newbie and related issue

raptorfx · November 10, 2010, 10:03am

Hi, just installed my first linux installation (OpenSuse 11.3 - KDE) last night. I love the interface but have absolutely no idea about anything on linux. In my defence, I atleast know where the power button of my desktop is.

I have two questions. The first is what prompted me to load linux;

How the heck do I go about loading XBMC? I downloaded the file from PackMan :: Informationen zum Paket XBMC (file: xbmc-9.11-1.pm.11.6.i586.rpm) now i’ve got the file sitting on my laptop (windows) in a file which i thought i could just save to my external drive then plug-it into my desktop (Opensuse) at home and run the downloaded file…ha…bet its not that easy.
What question one hinted to; will my external hard drive be just plug and play into my desktop (Opensuse). Will I be able to see my media files by just pluging it into the desktop? (jpeg, mp3…etc)

Please help.

pistazienfresser · November 10, 2010, 11:34am

A warm welcome!

As I understand it (I am not in charge in that part of the forums):
No one has to defend oneself or feel sorry for not knowing everything. The very purpose of this forum in my opinion asking questions (and getting or writing answers (sometimes even ones that help ).

There are many ways to install a program/package (as mostly in linux based systems). I hope there were not to many changes from 11.2 to 11.3 .

1.1 I would commend:

1.1.1 To Add The Packman Repository

Click on the Gecko (Klick-Off-Application Lancer) >
Administrator Settings (the graphical YaST) >
enter the root password >
(Software: ) Software Repositories >
Add (down left) >
Community Repositories >
Packman Repository

1.1.2 To Install XBMC from the Packman Repository
Click on the Gecko (Klick-Off-Application Lancer) >
Administrator Settings (the graphical YaST) >
enter the root password >
(Software: ) Software Management >
Give XBMC to the seach field
> Enter
(form that on I think it is self explaining but if not please ask!!)

See also:

Package repositories - openSUSE
SDB:Add package repositories - openSUSE

1.2 An other way is the One-Click-Installation but as it may lead to further problems (with too many repositories not in a special order) I would not recommend it:
Webpin

Probably. If not ask (to my knowing a program to deal with a NTFS will be installed by default in the 11.3 installation).

But if you use an external drive more often modified settings especially for that drive (or more precise the partitions on it may make sense).

You might be able to see them but not to play them if you have not the responding codecs installed. Please forgive me if I write no complete description here. I think something like that could be found on:
Welcome to multimedia sub-area and on the cited/linked pages there.

But if you have problems or question: Please ask again (if not me an other user of the forums may be able to help.)

Good luck and have a lot of fun!
pistazienfresser (Martin)

raptorfx · November 10, 2010, 12:03pm

Thank you so much for the reply!!!

Lets see if i follow this

1.1.1 Click on the Gecko (Klick-Off-Application Lancer) >
Administrator Settings (the graphical YaST) >
enter the root password >
(Software: ) Software Repositories >
Add (down left) >
Community Repositories >
Packman Repository

a. You have to first create a folder for Packman under the software folder? (but what is the root password?)

Now the next part confuses me a bit. Scenario: I have the software (from the download) on my external drive which I have plugged into my computer. I dont have to do anything except follow your next step;

1.1.2 To Install XBMC from the Packman Repository
Click on the Gecko (Klick-Off-Application Lancer) >
Administrator Settings (the graphical YaST) >
enter the root password >
(Software: ) Software Management >
Give XBMC to the seach field
> Enter
(form that on I think it is self explaining but if not please ask!!)

This will search and install the application.

