rpm2tgz returns error

[Thrasher]

I have searched forums and found nothing to correct this problem.
When I try to use rpm2tgz or rpm2targz, I get the following error:
root@slackbox:~# rpm2tgz winex3-3.1-1.i386.rpm
... rpm2cpio failed. (maybe winex3-3.1-1.i386.rpm is not an RPM?)

I have done su and su - with no luck and also included the full paths. Im running slackware 9.1
Any slackers out there have any idea? Anyone?

[Thrasher]

wow, 24 hours and no replys, eek

[JamminJoeyB]

Slacker here, but I've never used rpm2tgz. You should be able to get the source and compile it.

[ph34r]

I've only used alien to convert to slackpaks, but I think you need to have all of RPM installed, so all the libs, etc. for extracting, etc. are available.

[Thrasher]

Oh ok, thx for the tips. I'll give alien a try.

[Thrasher]

Well, I have installed and used alien, works great !!
But suddenly I can no longer use the ls command:
-bash: /usr/bin/ls: Permission denied
Have tryed as root to reset permissions but no luck.
Any idea why I would lose permission to change and use ls ?

edit:
after a few min, i realized that i couldnt do anything on system. logged out and couldnt log back in unless root.
all of the /usr permissions had been changed to 700.
more details in this thread:
http://justlinux.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=119085