OP, just go to the "bin" folder, open a terminal, and type "./bitcoin-qt" to run the client. Then control+C to stop it, then go to /home/"your name"/.bitcoin. Create a bitcoin.conf file, and start with, "debug=net", and "maxmempool=100" without quotes. Configure as your bandwidth allows.
Plus do you have limited disk space? Add "prune=10000".
hey, I have no problem running it directly via "./bitcoin-qt"
I'm just curious about the purpose of those files outside of the bin folder that comes in the tar.gz and the proper way to install it such that I can just do "bitcoin-qt"