Ps… is there a dummies guide for OpenSuse out there?

phanisvara · November 10, 2010, 2:05pm

On Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:36:02 +0530, raptorfx
<raptorfx@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:

> 1. How the heck do I go about loading XBMC? I downloaded the file from
> ‘PackMan :: Informationen zum Paket XBMC’
> (PackMan :: Informationen zum Paket XBMC) (file:
> xbmc-9.11-1.pm.11.6.i586.rpm) now i’ve got the file sitting on my laptop
> (windows) in a file which i thought i could just save to my external
> drive then plug-it into my desktop (Opensuse) at home and run the
> downloaded file…ha…bet its not that easy.

that’s not the ‘normal’ way to install programs / packages in openSUSE.
instead of downloading the package, you should enable the packman
repository via YAST or zypper. (YAST is the easier way if you’re not used
to linux.) here’s some links explaining this:

http://en.opensuse.org/YaST_Software_Management
http://en.opensuse.org/Package_management

and this one contains different mirrors of the packman repo, which
contains your XBMC package:
http://en.opensuse.org/Additional_package_repositories

after adding the packman repo to your repositories, you can open the
software manager, search for the xbmc package, and install it. this will
automatically choose the correct version for your installation, and pull
in dependencies, if they are needed.

What question one hinted to; will my external hard drive be just
plug and play into my desktop (Opensuse). Will I be able to see my media
files by just pluging it into the desktop? (jpeg, mp3…etc)

after plugging your HDD into an openSUSE system, you’ll have to mount it.
again, links where you can find out more:

http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Basics_of_partitions,_filesystems,_mount_points

i could list the commands you have to run from the CLI (command line
interface, like a “DOS prompt” in windows) to install xbmc and mount your
HDD (after getting some more info. about the HDD, after it’s plugged in),
but i think it’s better if you learn how to figure things out for
yourself. while linux is easy to run via point-and-click once it’s set up
properly, it’s much better if you get at least a basic idea what’s going
on in your machine.

please write back here if you can’t figure things out using the above
links.

–
phani.

pistazienfresser · November 10, 2010, 2:53pm

No.

In the linux world a “repository” is a technical term for a library for software packages.
The advantages of getting and installing software from a repository and with your package management program is mostly that

The same repository will probably not only contain the package you know that you want to have it (example: XBMC file: xbmc-9.11-1.pm.11.6.i586.rpm) but also all the more basic packages that maybe needed to be able to use that package (an also to install it) and also the right versions of that packages.[1] Not only the relations but also the related packages are called “dependencies”.
You will minimize the probability to get broken or by intent malfunction software.

I did not find (in the time I used) a good and easy explanation for that but
this might give you a bit of the reasons for repositories:
Concepts package management - openSUSE

Something like the administrator password in NT-based operating systems of Microsoft. I think still in the default settings of installation it is the same as the password of your first normal user account.

As I do not see much sense in using the same (easy or difficult) password both (example given) for

unlocking my screen or logging in as a normal user
installing software or changing essential setting of my system
-> I have different (secure/complicated) passwords for root and for the normal accounts.

In most *nix based systems you have not only an administrator but a superuser called root (but root is not used/not with a valid password in Apples OS and in Ubuntu).
The name came from the basic directory “/”. The root can almost do (and also ruin) anything - so use root with much caution and only seldom.
See also: SDB:Login as root - openSUSE

In openSUSE you can mostly do administrative things with YaST - so for the beginning you mostly will need the root password only for that.

Yes.

But not from your hard drive but directly from the repository (and that repository has to be known to your operating system first…).

I hope you are not feeling patronized by me not telling you exactly what you asked for.

If you really want I could also try to tell you the way to install a package (and the needed other packages for that - “dependencies”) from your hard drive.
The last time I did something like that was a few years before now but I think I might still be able to do so.
But as rate it is more complicated, not the best and normal way and not needed in your case - I see not much sense in that…

I agree with you that there should be a guide that explains the basic and elementary issues of openSUSE/linux based systems (and hopefully in plain words and not with too many (linux special) technical terms ).

I know that there are quite a lot books with good explanation with “…] for dummies” in the title. But I rate someone that wants to know basic things and have them explained in plain words not to be a “dummy” but an intelligent person

I do not rate it according to the concept/meaning of this forums to refer only to a manual in answer to a question but as you asked explicit for a “guide”:

Maybe you try first (related to your question):
openSUSE 11.3 Start-Up : 3. Installing, Removing and Updating Software
Novell Documentation or SUSE Documentation

And “6.1 User Concept” in the same guide for “root”.

