Installing Coapp in Firefox/Download Helper.

When I installed DownloadHelper extension in Firefox recently, in my Makutu Lindoz distro, I ran into a problem when I tried to install a helper app it had to have in order to operate correctly. So, I installed it. However, when I returned to try to download a video, it again acted like I needed to install the coapp, as they called it. I installed it again, only to have it repeat the problem.

I then went on the Internet to see if other people had this problem and any solutions. I found that down through previous versions of Firefox and DownloadHelper have had this problem for some time. And while several people had suggestions, I couldn’t ever find a solution to the problem. However, I seem to have stumbled upon doing something right, because I fixed my issue and now DownloadHelper works as expected. So I’ll tell you what I did, and hopefully if you retrace my steps, you can fix the issue on your machine as well.

One of the suggestions was to check the permission of the file “net.downloadhelper.coapp.json” which is located in either your home directory or more than likely you’ll find it in:

/usr/lib/mozilla/native-messaging-hosts/net.downloadhelper.coapp.json

But, as I later discovered, that wasn’t the problem. Another suggestion was that it shouldn’t be in the “lib” directory, but in one called “lib64”. However, creating a directory with that name and putting the file in it didn’t fix it either.

While going through all that, I found where the DownloadHelper settings could be accessed: by clicking on the icon for the app in the upper right corner of your Firefox browser window, then click on the gear icon in the bottom right of the window that drops down. Then in the following window, there is a spot where you can see whether the helper app is installed or not. It said it wasn’t installed (even though it was) and hitting its reset button didn’t fix it either.

Then I had an idea. I knew on my main computer running Linux Mint, that Download Helper on Firefox worked just fine. So I did some research on my Mint computer to see how it was set up. I couldn’t find any differences save one: On Mint I had installed 74.0, but the one I installed on Lindoz was 74.0.1. I had installed it through the Software Manager. I checked the Synaptic Package Manager; it had 74.0.1 on it as well. On a hunch, I did the following which has fixed it for now.

1. I uninstalled Firefox on the Software Manager.

2. I then went to a terminal and entered the following:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firefox

When I went to the settings in DownloadHelper, it now showed the coapp as installed, and when I tested it, it downloaded and converted the file as I expected it would.

I’m not sure how I fixed it. Because it works on the one installed from apt repository as opposed to the repository that Software Manager uses (though I would expect it to be exactly the same program)? Or, could it be that it does better at installing it when Firefox is installed after the coapp is installed? Or some other reason I’ve not considered?

One more note, the file it is looking for to determine whether it is installed or not is:

/opt/net.downloadhelper.coapp/bin/net.downloadhelper.coapp-linux-64

That file was already there with executable privileges; Firefox should be picking it up. All I did to get it working was to uninstall Firefox from the Software Manager (where I had initially installed it) and reinstalled Firefox through the command line. For whatever reason, it worked. Perhaps if you do that, it could solve your problem too. Good luck!

Which Linux Distro Should I Use?

One reason why many haven’t hopped on the Linux bandwagon yet is the difference between every other OS (Operating System) and the vast array of confusing Linux distributions, at last count, close to 600 of them . You have the big ones, like RedHat, Debian, Arch, openSUSE, CentOS, Gentoo, and others. Additionally, these major Linux distros have “children.” Ubuntu, being the biggest one and based on Debian, which also has distros based on it such as Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Linux Mint, ElementaryOS, Ubuntu Studio, just to name a few off the top of my head.

Confusing? For the new Linux user trying to decide what distro to start with, it can be very confusing. There is no hope that your average user will try each distro and make a decision. How does one decide among the various distributions what will fit you? The answer is in the question: deciding why you want to get on Linux and what your needs are. Until you know that, you’ll be shooting at the wind.

Before we get into that, it could be helpful to know why there are so many distros. Yes, one big reason there are so many distros is because Linux is a community effort. Instead of one company like Microsoft or Apple owning and controlling one OS, you have a large community of people who put together the Linux kernel (the base of an OS), a desktop environment and a set of pre-installed programs to create customized OS’s. However, while the vast array of choices may appear to be a disadvantage, it is also true that it is an advantage. Because you are more likely to find a distro that will not only meet your needs but you will fall in love with.

The main parts of a distribution of note for a new user are a GUI (Graphical User Interface)--also called a “desktop environment”, a set of pre-installed software packages, and the list of software packages in their repositories that you can download, usually for free. The way they combine the various elements of these things together, with the Linux kernel, makes up a Linux distro.

So, for example, if you wanted to install Linux onto an older computer that can barely run Windows, whatever version, you would likely pick from among the distros that have a GUI and collection of software that minimize CPU load, RAM load, and the like. Examples of such systems would be Puppy Linux, Lubuntu, Xubuntu. Note, in such a case, you’ll likely have to be able to do some things more manually. For example, to set the date in Linux Mint, it is a full, graphical process. But, in Lubuntu’s GUI, it only pops up a link indicating that you need to plug in a specialized code to get the date to display or show in the panel the way you want. I would always have to go and check on the Internet what those codes were. There are many examples similar to that example.

So, first, why are you wanting to switch to Linux? Are you fed up with how slow MSWin OS is going? You might want to try Xubuntu or even Linux Mint is said to be a low-memory, faster-running system. Lubuntu is a good choice—for someone who likes to use the command line and edit files. However, truth is, most any Linux distro will be faster than MS Windows. Or do you have a power computer that has plenty of disk space and memory, and you want to take advantage of that? Or, do you want an OS that simply will work out of the box with little set up, or are you a tinkerer who wants to get you feet wet in a terminal at a command prompt? There are other potential needs a person may list. The point is, there is a distro out there for you.

