I'm a complete novice to Ubuntu and like it a lot from first impression but I haven't gotten very far since getting it up and running several days ago. I loaded 12.10 on an old e-Machine that someone threw in the trash and everything seems to be running OK except when I go to install any software (whether CD or downloaded from the Internet) I get the following message:

An error occurred while loading the archive.

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1 Answer

It seems that you are trying to run Windows programs on Linux. Linux has its own set of software and cannot run Windows .exe files to install any software. Instead, software must either be installed from original developer's code, called source code, or the package manager must be used. The Ubuntu Software Center is the default package manager. You can install many different apps with that. A high percentage of the problems that new users have with Ubuntu relates to getting software, such as hardware drivers, to work.

Here are some links that you may find useful and will explain how to get started with Ubuntu:

• Ubuntu Desktop Guide:
• Adding and Removing Software:
• A thorough explanation of how software management works in Ubuntu: (essential reading for any Ubuntu beginner)
• Installing Windows programs on Linux using WINE:

I hope things go well for you using Ubuntu!

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