you can end up with a hosed installation, so always be careful.

www.rpm.org or com. Google rpm. The answer is yes. RPM doesnt care about disto. I cares about dependencies. I aint a c++ programmer, but you might want to look to see if programs compiled by a different version of a compiler may or maynot work... But I have done it. But dont force a install of a rpm.

Dave

Its more than just compiler versions - its also things like glibc versions, file locations, menu file locations, dependencies against other programs and libraries and their various versions and so on.

no not generally.
plugins extensions to existing programs shouldnt be an issue.



you will need mandriva RPM's
when
a program needs to run a service (freevo mythtv add entrys to drakservices)
Program needs to add things to your KDE or Gnome menus (mandriva uses its own system where each icon entered gets sent to menus for KDE gnome, X etc)