# Confusion that Quickstart (deb package) can not find MPI? **URL:** \ **Category:** Installing preCICE\ **Tags:** mpi, ubuntu\ **Created:** [September 16, 2024, 8:01am UTC](https://precice.discourse.group/t/confusion-that-quickstart-deb-package-can-not-find-mpi/2114 "2024-09-16T08:01:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pinqing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/precice.discourse.group/pinqing/32/2560_2.png) [@Pinqing](https://precice.discourse.group/u/Pinqing)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 8:01am UTC](https://precice.discourse.group/t/confusion-that-quickstart-deb-package-can-not-find-mpi/2114/1 "2024-09-16T08:01:56Z")
Quickstart should be the easiest installation method, but I’m stuck at the very first step (embarrassed). I haven’t found this issue on the forum, so I hope to seek guidance and help. - preCICE v2.3.0 - Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS (A virtual machine with mpi and OpenFOAM installed ([OpenFOAM全系列虚拟机下载 — OpenFOAM|CFD](http://dyfluid.com/download.html)), and it works fine) - Installation method (Quickstart via a Debian package) - There are C++ compiler and MPI in the system (as shown in fig.1), but there should be no Boost and PETSc. ![fig1](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/precice/original/2X/f/f60d00b40c0f1c8be32a5667fad547aa3772a266.png) (1) As shown in fig.2, my first problem is that mpi is already installed on the system, but mpi-default-dev is missing. After I tried **sudo apt update** , I executed the installation command again, but mpi-default-dev is still missing. ![fig2](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/precice/original/2X/4/4cf875250308ec886df2d2208326da8caf1c15e6.png) (2) My second question is, if I still want to install Precice via .deb files, how can I install PETSc? It seems that the “sudo apt install” method doesn’t work, as shown in fig.3. ![fig3](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/precice/original/2X/3/3b6747509c6850b94376261e803c35e8c6e985dc.png) I am not familiar with linux and precice, so some questions may seem too basic. I would like to start by installing and getting familiar with precice v2.3.0 on this virtual machine, so that I can later install it on a CentOS 7 cluster. Someone told me that the “Building from source” method is the most reliable, but I still want to try the quickstart method. Thank you in advance for your help and time. ---
**Author:** ![Makis](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/precice.discourse.group/makis/32/25_2.png) [@Makis](https://precice.discourse.group/u/Makis)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://precice.discourse.group/t/confusion-that-quickstart-deb-package-can-not-find-mpi/2114/2 "2024-09-16T16:31:54Z")
First of all: be warned that you are running on very old systems. Ubuntu 20.04 will soon reach end-of-life (April 2025), while CentOS 7 already reached EOL in June 2024. preCICE v2.3.0 is also already three years old. If you are doing a short project, that should not be too much of a hassle. If you are starting a longer project, I would strongly advise you to upgrade everything. With that said, you are probably missing a `sudo apt update` before all the `sudo apt install` commands. ---
**Author:** ![Pinqing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/precice.discourse.group/pinqing/32/2560_2.png) [@Pinqing](https://precice.discourse.group/u/Pinqing)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://precice.discourse.group/t/confusion-that-quickstart-deb-package-can-not-find-mpi/2114/3 "2024-09-17T03:00:32Z")
Thanks for your key reminder, I will try to upgrade all the system and use a higher version of precice. Just now, I tried the “sudo apt upgrade” command and my system upgraded from Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS to Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS. There is a problem with the network at now, and I need to fix it. While, as i said in (1) and fig.2, i have tried “sudo apt update”. After that, i used the sudo apt install commands, and got the same results. Just now, i used the sudo apt install commands in Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS, and got the same results, too. ---
**Author:** ![Makis](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/precice.discourse.group/makis/32/25_2.png) [@Makis](https://precice.discourse.group/u/Makis)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 6:59am UTC](https://precice.discourse.group/t/confusion-that-quickstart-deb-package-can-not-find-mpi/2114/4 "2024-09-17T06:59:45Z")
Note that the `apt update`, `apt upgrade`, and `apt dist-upgrade` are different commands, doing different tasks: - `apt update` finds information about packages from the internet - `apt upgrade` upgrades packages, but staying in the same Ubuntu version (e.g., 20.04) - `apt dist-upgrade` upgrades to a new Ubuntu version (e.g., 24.04) I think it would help a lot if you have a local system administrator to talk to and discuss what you need. ---
**Author:** ![Pinqing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/precice.discourse.group/pinqing/32/2560_2.png) [@Pinqing](https://precice.discourse.group/u/Pinqing)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 8:04am UTC](https://precice.discourse.group/t/confusion-that-quickstart-deb-package-can-not-find-mpi/2114/5 "2024-09-17T08:04:39Z")
> [@Makis](#): > > administrator Thanks again @Makis, I will deal with the system upgrade as you told and talk with relevant administrator. At present, does it mean that it is not possible for a quick installation of .deb files on my Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS system？ ---
**Author:** ![Makis](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/precice.discourse.group/makis/32/25_2.png) [@Makis](https://precice.discourse.group/u/Makis)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 8:30am UTC](https://precice.discourse.group/t/confusion-that-quickstart-deb-package-can-not-find-mpi/2114/6 "2024-09-17T08:30:10Z")
For preCICE v2, it should be possible: ``` sudo apt update sudo apt install ./libprecice2_focal.deb ``` where `libprecice2_focal.deb` the exact name of the file. Why this does not work on this system, is something to discuss with the admins. ---
**Author:** ![Pinqing](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/precice.discourse.group/pinqing/32/2560_2.png) [@Pinqing](https://precice.discourse.group/u/Pinqing)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 8:35am UTC](https://precice.discourse.group/t/confusion-that-quickstart-deb-package-can-not-find-mpi/2114/7 "2024-09-17T08:35:33Z")
okay, thank you Makis, best wishes.