Constantine — Converting Me to 64-Bit Linux

Fedora 12 is out.

Because I now have a 64-bit CPU, I took the dive into 64-bit F12.

When F11 came out, all I had to do to upgrade to it from F10, the first Fedora version that I used as my exclusive Linux distribution, was to use the command line.  But because of my new CPU, and my desire to switch to x64, I had to do a full clean re-install, you can’t do an in-place upgrade install from a 32-bit to a 64-bit OS of any kind.

And everything is working out well, especially since Adobe has a version of Flash for 64-bit Linux, but not 64-bit Windows.  Go figure, after all these years that Adobe drug their feat supporting Linux, they release their 64-bit Flash for Linux first.  Java has been out with 64-bit for a little while.

When I installed F10, I used the install and post-install guide on the website www.my-guides.net.  Since I upgraded directly from F10 to F11, I didn’t need that site.  But I needed it again because  my F12 is a new install.

It shows you how to get the 64-bit Flash, and gives you some instructions for 64-bit Java, but you’re kinda on your own.  I wish the guy who runs My Guides would give you some clear command line instructions to install 64-bit Java, but here I come to save the day.

(1)  Download Download 64-bit Java (.bin, NOT .rpm.bin) from Sun’s website.  Current version at the time of this writing is jre-6u17-linux-x64.bin — If it has been updated by the time you’re reading this, then “6u17″ will read “6u18″ or “6u19″ or “6u20″ etc.  Save it in your home directory’s download folder,i.e. /home/(yourusername)/Download

(2)  Open a terminal, log in as root (su – then your password; you can use sudo if you’ve been able to configure Fedora’s pain in the ass sudoers file).  Here’s the commands:

cd /home/(yourusername)/Download
mv jre-6u17-linux-x64.bin /opt
cd /opt
chmod a+x jre-6u17-linux-x64.bin
./jre-6u17-linux-x64.bin
yum remove java-*-openjdk-plugin
ln -s /opt/jre1.6.0_17/lib/amd64/libnpjp2.so /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/libnpjp2.so

Obviously, you put in your own user name, without the parentheses.  If the Java version is different, then you change “6u17″ and “jre1.6.0_17″ to whatever it is now, (without the quotes).  If no major revisions are made in Java, it’s just a matter of changing all the “17″s to “18″ or “19″ or “20″ or whatever, without the quotes.

The last line is different from what you’ll read at My Guides.  It makes a symbolic link between the browser plugin in the Java director and Mozilla’s plugin folder for 64-bit Java in 64-bit Firefox/Mozilla.  Sun changed the plug-in name and where it installs it in 64-bit Java compared to the 32-bit.  I had to find that by trial and error.

(3)  You can download Google Chrome (Chromium) 64-bit (SEE UPDATE BELOW) and Java will work out of the box.  Download 64-bit Opera as show in the My Guides tutorial, but it’ll take a bit of fiddling around to make Java work.

Open Tools > Preferences > Advanced > Content.  Enable Java (not enabled by default), open up the Java options box, then enter /opt/jre1.6.0_17/lib/amd64/ in the command box.  Opera uses the Java plugin directly, not from the Mozilla plugin folder.  Strangely enough, Opera knows to find 64-bit Flash in Mozilla’s plugin folder.

***

And there you have it.  64 bit Opera, Chrome and Firefox using 64-bit Java and Flash.

***

UPDATE 3/10/2010: GOOG has changed the way you can get Chrome browser, b/c they now have an official release, no more “Chromium” to get from an experimental repository.  First, open up a terminal, su -, password, yum remove *chromium* — That should remove only two packages.  Next, open up another browser and download it directly from Google; since you’re using 64-bit Fedora, you’ll choose a 64-bit .rpm.  Let “Package Installer” automagically do the rest after entering your root password once or twice.  The only drawback is that you’ll have to do this every time there’s an update to Chrome, just as you have to do when Opera updates.  I don’t know if GOOG maintains an official repository now.