Post Install F8

Fedora takes some configuration to get certain things working after install. Some of these things are simple things that we often take for granted but that aren't included in Fedora by default because of the Project's licensing restrictions.

Basic yum usage

A more detailed guide on Fedora's Yum utility can be found at the section on Package Management. Here's a crash course. Typically, Yum is used to retrieve and then deploy precompiled binaries from the repositories you have mirrored. Yum's default behavior when updating or installing software is to install and/or update any required dependencies.

This section covers the basics of using yum with the assumption that you are using online mirrors (and thus that you have an active Internet connection - preferably broadband). Please note that third-party repository mixing should be done only with caution - specifically, Livna is not considered compatible with ATRPMs or Freshrpms.

Yum is Fedora's default package manager. yum is used along with RPM to do the bulk of software management in Fedora. yum can be run from the command line with simple syntax. The basic syntax for installing packages with minimal required arguments is:

# yum install <packagename>

If you don't know the exact name of the package you would like to install, you can search the repositories using yum from the command line.

# yum search <search term>

Packages are removed using:

# yum remove <packagename>

Individual packages can be updated using the "update" argument:

# yum update <packagename>

Also, the entire system can be upgraded using a single command:

# yum update

In general, it is preferable to use yum (or rpm) to add or remove software because this will allow you to automatically install and update your software 1) without time-consuming compile jobs and 2) allow you to update your software when updates arrive in the repositories.

Livna Repository

The default Fedora repositories contain base packages for the system, kernel, GNU utilities, utilities borrowed from RedHat, and many other free and open source software packages. For various copyright reasons, certain software is not included in the Fedora repositories. Third party repositories fill this void. It is suggested that new users stick with the Livna repository. To set up Livna, first install the repository and then import the key (as root user):

$ su -
<provide root password>
# rpm -ivh http://web.archive.org/web/20071217193432/http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-8.rpm
# rpm --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-livna

Video Drivers

Livna provides both the official nVIDIA drivers for nVIDIA chipsets as well as fglrx drivers for ATI cards.

nVIDIA

First, ensure that you are updated to the latest kernel:

# yum update kernel

If this pulls in a new kernel, reboot into the newest kernel.

Once rebooted into the newest kernel:

# yum install kmod-nvidia

Once kmod-nvidia has been installed properly, restart X. This can be done with the ctrl-alt-backspace combination (hard restart of X), by logging out and logging back in, or by simply rebooting. (Some users prefer to simply reboot after installing the kmod drivers for good measure.)

fglrx

First, ensure that you are updated to the latest kernel:

# yum update kernel

If this pulls in a new kernel, reboot into the newest kernel.

Once rebooted into the newest kernel:

# yum install kmod-fglrx

Once kmod-fglrx has been installed properly, restart X. This can be done with the ctrl-alt-backspace combination (hard restart of X), by logging out and logging back in, or by simply rebooting. (Some users prefer to simply reboot after installing the kmod drivers for good measure.)

Installing Non-free Codecs

How to install nonfree codecs is easily the most often-asked question by new users to Fedora. Codecs for propriatary formats like mp3 and avi are not included in a Fedora installation, nor do they reside in Fedora's official repositories. For an explanation, see the About Fedora page. Which packages to install depend largely on which media players you are using. If you don't know which music player to use, install them using yum or the Add/Remove Software utility and try as many as you can.

MP3 and other music codecs

Rhythmbox & Banshee

Rhythmbox, Fedora's default music player, uses the Gstreamer backend. Banshee, another music player, also uses the Gstreamer plugins. To install gstreamer plugins:

$ su -
# yum install gstreamer-plugins-bad gstreamer-plugins-ugly gstreamer-plugins-good gstreamer-ffmpeg

XMMS

$ su -
# yum install xmms-mp3

Audacious

Audacious has many plugins for various formats. To install them all at once, use

# su -
# yum install audacious-plugins* --exclude=devel

(As the package argument contains a * wildcard, we wish to exclude any packages including the string "devel." If you want these installed as well, leave off the --exclude option.)

