Installing Matlab 2008a on Ubuntu 10.10

Update: This method also worked in Ubuntu 11.04.

So I successfully installed Matlab on Ubuntu after much ado. Here’s how I did it.

First mount the matlab ISO:

sudo mkdir /media/matlab

sudo mount matu2k8a.iso /media/matlab/ -t iso9660 -o loop

Create a base directory for Matlab manually:

sudo mkdir /usr/local/matlab

Go to where the ISO is mounted and run the installer:

sudo ./install

Give the path of the directory we’ve already created for the Matlab base directory. Give the serial key and the license file when prompted.

After the setup is completed, don’t start Matlab. Create a .matlab directory in your home and give user permissions.

mkdir ~/.matlab

sudo chown -R ${USER}:${USER} ~/.matlab

Done! Now you can run Matlab using the command:

sh /usr/local/matlab/bin/matlab

You can of course add a shortcut to your main menu.

EDIT: When you’re adding a shortcut to the main menu or desktop, add the “-desktop” option (without quotes) at the end of the command, otherwise only the popup screen will be displayed.

18 responses on “Installing Matlab 2008a on Ubuntu 10.10

  1. Joao

    hi, when im going to execute the last command ” sh /usr/local/matlab/bin/matlab ” this error shows
    sh: Can’t open

    can you help me?

    thx

      1. Joao

        hi, i’ve already installed the matlab, thw problem was that i wasn’t using the root so i couldon’t write on the usr folder,

        now i cant add the shortcut to the desktop, what should i do?
        im using this command: sh /usr/local/matlab/bin/matlab -desktop
        is that write?
        thxx

  2. Ólafur Víðir

    Hi, I am struggling to get my matlab going, I am wondering what you mean by go where the iso is mounted. I typed in the terminal, the location of the mount, but got “command not found”. Any thoughts?
    I am putting up matlab 2011, and the first 3 commands worked. I don’t see my error so if you would be so kind 🙂

    Best regards
    olividir

      1. Ólafur Víðir

        Hi
        For some reasons matlab just wont install. When I ran the installer I managed to do all the steps untill the actual install was supposed to start, then I get an error 9009,,,”Command line returned OS error code ‘9009’ for command [cdm.exe /C, dir /-c C:]” and then it shows me a path to a file. The funny thing is that this file can’t be found.
        I am all over ideas so if anyone can help, that would be very nice 🙂

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