[SOLVED]Cannot install programs

H.Delbrook · 2008-11-07 14:27:31

I really need help.

I'm getting very upset with myself as I can't install any application. I've tried the Wiki and AUR with no luck.
I'm using LXDE with PCManfm

I need to install some kind of text editor and hopefully a torrent client.
I don't know how to search the community repository effectively as the wiki has very little information on it. When I use pacman -Ss package, the result scrolls so fast, that I only get the last screenful.
If I use <SHIFT>+<PageUp>, I can only go maybe 3 screens up before I run out of 'history'.

Is there a way of pausing (waiting for a keypress) for listings like this (ls and dir as well)?

I've tried AUR and downloaded rtorrent but it won't install no matter how I use pacman -U, either as root or user.
How can I list and find applications that can be installed?
What exact syntax should I use to install downloaded tar.gz files?
Where do I get them from? Why is this so hard?

Last edited by H.Delbrook (2008-11-08 10:27:05)

mentallaxative · 2008-11-07 14:38:16

I personally never search the repositories with pacman -Ss. I find it easier and faster to search through the website. Having said that, you might try piping your search into less to be able to scroll through it: " pacman -Ss nameofsomething | less ".

Have you enabled the community repository to /etc/pacman.conf ? If so, you can install rtorrent from it simply by typing "pacman -Sy rtorrent".

I understand your frustration--the AUR was rather confusing for me at the start. Persevere and it will all make sense.

skymt · 2008-11-07 14:45:27

H.Delbrook wrote:

Is there a way of pausing (waiting for a keypress) for listings like this (ls and dir as well)?

Pipe the output to the 'less' command. For example:

pacman -Ss package | less

That will give you a nice listing you can scroll up and down in using the arrow keys.

H.Delbrook wrote:

I've tried AUR and downloaded rtorrent but it won't install no matter how I use pacman -U, either as root or user.
How can I list and find applications that can be installed?

You answered your own question: pacman -Ss should work for finding package names. There's also a nice web interface for packages in core and extra, and the AUR can be used to find packages in community. Installing any package from core/extra/community should be as easy as "pacman -S packagename".

H.Delbrook wrote:

What exact syntax should I use to install downloaded tar.gz files?
Where do I get them from?

That depends. If you have a .pkg.tar.gz file, you can simply run pacman -U filename. If you have a .tar.gz file (not .pkg.tar.gz) that you downloaded from the AUR, you have a PKGBUILD (a set of instructions for building an Arch package from source). Extract it ("tar xzf package.tar.gz"), enter the new directory ("cd package"), run "makepkg", wait, and install the new package ("pacman -U package-version.pkg.tar.gz").

H.Delbrook wrote:

Why is this so hard?

Did you read the Beginner's Guide? If not, that's why.

H.Delbrook · 2008-11-07 14:53:25

Thanks for the quick reply.
I've enabled the repositories and thank you for the rtorrent example.

I'm giving it another go.

H.Delbrook · 2008-11-07 15:36:02

OK I've downloaded rtorrent and then ted (text editor) using pacman rtorrent packman ted and rebooted, but I can't find them.
I'm pretty sure they've installed, but they are nowhere to be seen via the file manager or desktop. They are not in the applications pop-up of lxde.
Anyone know how to install them somehow onto the desktop or applications list?
Thanks

H.Delbrook · 2008-11-07 15:51:11

To skymt.

I did read the beginner's guide as well as the official guide and many other wiki pages, how-to and other helpful sites. Spent hours on it actually
There were lots of 'WTF does that mean' moments.
It's the mind-set I'm having difficulty grasping. If you follow the beginner's guide, even though it is very well written, there are some things missing.
If I get proficient with this, I'll recommend some procedural additions in the relevant discussion pages.
In the mean time, I really want to install a text editor.

skottish · 2008-11-07 15:56:21

Welcome to the forums H.Delbrook.

Stuff like rtorrent isn't going to show up in the menus by default because it's ncurses base, which is to say, it's a program that runs in a terminal. You can create a launcher for it, but if your looking for a "standard" GUI program this isn't the right one. I understand that transmission is good (I don't use torrent), so installing transmission-gtk may be a good option.

If you're looking for simple, lightweight, and powerful text editor, I would go with either scite or geany (with the plug-ins from AUR). scite is currently more powerful "out of the box" than geany, but it's a little weird getting it set up correctly.

Misfit138 · 2008-11-07 16:21:49

H.Delbrook wrote:

To skymt.
I did read the beginner's guide as well as the official guide and many other wiki pages, how-to and other helpful sites. Spent hours on it actually
There were lots of 'WTF does that mean' moments.
It's the mind-set I'm having difficulty grasping. If you follow the beginner's guide, even though it is very well written, there are some things missing.
If I get proficient with this, I'll recommend some procedural additions in the relevant discussion pages...(

I have heard this once or twice before in the past. Unfortunately, those who complained that the Beginners' Guide was lacking took off and never gave details as to what they thought was amiss.
Would you mind elaborating?

byte · 2008-11-07 16:43:58

I can see where this is going, but you really have to draw a line somewhere. It's not unfair to expect at least a minimal set of hardware knowledge and basic Unix proficiency, like navigating/modifying the filesystem, using $PAGER/$EDITOR, knowing about --help and manpages... stuff like that.