Amarok

With Livna enabled, log in as root and install Amarok's non-free plugins:

$ su -
# yum install amarok-extras-nonfree

Note that Amarok is a KDE-based app. It can be run from GNOME or another graphical environment, but installing amarok will cause yum to download and install much of the KDE environment in order to properly run Amarok.

Video Players

VLC

VLC comes with codecs for most widely-used video and audio formats built-in. For this reason, it is not included in the base Fedora repositories. To install VLC, with Livna enabled:

$ su -
# yum install vlc

Adobe Flash

Adobe provides several methods for installing Flash Player on Fedora. The easiest are to use the rpm or to install using the Adobe yum repository rather than installing from the tarball.

Yum Repository

$ su -
# rpm -ivh http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm
# rpm --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-adobe-linux
# yum install libflashsupport flash-plugin

Note that libflashsupport is needed for proper audio support.

RPM file

Go to the Adobe Flash Player site and download the .rpm file. Once downloaded, log in as root and install the rpm using the rpm command. Note that you either need to give the absolute path of the rpm file or change directory (cd) to the location of the rpm before issuing the rpm command.

$ su -
# cd <path to download directory>
# rpm -ivh flash-plugin*.rpm

Adobe Acroread

Adobe also provides two methods for installing Adobe Reader on Fedora. The easiest are to use the rpm or to install using the Adobe yum repository rather than installing from the tarball.

Yum Repository

$ su -
# rpm -ivh http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm
# rpm --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-adobe-linux
# yum install AdobeReader_enu

RPM file

Visit the Adobe Reader page. Select "Linux" as the operating system and "Linux - x86 (.rpm)" as the File type. Download it to a location of your choice.

$ su -
# cd <path to download directory>
# rpm -ivh AdobeReader_enu*.rpm

Once you install Adobe Reader, you may launch it from the command line with the "acroread" command or from the GNOME menu. On first run, you will have to agree to Adobe's terms and conditions before using Acroread.

Installing other graphical environments

By default, Fedora includes GNOME as its desktop environment (unless you used the KDE installation media). After installation, several desktop environments and standalone standalone Window Managers can be installed.

KDE

The K Desktop environment is a full-fledged desktop environment. It is one of the most popular desktop environments. It includes a full-fledged suite of Office software, various multimedia utilities, an integrated control center, a variety of configuration tools, and other features.

To install KDE on Fedora, if you did not during a DVD installation, use yum's groupinstall functionality. Note that, as KDE is a full-fledged desktop environment with a wide suite of applications, the installation of KDE will require yum to download many packages.

$ su -
# yum groupinstall "K Desktop Environment"

Xfce

Xfce is a desktop environment that aims to be lightweight. It typically takes less system resources than KDE and GNOME while still offering an integrated desktop environment as opposed to a standalone Window Manager like the *box window managers.

To install Xfce on Fedora, use yum's groupinstall functionality.

$ su -
# yum groupinstall "XFCE"

Firefox 3 on Fedora 8

Unfortunately, Firefox 3 will probably not be pushed out to the official Fedora 8 repositories during the life cycle of Fedora 8. Fortunately, a third party repository does exist with builds of Firefox 3 for Fedora 8.

Add Remi Collet's repository:

# rpm -ivh http://web.archive.org/web/20110525130651/http://rpms.famillecollet.com/remi-release-8.rpm

Import the key:

# rpm --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-remi

Finally, update/install Firefox 3. Note that the remi repository is not enabled by default, so call it explicitly when updating Firefox:

# yum --enable remi update firefox

The "old" version of Firefox (2) will also be installed on your system. After installing FF3 from Remi's repository, Firefox 3 will be located at /usr/bin/firefox, and Firefox 2 will be located at /usr/bin/firefox2. The GNOME menu will also have an entry for both versions.

Development Tools

If you want a basic developing environment, run:

$ su -
# yum install gcc binutils glibc-dev

This installs GCC, Binutils and development files for Glibc.