(superseeded) Linuxcnc on Linux Mint 19.3 quick and easy installation

Quickly quickly, my new (2nd hand desktop) can build the linuxcnc debs in about 6 minutes from git source. Takes almost as long to upload the updated packages to the server use and add them to the repo. Most of that time is remembering which password is the correct one.

tommylight wrote:

This also works with 19.2 Mate version of Linux Mint, tested last night.
Install Mint, install Linux image, install Linux headers, install Linuxcnc, reboot.
It is as simple as that, and yes you Can install everything and then reboot.

I'm trying to get through this on my own, but I think I've finally hit a hard stop. It has been far from "simple as that" so far...

I installed Mint. I installed Linux Image. I installed Linux headers. Those all went fine.

When I went to install LinuxCNC, I ran into missing Dependency. This led me down a rabbit hole where I have now manually installed:
- gcc-10_base
- libgcc
- libboost
- libmodbus5
- libudev-dev

because along the way each one wanted something else. Finally got all those cleared up and now I'm at a Dependency issue with libusb-1.0-0. If I try to install it, it says it's already up-to-date. I've manually reinstalled. I've also installed -dev versions. I've also downloaded 1.0.23 and manually built that, fixing up whatever issues came up along the way. Got through it all with no obvious errors, but when I try to run the linuxcnc file, it gives me the dependency error either from the gdebi GUI or through sudo in the Terminal.

Any ideas? Does it matter that I'm on XFCE Mint 19.3? I had tried doing the "just install these three files" on the 19.2 RTAI image from here and ran into the libusb issue as well, so it didn't seem tied to 19.3.

edit: I looked on Synaptic and found I also had libusb-0.1-4 installed so I removed that and even reinstalled 1.0 in case the 0.1 was getting the way. Same error.

Either use my remastered ISO for the simplest install with MATE desktop or use the packages from my repos.
Everything in my repos are built on Mint and you will not have any issues with packages or having to install packages manually.
I suspected there would be an issue with gcc once users tried to install the headers package.
My kernel and headers package are built on a fresh install of Mint. Then the Linuxcnc packages are built on the same machine. Updates for the Linuxcnc packages will show up through the Mint updater. Provided of course your repos are setup and the appropriate key added.
There is also a package in my repos for installing all the required dependencies to build Linuxcnc packages from source if you want a version other than 2.8. The 4 series kernel in the repo will give good latency and from all reports is quite stable.

tommylight wrote:

Did you check the original post, as it has some big changes.
Xfce should also work, just make sure the other repositories are enabled in the software sources.
In any case, if any step does not go to plan, stop and post here, do not try to get the dependencies as that might mess up the installation and might require a fresh install of Mint.

I hadn't seen that yet, but looking at it, I don't know if it's appropriate for me? It seems it's been previously established that our hardware is too old, so I have to be on RTAI. The couple latency tests I've been able to get to along the way do show a big difference when I'm on RTAI. As far as I could tell too, it seemed like 2.8 only can do preempt, so no RTAI? Unless it's still a matter of "Get Mint, then install the image and headers" that you've mentioned.

In the meantime, I installed the Wheezy ISO that's on the site here again. Runs like garbage again. Even if I'm on XFCE, everything takes so long to load, so long to click anything. I don't know if I need to do a bunch of software tweaking to trim it down, but it's just been the headache I found when I was trying it before. All of the versions of Mint XFCE I've used have been way more actually usable. My latency right now on Wheezy is Servo 8315/Base 12748, but using the desktop itself is soooo slow. But those latencies are way better than the 123440/108471 I've gotten on the other kernel even on Mint.

I've gone through so many installations and so much tweaking and trying, I'm running out of ideas or seemingly final solutions without having to tell my boss to upgrade the hardware, which I doubt is going to happen. I really appreciate the help though. I just don't know what to do anymore..

BeagleBrainz wrote:

Either use my remastered ISO for the simplest install with MATE desktop or use the packages from my repos.
Everything in my repos are built on Mint and you will not have any issues with packages or having to install packages manually.
I suspected there would be an issue with gcc once users tried to install the headers package.
My kernel and headers package are built on a fresh install of Mint. Then the Linuxcnc packages are built on the same machine. Updates for the Linuxcnc packages will show up through the Mint updater. Provided of course your repos are setup and the appropriate key added.
There is also a package in my repos for installing all the required dependencies to build Linuxcnc packages from source if you want a version other than 2.8. The 4 series kernel in the repo will give good latency and from all reports is quite stable.

I will dig around these ideas as well and see what I can do. Thank you so much.

edit: Looking again, I see it's all still indeed preempt/uspace and specifically "no RTAI". I can still try anyways, but it's appeared so far that our hardware just doesn't handle latency well unless it's on RTAI, so I don't know..

tommylight wrote:

ajklotz wrote:

edit: Looking again, I see it's all still indeed preempt/uspace and specifically "no RTAI". I can still try anyways, but it's appeared so far that our hardware just doesn't handle latency well unless it's on RTAI, so I don't know..

I did not notice that you are trying to install RTAI, although i do remember someone asked for that. Light bulb gone dim.
For RTAI you will need to chase some dependencies, but i do not recall exactly what.

I made that list on my other thread of the stuff I ended up needing to get, which was kind of fine after I got the hang of it. This needed this and then that needed that, but first this needed that, etc. But I still ended up stuck on actually installing LinuxCNC because it kept telling me libusb wasn't there, when all my evidence showed that it was..