Q When I try to install w32codec on SUSE 10.1, I get messages like
'Transaction failed: Package transaction failed: Can not find resolvable w32codec-all 20060611-0.pm.0'
or
'2006-06-03 08:55:00 w32codec-all- 20060501-0.pm.0.i586.rpm install failed rpm output: error: unpacking of archive failed on file /usr/lib/codecs: cpio: rename failed - Is a directory'
What should I do so I can see video files?
A You don't say where you obtained the w32codec package - it could be that the file you downloaded was corrupt, or that it is not compatible with SUSE 10.1. The safest way to install the Win32 codecs, and any other software, is through Yast. The default Yast setup only includes the installation discs and may be an update repository, so the first step is to add extra software sources. Run Yast and select Installation Source in the Software section; click on Add and pick HTTP from the menu that pops up. Now type
packman.unixheads.com/suse/10.1
in the Server Name, press OK and click on Finish. This adds the Packman repository, which contains such goodies as the Win32 codec files. You can also add the main SUSE repositories for both free and non-free packages (the latter are excluded from OpenSUSE discs) with mirrors. kernel.org/opensuse/distribution/SL-10.1/inst-source and mirrors.kernel.org/opensuse/distribution/SL-10.1/non-oss-inst-source. Now you can go into the installation section of Yast and install w32codecs-all. This will enable you to play various video file formats, but you will still be unable to watch copy-protected DVDs - the Xine libraries provided with SUSE OSS (OpenSUSE) do not have support for libdvdcss, needed to decrypt protected DVDs. As you have added the Packman repository to Yast, an update should take care of this, but you also need to install libdvdcss, so open a terminal as root and type
yast --install http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.9/rpm/libdvdcss2-1.2.9-1.i386.rpm
For more information on extending SUSE OSS 10.1 by adding the missing, but useful, non-free parts, see the Jem Report at www.thejemreport.com/mambo/content/view/254.