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Extract files from TAR archives with and without compression (GZip).
Steps
Community Q&A
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QuestionWhen I try to extract the Tar file I get the message, "No such file or directory." What does this mean?
Community AnswerYou're probably referencing the file incorrectly. Check the location that the terminal is open in, and the relevancy of the file's location to it. -
QuestionWhat if the file is on a USB drive?
Living ConcreteTop AnswererYou will need to change the terminal's working directory to the USB drive. -
QuestionWhat if the file is in my Home directory?
Living ConcreteTop AnswererIt does not matter where the file is located. As long as you change your terminal's working directory to the directory that contains the TAR file, the extraction will work just fine. -
QuestionOnce I extract the files, how do I launch the program?
PinguTop AnswererThis depends on the program. It's best to look for instructions on the website you got it from. Or try a common method of how to run programs: First, go into the directory you just created by extracting. Look for a file with the name of the program. If you find one, type "./fileName" (no quotation marks, replace fileName with the actual file name). If it says "permission denied", type "chmod +x fileName" and try again. If you find no such file, try looking in the "bin" directory (which is inside the extracted directory).
Warnings
- Extracting an archive may overwrite files in some locations if the archive has a file of the same name.Thanks!


























































