Red Hat Linux 6.2: The Official Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide
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# Error Message While Installing an RPM

## Q: Errors on Software Installation

How do I install an RPM from a CD or the Internet? I keep getting an error message when I use Gnome-RPM.

## A: Having "Permission"

If you're getting the error message similar to "failed to open /var/lib/rpm/packages.rpm" (see Figure 15-2) it's likely due to the your permissions.

When you install software, you're often required to make system-wide changes -- changes which only root can enact. In your user account, permission to make such changes will be unavailable to you by default.

Figure 15-2. An RPM Install Error

Here's a way to install RPMs in your home directory -- so you can work with them in your user account.

1. Open an Xterm window and, at the shell prompt, type su, then your ``rootpassword``.

2. At the prompt -- which should now be a hash mark (`#`) -- type gnorpm to start `Gnome-RPM`.

3. Install or upgrade your package.

4. Exit from `Gnome-RPM` then, to exit from superuser mode, at the shell prompt, type exit.

For more information about RPM and `Gnome-RPM`, refer to the chapters in this guide or, for greater depth, refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide.

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