Q&A: Linux founder Linus Torvalds talks about open-source identity

Looks like the medibuntu repository has not been setup correctly. If you start "System->Administration->Software Sources" do you see a line like "http://packages.medibuntu.org intrepid free non-free" in the "Third Party Software" tab? Both w32codecs and libdvdcss2 should be visible in the package manager if medibuntu repository is setup correctly.

Btw, for most media it is not necessary to install w32codecs since the ffmpeg codecs can play them fine (installing "ubuntu-restricted-extras" should do) which is probably media is playing without w32codecs being installed.

Of course, you also need to refresh the repository information (using Reload in synaptic or sudo apt-get update).

Quoting:Looks like the medibuntu repository has not been setup correctly. If you start "System->Administration->Software Sources" do you see a line like "http://packages.medibuntu.org intrepid free non-free" in the "Third Party Software" tab?

Emphatically, yes.

Quoting:Of course, you also need to refresh the repository information

I've done this several times.

TA, Sounds like you have some kind of package database problem to me. What output do you get if you try

sudo apt-get install w32codecs

That command will tell you if apt-get thinks the package is installed or not

Also try looking at the bottom of the file

/var/log/dpkg.log There might be some interesting error messages.

Yah, well... in Mandriva, setting up the PLF repository is a matter of going to http://easyurpmi.zarb.org/ and clicking on the link to add the repo. It prompts you for a password, and voila.

Feel free to argue what bad security practise this is for new users, but it's no worse than letting people cut and paste sudo commands into terminals.

Whats one of the things holding desktop Linux back? Not that if it's easy or hard to get your multimedia working, it's that you have to do it at all. Use a distro that either A: isn't based in a country that doesn't subscribe the the US's anti-consumer laws, or B: a distro that doesn't pander to the same anti-consumer laws.

Those distro's do exist.

My last computer purchase was just about 1 year ago (Feb. '08).

A laptop with Linux pre-installed. It came with the ability to play encrypted DVD's, thanks to the OEM who included a licensed version of LinDVD.

For the ability to play other media, I had to enable the restricted drivers checkbox. These are codec that are free as in beer, but are not re-distributable like real honest to goodness software (GPL, BSD, etc).

It is a Dell 1420n.

I would prefer a more realistic solution, but OEM's are providing what the consumer demands. Just keep growing the numbers and the codecs and drivers will follow to fill the demand. It is not a technical issue.

@montezuma: The CODECs are installed. I can play WMAs MP3s and whatch encrypeted movies. Synaptic just doesn't know that they exist at all.

Quoting:The CODECs are installed. I can play WMAs MP3s and whatch encrypeted movies. Synaptic just doesn't know that they exist at all.

So the system brought them in NOT as .deb packages but just dumped the executables in the appropriate directories ... or as browser plugins? It's all too confusing.

I don't Know about how they were brought in. I did the usual Ubuntu sudo apt-get etc (from instructions at Ubuntu help pages). dance in the command line, and the commandline feed back told me I was installing .deb packages. The repositories are listing as selected in Synaptic, but a search for the packages using w32 or win32 doesn't reveal any win32 codecs, and for libdvdcss using libdvd doesn't reveal any package for libdvdcss.

tracyanne I think you accidentally installed the kooky kangaroo version of Ubuntu.

When I search for libdvd it brings up libdvdcss2, but I don't have the mediabuntu? repository enabled... I don't know if I have the win32 codecs or something else installed but I am able to play media files, synaptic doesn't find win32 codecs at all for me either.

@theboomboomcars: on debian systems it's usually w32

TA,

So what does sudo apt-get install w32codecs give?

Usually synaptic just acts as a gui frontend to apt-get so to get to the bottom of the problem use the cli i.e. apt-get

From the Ubuntu Pocket Guide:

If software needs additional packages to be installed, it is said to depend on the other packages. If the dependency packages aren’t installed, the software just won’t work. In fact, you won’t even be allowed to install the software. APT’s job is to take care of dependencies, and it does so automatically and largely invisibly. It is aware of what a particular package requires and will automatically add any necessary packages to the tally for download and installation from the repositories.

My guess is that win32 codecs and libdvd2 were dependencies of Mediabuntu

@montezuma: it installs the CODECs, like I said before. I also can't find PlayOnLinux via Synaptic, even though i have the repository for it installed, but PlayOnLinux most definately did install after i did the sudo apt-get install playonlinux dance in the command line.

> I also can't find PlayOnLinux via Synaptic, even though i have the repository for it installed, but PlayOnLinux most definately did install after i did the sudo apt-get install playonlinux dance in the command line.

If apt-get is working but Synaptic isn't, then it sounds like Synaptic is broken somehow. Yeah, Private Obvious here at your service. Now if I could tell you how it might be broken, then we'd be getting somewhere, :(

Please forgive me, but Tracy's issues with Ubuntu are EXACTLY why I used it for about a week. I don't think I ever got all, if any, of the win32 codecs to work like they should. And it took me a week to get it to that point. I got tired of not being able to see and hear anything and moved on..

Not to mention my Ubuntu Bane, no separate, real, actual, root login like every other Linux distro has...

That still kicks me in the pants.

TA,

Did some reading. There are two search options on synaptic. One is Quick Search which has the text box on the menubar. The other is the regular Search button to the right of Quick Search. I always use the second one. Apparently it has the same database as apt but Quick Search has a different database to apt. Try using the regular search......

This change to Quick Search was made in Debian last year sometime and is now in Ubuntu...

@monte: Oh.....

Scott, Root login is not set up by default but its easy to do and you can set it up for root login from the regular login screen.

Assign a root password To be able to log in as root directly, you must assign a root password. This can be done with: sudo passwd root Afterwards, you can use su to get a root prompt. You would then use the root password.

In Gnome: System>Administration>Login Window>Security>check the Allow Local System Administrator Login

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Intrepid