H.Delbrook · 2008-11-08 02:36:01

Thanks for your reply(s).
I'm NOT giving up and I will make a perfectly functional Archlinux system. That's why I chose it, to learn. Most other distros are 'set and forget' and that wasn't for me.
Unfortunately, I'm learning about the filesystems, permissions, root/user and a pile of other stuff at the same time!
Also there were lots of problems that I solved without resorting to this forum. I only used this when something obvious just didn't work.
For example: Apps with ncurses base doesn't appear on a menu/desktop? That's a bit much to expect for a newbie to know.

As for the Wiki - There should have been a link or a quick explanation of how to use nano to alter rc.conf. I'll do it if no-one else does.
-------------------
In case you're interested:
+ Setup static ip, gateway etc np! - although the worked example in the Beginner's Guide using 'banana' needs a newbie comment.
* I struck the pacman update issue very early on that caused errors updating /extra. Fixed that.
* Audio installed but no sound - Fixed by installing alsa-oss
* Errors on X11 (font path issues) - still unresolved but I've a working Lxde which I stuffed up and currently looking for a fix. (minimized windows just 'disappear' ' - I need to revert the taskbar panel to default and the config file I found on Lxde's wiki, copied and pasted into global config just made me lose my folder icons.
* No Cdrom in the filemanager? Fixed by installing HAL
+ Firefox 3.0.0.3-1 runs well
+ installed Java (Jre), Flash 10 and some extensions
+ Transmission-glt is working
+ Leafpad is working (and doesn't get installed with lxde which should be mentioned in the wiki)
+ OO3 downloaded last night (I've only got a 128k connection). It's very good.
* I can get to root while the desktop is up through a terminal, but can't get a new workspace! Lxde's Alt-F1, F2, F3 happen to remap Archlinux Alt-Fn keys. <sigh>
------------------------
Frustrating bits:
Did you know that you have to press 'Q' to exit a man page? I had to swap workspaces to finish the install. Then I searched the net until I found an old 'how to' on manpages!
I'm operating the system OK, but I fear that I'm generally doing things the long way and the wrong way. I want to be able to fast-track that aspect somehow.
--------------------------------------
To Do:
I need to connect to my printer/scanner/server on a Windows XP network. Do I do this manually or via samba?

Thanks

Hans

creslin · 2008-11-08 03:14:02

H.Delbrook wrote:

As for the Wiki - There should have been a link or a quick explanation of how to use nano to alter rc.conf. I'll do it if no-one else does.

The "Beginner's Guide" is a new-to-Arch guide, not a new-to-linux guide. For those who don't know how to edit a file with nano, either 1) they'll be resourceful enough to figure it out themselves/elsewhere (as you did) or 2) Arch is not for them. As byte said, the line has to be drawn somewhere, and something this basic really shouldn't be added to the guide in my opinion.

Last edited by creslin (2008-11-08 04:45:28)

Jickel · 2008-12-01 20:22:17

Just like H. Delbrook Arch was my very first foray into the world of Unix-like operating systems, apart from having had a go at Ubuntu and Puppy Linux which required nearly no command line usage at all. Arch was a veritable crash course for me, and I found it to be a both fun and extremely efficient way to learn the Unix/GNU-Linux basics (and the not so basics... I had to dig into kernel compiling to get what I wanted out of the custom kernel for the Eee).

In light of that, I guess making the beginner guide even more newbie-friendly could be an idea, though I'd also say that having to find your own answers to certain thing that have been "left out" might actually help you learn better.

voteforpedro36 · 2008-12-01 21:43:04

H.Delbrook wrote:

* I can get to root while the desktop is up through a terminal, but can't get a new workspace! Lxde's Alt-F1, F2, F3 happen to remap Archlinux Alt-Fn keys. <sigh>
Hans

Alt-Fn goes to workspace in LXDE, Ctrl-Alt-Fn switches to another tty.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-11-07 14:27:31

[SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#2 2008-11-07 14:38:16

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#3 2008-11-07 14:45:27

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#4 2008-11-07 14:53:25

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#5 2008-11-07 15:36:02

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#6 2008-11-07 15:51:11

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#7 2008-11-07 15:56:21

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#8 2008-11-07 16:21:49

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#9 2008-11-07 16:43:58

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#10 2008-11-08 02:36:01

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#11 2008-11-08 03:14:02

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#12 2008-12-01 20:22:17

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

#13 2008-12-01 21:43:04

Re: [SOLVED]Cannot install programs

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