so, i came across an rpm for pidgin 2.5.1 and i downloaded it. i run it and it shows the installer and then nothing happens. its odd becasue the Virtual Box rpm and Crossover Linux rpm’s installed fine, but pidgin doesnt.
i tried to remove the old pigin and broke my install. i have since reinstalled opensuse, and i am scared i will break it again.
this is a learning thing for me becasue i used ubuntu for a month and opensuse is much better - but also a whole lot different.
so, i came across an rpm for pidgin 2.5.1 and i downloaded it. i run it and it shows the installer and then nothing happens.
“came across” is not good enough - where did you download it? it would be a good thing to get it from the repositories…
“run it” - that would mean install - with what? did it actually install, i could guess there was an error and it did not install… a good option is always “update” to avoid having a double install.
i tried to remove the old pigin and broke my install
this should never happen if carefully you try to solve the problems that yast (btw, do you use yast or a different package manager?) and help it solve the dependencies it can not solve.
i have since reinstalled opensuse, and i am scared i will break it again.
i think you were a little bit hasty with re-install… it might be the easiest way like “windows needs a fresh install” but trying to solve the problems will help you learn more. do not be afraid if you break it - it is always ‘fixable’, just be careful to back up your data first. after all, a fresh install it’s not that time-consuming compared to a windows install at least comparing the reboots needed.
this is a learning thing for me becasue i used ubuntu for a month and opensuse is much better - but also a whole lot different.
welcome to opensuse! my experience with ubuntu is related to installation and configuration for some older computer of some older colleagues of mine - it has some pros and cons I think but personally I like SuSE since it’s first version though my first linux experience was with RH.
One tip: don’t rush into “learning by doing clicks” like with windows, take your time to read something about it - e.g. Concepts - openSUSE
With a little browsing you will get to “Software repositories” much similar to Ubuntu’s apt-get sources.
And finally, a bit of mouth-spooning since pidgin is my favorite multi-client: for linux I always use Anubisg1’s repository since that one always has the newest version. Read on the wiki how to add software repositories or use Software.openSUSE.org to find the address (one note - I had once issues regarding GTK libraries with GNOME one but they solved after some time).
Again welcome to openSUSE and good luck.
thanks for the warm welcome! My post this morning wasnt terribly informative seeing as i had just woke up and got to work.
here is the link i found the RPM at
RPM Search pidgin-2.5.1-2.1.x86_64.rpm
and when i say “ran it” i meant that i just double clicked the rpm. That Yast window comes up like it did for virtual box but then it just disappears…no output, no errors.
however, if adding that repository just for the pidgin and then removing it, would that be workable?
you’re right, i probably didnt need to reinstall everything but one of my favorite things about linux has been that an install takes about 25 minutes instead of 6 hours with windows, so a reinstall is really easy. and with my limited knowledge so far, a reinstall is a lot faster than a fix for now.
as for ubuntu… i liked it, hell i REALLY liked it, but i just spent too much time manually doing things. for example, power management is terrible and my tablet pc is impossible to activate. in opensuse, i just clicked a few buttons and that was it.
EDIT : Also, i have been an IT admin/manager for windows for the past 8 years, so Linux is a whole new way of thinking. I love it so far but its been quite the learning curve.
I just tried the one-click install for Pidgin from the Anubisg1 repository: http://software.opensuse.org/ymp/home:anubisg1/openSUSE_11.0/pidgin.ymp, and received an error from Yast along the lines of ‘no widget with id `progress_replace_point’.
I was wondering though, why isn’t this in the official openSUSE repositories yet?
zoomy942 wrote:
> and when i say “ran it” i meant that i just double clicked the rpm.
> That Yast window comes up like it did for virtual box but then it just
> disappears…no output, no errors.
that is because you need to try to get out of the double click to
‘run’ stuff…'cause … well, because that don’t work with .rpm’s
for sure…
however there are several ways that do work…the one i prefer (using
KDE3) is:
but, a MUCH better way is to NOT download the rpm in the first
place…instead, open YaST (give root pass) and click Software (on
left) > Software Management (on right) … wait until the whir and
clicks stop and the popped up window is still … then on the left,
in the “Search” box/blank type what you are looking for, in this case
“pidgin” and click the ‘Search’ button…
i just did that here and see i have three items installed:
pidgin
pidgin-bot-sentry (to prevent IM spam)
pidgin-bot.sentry-lang (to prevent IM spam)
but, mine is version 2.1.1-13 (but i’m behind on everything [and
often more stable because of it])
> EDIT : Also, i have been an IT admin/manager for windows for the past 8
> years, so Linux is a whole new way of thinking. I love it so far but
> its been quite the learning curve.
yep…it is probably time for you to read these three things:
welcome…you will REALLY love it, the more you know it…
–
see caveat: http://tinyurl.com/6aagco
DenverD (Linux Counter 282315) via NNTP, Thunderbird 2.0.0.14, KDE
3.5.7, SUSE Linux 10.3, 2.6.22.18-0.2-default #1 SMP i686 athlon
thanks for those links! I have them up in tabs and reading later on today.
As for pidgin - once i add that repository with the updated pidgin, so go into Yast and update that way correct?
Try the one click links beside the pidgin 2.5.1 packages.
> As for pidgin - once i add that repository with the updated pidgin, so
> go into Yast and update that way correct?
Benjamin_Xiao answer is a perfectly good one…
but it is not the way i would do it…see, open source software
means a lot more than just “free software” it mean software FREEDOM…
usually lots of stuff to FREELY choose from…
try lots of things and see which you like the best…
i prefer to use the right click to “Install with YaST” because in
the end YaST “knows” which version you have installed AND where all
the bits are, and it ‘knows’ how to delete it, all…
so, there are two ways (YaST and one click)…there are others…for
example:
rpm -Uvh filename.rpm
will upgrade a package, and the other switches are available in the
manual…all manuals available from a terminal, this one found by:
man rpm
that is three ways, another is use to use zypper…
or, you could use smart…
and, there are other ways…most are touched on in a sub section of
one of the tabs now open in you browser…
the one that says Concepts - OpenSUSE
again welcome…
–
see caveat: http://tinyurl.com/6aagco
DenverD (Linux Counter 282315) via NNTP, Thunderbird 2.0.0.14, KDE
3.5.7, SUSE Linux 10.3, 2.6.22.18-0.2-default #1 SMP i686 athlon
The reason why I suggested the one click links was that he was most likely missing some dependencies which was causing the installer to fail. The one click adds repos in one go and I thought it was a bit easier.
> The one click adds repos in one go and I thought it was a bit
> easier.
hey, didn’t realize the repo add was automatic…thanks…i may start
using that more often…
i only used it once and found that “one click” was actually nearer 6
or more:
Do you want to add these repositories?
click
Are you SURE you want to add these repositories?
click
This will change your system, do you REALLY wanna change your system?
click
etc
etc
etc
–
DenverD (Linux Counter 282315) via NNTP, Thunderbird 2.0.0.14, KDE
3.5.7, SUSE Linux 10.3, 2.6.22.18-0.2-default #1 SMP i686 athlon