I was running amarok 1.3.8 and everything was fine until I went to update the Linux kernel for some nvidia graphics drivers. Then a handful of my applications stopped working. Of them, one was amarok. I figured I would update to the latest version. I had a hard time finding all the rpms for the various requirements that amarok 1.4.1 has then remembered there are online repositories for that. I'm new at Linux so bear with me. I added Guru as an installation source then searched for amarok 1.4.1, found it, auto checked for dependencies then let it rip, shut down the computer, finally started it back up again.

When I load amarok the splash screen comes up real quick, flashes once really, then I see the hour glass in the system tray sit there, then disappear without loading amarok. Does anyone know where I can start troubleshooting? 1.3.8 worked great by the way, I miss the streaming radio, a lot. SomaFM!

I'm running openSUSE 10.1 and amarok 1.4.1.

Given the jump in versions you're making (skipping 1.3.9 and 1.4.0) it might be that some of the files, particularly the collection database, can't be read properly by the new version (I've had this cause the exact type of non-starter you describe). Try starting amarok from konsole and see what the output in konsole is. My guess is it will be complaining about the collectiondb or configuration.

The only solution I know if that's the case is pretty heavy handed, but should get amarok working again. First remove ~/.kde/share/apps/amarok and try again. If it still doesn't work also remove ~/.kde/share/config/amarok and try again. As an alternative to removing them right away just rename them (putting a .bup after each would be my strategy).

Thanks for the tips but I don't even know how to remove a directory. Finding instructions hasn't been too productive either. I think I'll stop using linux until I get a book on it that starts with basic stuff. I'll refer back to this thread at a later date.

How to remove the directory:
Either enable hidden files in Konqueror (toggle "Show Hidden Files" in the "View" menu), so you can see the .kde directory. Or, from the commandline do "cd .kde/share/apps" & "rm -rf amarok" if you want to move it make the second command "mv amarok amarok.bup".

Explanation:
rm is the remove command; the -r option means recursive, so this is needed to delete directories with contents; -f means force or in other words don't ask for confirmation for each file you remove; -r + -f = -rf (note: some commands allow you to combine tags this way, others don't).
mv is the move command, it can be applied to directories or regular files. Usage mv [object] [destination]. It's also used, as in this case, to rename files or directories from the commandline, because that's really just moving them to a different name.

One book that really helped me when I switched, nearly two years ago now, was Teach Yourself Linux, by Robert Billing. It may be a bit out of date now, but probably not too badly so. A good place to look online is http://www.linuxquestions.org/ you can check out their Wiki, which has some info for beginners (commands might be something to look at) or look at the forums.

Switching to Linux can be a bit intimidating at first. But if you stick with it and occasionally look things up you'll be surprised how quickly it can grow to be second nature.