# Installation instructions

These are the generic installation instructions for the K Desktop Environment. Please complement your reading with the `README`s and `INSTALL`s that come along with the package. Please read them carefully and try to help yourself out if anything goes wrong. If you need further assistance, consider joining the &kde; mailing lists (see our web site instructions for joining the &kde; mailing lists) or newsgroups.

To the would-be converts

So you have heard the rumors. Or you have seen the screenshots. And you are dying to get hold of &kde;. But you know next to nothing about this whole alternative OS business. Don't worry! You only need to do some (well, maybe not some) reading, that's all!

&kde; does not run on any version of &Microsoft; &Windows; or OS/2 (yet). To run &kde;, you need to have a &UNIX; system. Please refer to for more details.

Decide on a platform and set it up for your system. This FAQ can not help you with this, since &kde; runs on many &UNIX; platforms.

Finally, you are ready to commence the &kde; installation. Please start reading from the next section. To get &kde;, please refer to . Last but not least, if you encounter any problems while installing &kde;, please do not hesitate to make use of the &kde; mailing lists and newsgroups. But do bear this in mind: no question is too silly to ask, but some are too silly to answer, especially when they are already answered in this FAQ.

Good luck and have fun!

What kind of hardware do I need to run &kde; ?

To run &kde; it is recommended that you have at least a pentium II processor, 64MB of memory and 500MB of free disk space for a basic installation. While &kde; may run on slower configurations than this, performance can be severely impaired. Generally, if your computer runs an &X-Server; already with other desktop environments or window managers it's probably fast enough to run &kde;.

Available package formats

You can find several kinds of binary and source packages for different distributions and operating systems on the &kde-ftp;. The binary packages are not made by the &kde; Team, but by the distributors themselves, or some dedicated individuals. Please refer to &kde; Package Policy Explained for information about the &kde; Package Policy. The only official release is the source tar.bz2 packages. Please refer to the `README`s and `INSTALL`s in the several binaries folders. For a list of the available packages for a release, refer to the relevant info page. For the latest release this is the &kde; 3.4.1 Info Page.

Prerequisites

For &kde; 3.4.1, you need the &Qt; library version 3.3 or greater. Please make sure you download the correct &Qt;. You will also need the header files, if you want to compile &kde; yourself. They are all available, at no cost, from http://www.trolltech.com/download. In addition, there are optional libraries that might improve &kde; if installed on your system. An example is OpenSSL which will enable &konqueror; to browse web pages securely and is needed in a version >=0.9.6. These should be provided by your distributor; if not, ask for an update.

Description of the base packages

The base distribution currently consists of twenty packages. Some are required, while others are optional. Each package is available in each of the aforementioned package formats.

kdelibs

  Required

  This package contains shared libraries that are needed by all &kde; applications.

kdebase

  Required

  This package contains the base applications that form the core of the K Desktop Environment like the window manager, the terminal emulator, the control center, the file manager, and the panel.

&arts;

  Required

  The &arts; sound server. A powerful, network transparent sound server.

kdeaddons

  Optional

  Various plugins for &kate;, &kicker;, &knewsticker;, &konqueror; and &noatun;

kdeartwork

  Optional

  Additional wallpapers, themes, styles, sounds ...

kdebindings

  Optional

  Various bindings for other languages, including &Java;, Perl, Python, ...

kdegames

  Optional

  Various games like &kmahjongg;, &ksnake;, &kasteroids;, and &kpatience;.

kdegraphics

  Optional

  Various graphics-related programs like &PostScript; previewer, &DVI; previewer, and a drawing program.

kdeutils

  Optional

  Various desktop tools like a calculator, an editor and other nifty stuff.

kdemultimedia

  Optional

  Multimedia applications like a &CD; player and a mixer.

kdenetwork

  Optional

  Network applications. Currently contains the instant messaging client &kopete;, the download manager &kget;, and several other network-related programs.

kdepim

  Optional

  Personal information management tools. Contains the email client &kmail;, the newsreader &knode; and other related programs.

kdeadmin

  Optional

  System administration programs.

kdeedu

  Optional

  Educational and entertaining applications for &kde;'s younger users.

kdeaccessibility

  Optional

  KDE accessibility programs such as a screen magnifier and speech synthesizer front end.

kdetoys

  Optional

  Toys!

kdevelop

  Optional

  A complete Integrated Development Environment for &kde; and Qt

kdewebdev

  Optional

  Web development applications. Contains such applications as &quanta;, an integrated web development environment and other applications useful in web development

kdesdk

  Optional

  KDE Software Development Kit. Contains a collection of applications and tools used by KDE Developers.

&arts; and then kdelibs should be installed before everything else, and kdeaddons last. The other packages can be installed in any arbitrary order.

