How do I open a tar file?

[blackdog]

I would like to install mediaserv on my N800. I downloaded its file: mediaserv-0.05.tar.gz. I tried using apt-get install mediaserv but it couldn't find the file. Then I tried using a command I found on the net, namely. $ tar zxf mediaserv-0.05.tar.gz, and it said no such file. Now I'm lost. Can anybody help?

[bac522]

tar zxvf ./mediaserv-0.05.tar.gz

[PinCushionQueen]

Did you store the tarball on an MMC? if so, then you need to add the full path to the file. Also, if you make it zvxf instead of zxf, you will get a "verbose" account of what's happening which might give you more hints as to what the problem is...

[blackdog]

The file is located in "documents" in file manager. I tried entering various path elements and none worked. Can you show me how to enter that? Thanks a lot.

[cyberghost]

then
tar zvxf /home/user/MyDocs/.documents/mediaserv-0.05.tar.gz.
or you can go there and run tar in that dir

[blackdog]

Thanks for the reply. I tried that and got "corrupted octal value in tar header."

[TA-t3]

First of all: I don't know about that mediaserv, but almost everything you would want to install on the internet tablet are available as ".deb" files. The ".tar.gz" files are _usually_ (with a few exceptions) something else, e.g. packed source archives. Isn't there a .deb file for mediaserv?

EDIT: Went over to the mediaserv thread.. so apparently there isn't a .deb for it. Then the .tar.gz is what you want, but the error message you found sounds like you may have downloaded it in ascii mode. Make sure that you download the file in binary mode.

[aflegg]

mediaserv runs on a desktop Linux computer.

Nothing is installed on the tablet: hence no deb.

If anyone has problems getting it to work on a Linux computer, please don't hesitate to shout. But it's not designed (and won't) to work on the tablet itself.

[blackdog]

Well. no wonder...