For example, let’s say you like the Windows environment, but the slowness of it is getting to you. You keep clearing out stuff, only to have Windows slow down again. Plus, my experience has been that the older a Windows system gets, the slower it gets, for some reason. That is one of the reasons I switched to Linux: everything usually runs snappy, and it stays that way. But let’s assume that you are afraid of having to learn a lot of new stuff, and operate with an unfamiliar system. Is there a system that has the look and feel of Windows? Why, yes there is! It is called Lindoz, a Makutu distro. You can switch the desktop environment to a “classical Win98”, or XP, Win7, or Win10. I installed it on my backup laptop recently, and it is pretty cool.

So, what do I recommend for you? That depends on what your needs are. That said, for the first Linux distro someone coming from another operating system should get, I would suggest you start with Linux Mint using the Cinnamon desktop environment. Why? Because it is the easiest to install, has one of the more refined intuitive interfaces out there, requiring minimal learning curve, and it just flat out works. It also has a low profile in RAM, leaving plenty of space to run programs before hitting the swap file. Are there other good beginning distros out there? Sure. Straight up Ubuntu is a good choice, as would be many others I could list. But I would recommend that for most first time users start with Linux Mint. Once you’ve gotten your feet wet with Linux in general, you may want to try out other distros to find one that more suits your needs if Mint doesn’t quite “do it for you.” For instance, if you are a creator of streaming and/or uploading YouTube videos, you may want to try Ubuntu Studio. It comes prepackaged with a lot of the best software for doing that and is designed creators, both artists and YouTube creators.

One final note, a warning really. If you are ready to jump ship and ditch your Windows OS, don’t immediately go out and download a Linux distro, and install it over your Windows OS. That is the way of a lot of potential pain. Rather, I would find a backup laptop or desktop that you don’t mind loosing most of the files on, for the purpose of installing and learning more about Linux. Do not, I repeat, do not use your primary computer for this purpose. Once you’ve used it for a while on a backup computer, and you’ve backed up your files, then you may want to install it, once you know it will meet your needs.

Whatever computer you install it on, if you wish to keep the Windows on it, first make a ISO copy of the OS (Sorry, how to do that would be the topic of another tip), and make sure you have the Windows ID key for your specific version of Windows, before you install. I failed to get the key, though I did create and ISO of the OS. Why? Because you may wish to install it into a VirtualBox (a program that will run other OS’s inside of Linux through using it as a virtual machine). Luckily, for me, I found the key stored in a Linux variable so I was able to fully install it in a VirtualBox.

But, what about a dual boot system? You can do that. I heard another recommend against it, because sometimes there are install issues. I did do a dual boot for a long time, with no problems. Because I needed to have access to Excel to run some highly customized spreadsheets that couldn’t run in LibreOffice due to the difference in programming languages. I didn’t want to go through the process of translating that to LibreOffice’s language, so I opted for a dual boot.

Aside from the potential for installation issues I mentioned above, however, I encountered a couple of issues that I didn’t like.

One, it was hard to transfer information back to the Linux side and even more so back to Windows. That’s because if I stored a file while in Windows, I could reboot into Linux and still see, get, and read the file, even though that was a lot of trouble. However, Windows couldn’t read the files on the Linux system. Only if I stored them in the Windows drive from Linux. So if I had a lot of that type of thing to do, I could spend a lot of time waiting for a system to boot up. Windows in a VirtualBox, however, you can drag and drop, or copy and paste between the two OS’s with just a little setup.

Two, realistically, I would usually only go into Windows when I had too. That caused another issue. What is the slowest time you normally experience in a Windows OS? During the initial startup, correct? Sometimes it seems you have to wait forever for all the background apps to load, and everything to get put into place before it gets to a “normal” speed. Compound that with downloading updates in the background, which due to how infrequently I would boot into Windows, meant nearly every time I did boot into Windows, that slowed things down that much longer. Then, once they were downloaded, the only way to install them in Windows appeared to be when you shutdown, and boot into the system, and we all know how long that can take. In some cases, nearly 24 hours.

What about Wine? I did use that on my previous computer to install my copy of MSOffice 2003 (I know, it’s ancient, but hey, it still works.) to access Excel for those spreadsheets. It took a little arm-twisting of the software to accomplish it, but I was able to install it in Wine and have it fully operational. Then I read that Wine had security issues. So that’s why I installed Linux alongside of Windows in a dual-boot system. But for the reasons listed above, I decided when I installed Mint (which I’m using as I type), I would move to a VirtualBox install of Windows, which has worked out wonderful for me so far.

But the point being, that before you overwrite MS Windows, you may want to make sure, if you need it again, you can reinstall it using the ISO file and your ID key. Also, goes without saying, but you’ll want to create a backup of any user files you wish to keep. So the best way is to get a older backup laptop that you can “play” on without worries about if it crashes and such.

Also, another way you can easily “try out” a system initially is most Linux distros have a “Live Boot” option. As a matter of fact, it tends to be the default option when you plug in a bootable flash drive containing a Linux ISO file. It means that the flash drive has the whole operating system on it, and it will give you a taste of the distro before you install it to your hard drive. You can easily see if it will recognize all your hardware, wi-fi, printers, etc. instead of discovering such problems after the install.

So, I’ve rambled on long enough about this. I think you should have an idea, if you’ve been researching this already, about your top 3 or so distros to try out. If not, do your research, do some live boot test of some distros you want to try out, then install one or two or three of them, then make a decision.

Welcome to the Linux world, and good luck!