Most package management tools will let you put all these packages in one folder and install them all at once, figuring out the dependencies as they go.

Installation instructions for the different package formats

Please do not forget to read the `README` and `INSTALL` files if they are available.

Installation of the Debian packages

  The Debian packages install in accordance with the upcoming FHS (File Hierarchy Standard).

  1. become superuser

  2. run `dpkg `-i packagename.deb`` for every package you want to install.

Installation of the RPM packages

  ## To install binary RPMs

  1. become superuser

  2. execute `rpm `-ivh packagename.rpm``

Installation of the source `.tar.bz2` files

  Since there are always changes and updates to the way &kde; is compiled, please refer to Download and Install from Source for the most up to date installation instructions for the source packages.

  The general approach should work in most cases though.

  The source `.tar.bz2` package installs into `/usr/local/kde` by default. You can override this setting by using the `--prefix` option of the `configure` script.

  1. unpack the packages with `tar `jxvf packagename.tar.bz2``

  2. change folder to the package folder: `cd packagename`

  3. configure the package: `./configure`

     Some packages (notably kdebase) have special configuration options that might be applicable to your installation. Type `./configure `--help`` to see the available options.

  4. build the package: `make`

  5. install the package: `su `-c "make install"`` (if you aren't already root). If you already are, just type `make `install``.

Post-installation procedures

First of all, please make sure that you have added &kde;'s binary installation folder (&eg; `/usr/local/kde/bin`) to your `PATH` and &kde;'s library installation folder to your `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` (only necessary on systems that do not support rpath; on &Linux; &ELF;, it should work without). This environment variable may be called differently on some systems, &eg; it is called `SHLIB_PATH` on &IRIX;. Then set the environment variable `KDEDIR` to the base of your &kde; tree, &eg; `/usr/local/kde`.

Please bear in mind that it is unwise to set `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` blindly. In the vast majority of cases it is unnecessary and can do more harm than good. There is a web page written by Dave Barr explaining the evils of `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` and it can be found at http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~barr/ldpath.html.

Even though you can use most of the &kde; applications simply by calling them, you can only benefit fully from &kde;'s advanced features if you use the &kde; window manager and its helper programs.

In order to make it easy for you, we have provided a simple script called `startkde` which gets installed in `$`KDEDIR`/bin` and is therefore in your path.

Edit the file `.xinitrc` in your home folder (make a backup copy first!), remove everything that looks like calling a window manager, and insert `startkde` instead. Restart the &X-Server;. If you use &kdm;/xdm, you will have to edit the file `.xsession` instead of `.xinitrc`. And if there is no `.xinitrc` or `.xsession` in your home folder, simply create a new one with just one line containing `startkde`.

Some systems (notably &RedHat; &Linux;) use `.Xclients` instead.

This should present you with a new shining &kde; desktop. You can now start to explore the wonderful world of &kde;. In case you want to read some documentation first, there is a highly recommended Quick Start guide available. Furthermore, every application has an online help that is available via the help menu.

Should I remove old version xyz before installing a new one?

In principle, this is not necessary. RPM and Debian packages should take care of all dependencies.

If you compile the source code yourself, you should take more care. Instructions for running two different versions of &kde; on the same system are given at http://developer.kde.org/build/kde2-and-kde3.html. However, please note that running two different versions of &kde; from source can lead to problems if you are not careful.

How do I start &kde;?

The most comfortable method to start &kde; is to use the `startkde` script. Simply put the line `startkde` at the end of your `.xsession` file (or your `.xinitrc` or `.Xclients` file if you are not using &kdm; or xdm). Please also remove the lines that start your previous window manager. If there is no `.xsession`, `.xinitrc`, or `.Xclients` in your home folder, simply create a new one that contains just one line: `startkde`.

Is it possible to install &kde; in my home directory?

Yes, you can install &kde; in any folder you want. What you have to do depends on the kind of packages you want to install:

## Source packages

1. Configure and install the package using `configure `--prefix=/home/me`; make; make install` to install into `/home/me`. Replace /home/me with your home directory, generally defined in `$HOME`

2. Add the following to your init files. Please note that if it is not necessary for you to set `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`, it is better to leave it out.

   For csh or tcsh:

       setenv KDEDIR /home/me

       if ( $?LD_LIBRARY_PATH ) then
          setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH $KDEDIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
       else
          setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH $KDEDIR/lib
       endif

       if ( ! $?LIBRARY_PATH ) then
          setenv LIBRARY_PATH $LD_LIBRARY_PATH
       endif

   For bash:

       KDEDIR=/home/me
       PATH=$KDEDIR/bin:$PATH
       LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$KDEDIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
       LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
       export KDEDIR PATH LD_LIBRARY_PATH LIBRARY_PATH

## RPM packages

1. `rpm` allows you to use the `--prefix` option to select the folder you want to install to. For example, executing `rpm `-i --prefix=/home/me package.rpm`` will install the package to `/home/me`.

