so you extracted the archive to /www/codeigniter/ ?? (by www i mean the web directory.. usually www or public_html). this would mean you have /www/codeigniter/system for example.
when you say it doesnt work.. what is the error?
if you just want to test it out and get something working.. extract to www/ (e.g. www/system etc etc ) and then set the base url to ‘http://localhost’ and then go to http://localhost/index.php in your web browser.
this assumes your web server is all set up properly ofcourse - with php installed.