I'm very new to linux & I'm trying to install the 'make' utility so I can then install further packages... Part of the make install is to run a install_sh script. I can see that the script uses /bin/sh and I have that in my path but the script just wont run. The shell simply doesn't know what to do with it... Any ideas how I can run this script?? Cheers Anthony

what means "it doesnt run" nobody can help you if u dont include more info. what happens? does it say (1)"command not found", or (2)"permission denied" or (3)"invalid interpreter" or (4) something completely different? ad1:try to run it with "./install_sh" reason: "." is not in your PATH and this is good. check your ~/.bashrc (~ stands for your home directory) or ~/.bash_profile for your PATH. the dot stands for the current directory; directories in the PATH variable are being searched whenever you execute a command. ad2: the script is not marked executable. do a "chmod 755 install_sh" and then "./install_sh" ad3: this could mean the partition where the script is is mounted with 'noexec', do a "mount -n -o remount,rw,exec partition (where partition is the desired partition) or just try to type "bash install_sh" ad4: post exactly whats going on

sry, overread that with the path :)

Hi Armin, Sorry on the lack of detail, I was getting returned "install: no input file specified". Probably best I start from scratch & tell you what I am trying to do (rather than give you part of a picture). Ok, I have a very old laptop -a Compaq LTE3500 P133 32MB. I decided to have a crack at setting up the laptop with an old distribution of Caldera Linux (sorry I know I said Mandrake by accident) running release 2.2.14. I thought Id have a go at enabling the infra-red port (for communication via my mobile) so I grabbed IRDA-UTILS (as specified in the Irda-howto). Unfortunately to install this I needed the MAKE utility (which Caldera didn't have) so I downloaded it from GNU ftp site (make-3.79.tar.gz). I've extracted this & are trying to install it (hence the absolute fumbling around with script files). Do you think: A) I should give up with this old distribution Im wasting my time? Bearing in mind Im very new to Linux... or B) Keep going your sort of on the right track. If it's B) Then I'll post more details on the further problems I've experienced with trying to get the MAKE utility installed. Thanks Anthony

i would recommend using debian, since it can fit on 130 MB easily, it also runs on very old hardware

somehow im pushing buttons too fast today :) well, i dont think you will have a lot of success installing irda on such an old distro...a 2.4.x kernel will make installation much easier. debian is known very well for its incredibly sophisticated packaging system and high configurability (you really ONLY install what you really need). i dont know much about caldera but mdk would definitely the wrong choice for your purpose. hth

Thanks for that, I'll have a crack at Debian!