Although &kde; will run from a user folder, there are some problems with programs that require suid root, &eg; the programs in the kdeadmin package. But since they are not meant to be run by users in the first place, this is nothing to worry about.

However, on systems using shadow passwords, the screensavers have to be suid root to enable password access for unlocking the screen, so this option will not work.

`startkde` fails with can not connect to X server. What is wrong?

You probably tried to start the X server with `startkde`. The X server is started with `startx`. `startkde` is the script that should be run from your `.xinitrc`, `.xsession`, or `.Xclients` to activate the window manager and the necessary server daemons for &kde;. See also .

&kde; on &AIX;?

IBM now officially support &kde; on &AIX;. You can find details at http://www.ibm.com/servers/aix/products/aixos/linux/index.html. There is also some older information at http://space.twc.de/~stefan/kde/aix.html.

&kde; on a laptop?

If you can get &X-Window; to run on your laptop, you should not have any problem getting &kde; to run on it. In addition, you might find the following links helpful:

- http://www.linux-laptop.net/

- http://www.sanpei.org/Laptop-X/note-list.html

I do not like the default &kde; folder after installation. How do I move it without breaking anything?

Assuming the default is `/opt/kde` and you want to move it to `/usr/local/kde`, here's what you have to do:

1. change to superuser if you aren't already

2. `mv /opt/kde /usr/local/kde`

3. `ln -s /usr/local/kde /opt/kde`

This will put all your &kde; files in `/usr/local/kde` but everything is still accessible from `/opt/kde`.

What files can I delete from my &kde; install folder? Can all the `*.h`, `*.c` and `*.o` files be safely removed?

There should not be any need to keep the `.c` and `.o` files, but you might want to keep the `.h` files, as they are used by includes if you ever want to compile your own &kde; programs. But if you wish to add patches to the source programs as they become available (rather than downloading everything again), then they should stay.

Will I lose my current settings when I upgrade &kde;?

No. In most cases &kde; will be able to transport your settings intact. You may need to reenter passwords in some applications (such as &kmail; or &knode;) but most other settings will be safe.

There were mixed reports of results between some previous versions of &kde;. To be safe, you may like to back up your entire &kde; configuration.

Settings are kept in the `$`HOME`/.kde` or `$`HOME`/.kde2` subfolder in your home folder. Copy your old `.kde`/`.kde2` folder to a backup location, install &kde; 3.2, and then copy back any necessary mail and news settings. That said, most people can make a direct upgrade, without removing the old `.kde` folder, without a hitch.

You can override the use of `$`HOME`/.kde` by setting the $`KDEHOME` variable.

I upgraded &kde; and it seemed to go fine, but when I start it, I get a blank gray screen, and nothing happens. There are errors in the console about DCOPserver. What's going on?

&kde; uses several temporary files during its operation. These are usually to be found in the following locations:

- `~/.DCOPserver-*` (there are usually two of these; one is a symlink to the other)

- `~/.kde/socket-hostname`

- `~/.kde/tmp-hostname` which is normally a symlink to the next file:

- `/tmp/tmp-kde-USER`

- `~/.kde/socket-hostname` which is also normally a symlink to:

- `/tmp/ksocket-USER`

If the symlinks get broken, usually because a `cron` or shutdown script is emptying out the `/tmp` folder, then strange things will happen. These files, and the symlinks, will all be created automatically at the start of &kde; so you can safely remove them while &kde; is not running.

If you are only getting a gray screen when you start &kde;, or if you get an error message telling you to Check your installation, then shut down X and delete all the files listed above, then try to restart X.

Normally (&ie; when not upgrading between &kde; versions) it's quite safe to leave these files intact, and you may shave a few seconds off your &kde; startup time by doing so.

Compiling kdebase gives me a bin/sh: msgfmt: command not found error!

You need the &GNU; msgfmt which is part of the &GNU; i18n package gettext. You should be able to download it from any &GNU; mirror.

How do I uninstall &kde; applications compiled from source?

You can uninstall your programs by typing `make uninstall` in the folder where you did `make install`. If you have already deleted that folder, then there is only one way, and it is not good: go to `$`KDEDIR`/bin` and start deleting files one by one.

If you expect to find yourself in this situation, you might want to consider a program such as &GNU; stow, found at http://www.gnu.org/software/stow/stow.html.

What is up with &GIF; support?

This has to do with issues with Unisys' &LZW; patent. &GIF; support is turned off from &Qt; 1.44 onwards by default. When you want to use &GIF;s and have the relevant license, recompile &Qt; with &GIF; support. `./configure `-gif``.