Downloading

[BARTICLE 0]

I am completely baffled when it comes to downloading. I have recently installed Mandrake. I downloaded Firefox. I can easily locate the downloaded file - Firefox-installer. What do I do now? How do I get the file to install? I previously tried Fedora, but finally gave up because I could never figure out how to download and install software. I was hoping Mandrake might be easier?

[danleff 0]

What version of Mandrake are you using? I ask, as some folks download older versions which may not be compatible with newer program packages.

 

Each distro has it's own installation type packages. Mandrake and Fedora use files with rpm extensions. Most of the software is already located on the cd disks that you downloaded.

 

In the case of Firefox, it uses a generic install script that installs the program (package). Look at the directions located here.

 

First, you must uncompress the package. This is like a zip file in Windows, but done from the terminal window. If you downloaded the package to your home directory, then open the terminal window, which should default to your home directory.

 

Type ls and hit the enter key. You should see the file in the list. Then type;

 

tar -xzvf firefox-1.0.1.installer.tar.gz

 

NOTE: you must use the exact name of the file that you downloaded. I assume you have firefox-1.0.1.installer.tar.gz as the package name.

 

This will expand the package into a directory called firefox-installer. Get into that directory by typing;

 

cd firefox-installer (hit the enter key)

 

Then run the install script;

 

./firefox-installer

 

You should then get a graphic installer that will guide you through the install and bring up Firefox.

 

Once you get this far, then we can add an icon to the desktop to run Firefox.

 

 

 

[BARTICLE 0]

Thanks. I will try that. Unfortunately, I seem to have found another bug. (I'm running Mandrake 10.1, btw) I just booted up and discovered my mouse seems to have gone bonkers. I will try re-booting. One prob at a time.

[BARTICLE 0]

OK - I got as far as running the Firefox installer. This time I stumbled over what directory to install it to. I tried installing it to Desktop, because I knew at least I could find it there. Now there's a Firefox icon on my desktop. When I click on it, it opens Konqueror, with a url pointing to the Firefox directory.

 

Can you recommend any Mandrake manual with easy-to-comprehend instuctions? Thanks.