Howto Install Lightscribe in ubuntu

LaCie has released the first software that allows burning labels on LightScribe media using LightScribe drives under Linux.


This guide will help you install the base Lightscribe software and the 4L Disk Labeling software on a 32-bit or 64-bit Ubuntu install.

Open a terminal.

1. Create a temporary workspace in your home directory.

Note: You can delete this directory when you are finished installing the software.

mkdir workspace

cd workspace

2. Download the 32-bit .deb files and an icon for Lightscribe

wget http://download.lightscribe.com/ls/lightscribe-1.12.37.1-linux-2.6-intel.deb

wget http://uploads.mitechie.com/lightscribe/4l_1.0-r6_i386.deb

wget http://lawrencecomputing.dyn-o-saur.com/lightscribe/lightscribe.png

Install the .deb files in the console with the force-architecture flag

Important: Make sure to do these steps in this order (lightscribe then 4L)

For 32-bit

sudo dpkg -i lightscribe-1.12.37.1-linux-2.6-intel.deb

sudo dpkg -i 4l_1.0-r6_i386.deb

For 64-bit

sudo dpkg --force-architecture -i lightscribe-1.12.37.1-linux-2.6-intel.deb

sudo dpkg --force-architecture -i 4l_1.0-r6_i386.deb


4. Fix the missing liblightscribe.so.1 error

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/liblightscribe.so.1 /usr/lib32/

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/liblightscribe.so /usr/lib32/

sudo ldconfig

Note: The program should run now. You can test this by pressing Alt+F2 and running

sudo 4L-gui

5. Copy the icon file into Ubuntu's shared icon directory

sudo cp lightscribe.png /usr/share/pixmaps/4L-gui.png

6. Create a shortcut to launch the 4L Disk Labeler as root

a. Right Click on the Ubuntu Menu Bar and choose Edit Menus.

b. In the left pane labeled menus choose either "Sound & Video" or "System Tools".

c. Then, click new item.

Enter this information into the window:

Type: Application
Name: Lightscribe
Command: sudo 4L-gui
Comment: Label a disc with Lightscribe

Note: You can automatically generate an icon by leaving out the sudo from "sudo 4L-gui" in the command field. You must add sudo to the command or the program will not function. Ubuntu will search for an icon in /usr/shared/pixmaps with the same name as the command. Alternatively, you can click the spring icon and browse for the Lightscribe icon.

Note: You can burn a label twice if it is not dark enough. Don't worry about the orientation of the disc, the drive will align it for you.