How to install RPM files using Xandros Networks


Caution:  RPM files, (short-hand for Redhat Package Manager), are available from many sources on the web, but not all are safe for installation on Xandros, in fact, many of them will trash your system irreparably, forcing you to reinstall Xandros from Scratch.  As the name implies, RPMs are designed and intended for use on Redhat and Fedora Core Linux, as well as other derivative Distros.  It is a tribute to the flexibility built into Xandros that it can convert this "alien" file format, on the fly, and install it as easily as a native DEB file.  Xandros is a Debian-based distro, and DEB files are always the first choice for installing software.  DEB files handle dependency issues better than do RPMs, and you will generally have a much better experience if you install from a DEB.  Sometimes, however, RPMs are the only version available.  In such cases, you may find a recomendation from a linux wizard such as redrum on the Xandros forums, stating that a particular RPM installs and runs fine on Xandros.  In such cases, you can simply download the RPM file to an easy-to-find location on your hard drive, then:

 

  1. Open Xandros Networks, and wait while it updates the package information. 
  2. Click on the File menu, and select Enter Administrator Mode.  Enter your administrator password when prompted.

      3.  Click the File menu again, and select Install RPM File

       4.  In the File Requester that opens, navigate to your downloaded RPM file, click it once to select it, then click Open.

 

 

 

       5.  Wait while Xandros Networks converts the file to a DEB and installs it.  Once the install has completed, exit Xandros Networks, and you are done!

 

 

 

Notice:  As is sometimes the case with DEB files, an RPM file may not create a menu entry and/or a desktop icon automatically when installed.  If, after you have installed an RPM file, you can find no menu entry or icon for it, you may have to create them yourself.  For instructions on how to do so, see this wiki article:   How to use Menu Editor (Add or Remove Applications)