For the telling your system of an additional repository:
“Reference : 3.4 Managing Software Repositories and Services”
Novell Documentation or SUSE Documentation

See also:

Novell Doc: OpenSUSE 11.3 - Table of Contents
Linux - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Portal:Documentation - openSUSE wiki
dependencies - Linux Terms

Hope I could help a bit so far
Have a lot of fun!
pistazienfresser

[1] For my system (see at the in my signature) that seems to be:


xbmc - A free media center
Version:
9.11-1.pm.6.5
...]
Requires:
libc.so.6
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.0)
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.1.3)
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.4)
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.3.4)
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.1)
/bin/sh
libpthread.so.0
libstdc++.so.6
libstdc++.so.6(CXXABI_1.3)
libm.so.6
libstdc++.so.6(GLIBCXX_3.4)
libgcc_s.so.1
libgcc_s.so.1(GCC_3.0)
libpthread.so.0(GLIBC_2.0)
libm.so.6(GLIBC_2.0)
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.2)
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.3)
/bin/bash
libstdc++.so.6(GLIBCXX_3.4.9)
libglib-2.0.so.0
libm.so.6(GLIBC_2.1)
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.7)
libstdc++.so.6(GLIBCXX_3.4.11)
libpthread.so.0(GLIBC_2.1)
libX11.so.6
libdl.so.2
libgcc_s.so.1(GLIBC_2.0)
libz.so.1
libdl.so.2(GLIBC_2.0)
libGL.so.1
libdl.so.2(GLIBC_2.1)
libSDL-1.2.so.0
licenses
libpthread.so.0(GLIBC_2.3.2)
libpthread.so.0(GLIBC_2.2)
libasound.so.2
libasound.so.2(ALSA_0.9)
libstdc++.so.6(CXXABI_1.3.1)
libfreetype.so.6
libGLU.so.1
librt.so.1
libpng12.so.0
libXext.so.6
libpng12.so.0(PNG12_0)
libasound.so.2(ALSA_0.9.0rc4)
libfontconfig.so.1
libogg.so.0
libjpeg.so.62
libvorbis.so.0
libSDL_mixer-1.2.so.0
libcurl.so.4
libpython2.6.so.1.0
libSDL_image-1.2.so.0
libmad.so.0
librt.so.1(GLIBC_2.2)
libsamplerate.so.0
libcrypto.so.0.9.8
libsamplerate.so.0(libsamplerate.so.0.0)
libXinerama.so.1
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.8)
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.3.2)
libdbus-1.so.3
libSM.so.6
libsqlite3.so.0
libICE.so.6
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.1.2)
libtiff.so.3
libXt.so.6
libpulse.so.0
libpulse.so.0(PULSE_0)
libfaad.so.2
libbz2.so.1
libXtst.so.6
libssl.so.0.9.8
libXrender.so.1
libGLEW.so.1.5
libXmu.so.6
libXrandr.so.2
libfaac.so.0
libhal.so.1
libmpeg2.so.0
libwavpack.so.1
libcdio.so.10
libcdio.so.10(CDIO_10)
libpcre.so.0
liba52.so.0
libmysqlclient.so.16
libmysqlclient.so.16(libmysqlclient_16)
libdca.so.0
ld-linux.so.2
libfribidi.so.0
libjasper.so.1
libmms.so.0
libavahi-client.so.3
libavahi-common.so.3
libmpeg2convert.so.0
libsmbclient.so.0
libass.so.4
libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.1.1)
libenca.so.0
ld-linux.so.2(GLIBC_2.3)
libhal-storage.so.1
liblzo2.so.2
libasound.so.2(ALSA_0.9.0rc8)
libresolv.so.2
rpmlib(CompressedFileNames) <= 3.0.4-1
rpmlib(PayloadFilesHavePrefix) <= 4.0-1
rpmlib(PayloadIsLzma) <= 4.4.6-1