Newbie stupidity

[New Fedora User]

Scratching my head...obviously I missed something somewhere when I was installing FC6 last night.

I could've sworn I set myself as the administrator, but it's telling me now that I don't have permissions to place files in the bin filder.

I'm trying to figure out how to install a program that I downloaded offline, specifically RealPlayer 10. As you can see, I'm totally new to Fedora, and Linux altogether. So far, I'm really liking it.

[JN4OldSchool]

This isnt like Windows. When you were in anaconda before the actual install you were asked a root password. This is your administrator account. You can either log in as

user: root (the actual word "root" here!)
password: YOUR ROOT PASSWORD

EDIT: I am also obligated to put in the warning disclaimer here- You do not want to preform day to day operations in the root account! In fact, I wouldnt even come into this account unless I had to, then I would get back out as fast as possible. Another little trick I do is set my wallpaper in this root account to a bright red. This is a constant reminder I am root and should be very very careful!

or, while using your user account (the one under your name) you can open a terminal and type:

$ su -
password: YOUR ROOT PASSWORD
#

the pound sign shows you are now root. You can also set up a sudo link like ubuntu if you prefer that.

[Seve]

Hello;
Welcome
If you are new then please take a few minutes to read through here:
http://www.fedorafaq.org/basics/
and
http://easylinux.info/wiki/Fedora_fc5
which is a well written guide to get you off the the right foot

Edit: Sorry JN4, didn't mean to post over ....
Seve

[thedude]

Originally Posted by New Fedora User

Scratching my head...obviously I missed something somewhere when I was installing FC6 last night.

I could've sworn I set myself as the administrator, but it's telling me now that I don't have permissions to place files in the bin filder.

I'm trying to figure out how to install a program that I downloaded offline, specifically RealPlayer 10. As you can see, I'm totally new to Fedora, and Linux altogether. So far, I'm really liking it.

I've been using Stanton Finley's How to Guide here http://stanton-finley.net/fedora_cor...ion_notes.html to setup my fc6, just make the few changes for fc6. Some of the apps you may have to download from the source.

[JN4OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Seve

Hello;
Welcome
If you are new then please take a few minutes to read through here:
http://www.fedorafaq.org/basics/
and
http://easylinux.info/wiki/Fedora_fc5
which is a well written guide to get you off the the right foot

Edit: Sorry JN4, didn't mean to post over ....
Seve

No problem Seve, very important info! In fact, you should really bone up on much of this stuff before you attempt it. For instance, you dont download and install programs like you would in Windows. Use yum and yumex for as much as possible, straight RPMs from reputable places such as sourceforge if you have to and compile only as a last resort. In addition to The Dude's link (wich is invaluable material and though written for FC5 will mostly work for FC6) you should also check out:
http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/mjm-fedora-fc6.html

And browse this forum before you jump into anything also. We have a search function that is passable if you keep it to one or two keywords.

[New Fedora User]

Ok. If i'm reading correctly, I should be able to log in as root and use the yum install command to install a program. I'm typing it like this:

yum install RealPlayerGOLD.bin

It looks like it's about to install, then says there's no argument for that and there's nothing to do. I'm learning slowly, I know. But, what am I doing wrong???

[Dies]

Yum is used for installing rpm's so that's why you're getting that error.

To install .bin files type ./<Name of File> or sh <Name of File> in the directory where you have the file.
So if you DL'ed RealPlayer to your desktop open a terminal and type cd Desktop then type chmod a+x RealPlayer* ( this is to make sure the file is executable ) and finally ./RealPlayer*.

If you want to install rpm files that you DL'ed just double click them.

But rule of thumb always check the README or INSTALL file for whatever it is you're trying to install.
If my instructions for RealPlayer aren't clear the ones on their website are a lot nicer.

[New Fedora User]

Ok, well that makes things a whole lot easier. I had the RPM, but I had no idea I could install it that easily. I guess i'll just get the RPM from now on whenever possible.