Installing Slackware Linux
This document covers installation of the Slackware (R) distribution of
the Linux operating system from the Official Slackware (R) CDROM.
1. Introduction
Linux is a multiuser, multitasking operating system that was
developed by Linus Torvalds and hundreds of volunteers around the
world working over the Internet.
The Linux operating system now runs on several machine architectures,
including Intel 80x86, Sparc, 68K, PowerPC, and DEC Alpha. The
Slackware distribution of Linux runs on Intel (and compatible) 386,
486, Pentium, and Pentium Pro based PCs. Linux is modeled after the
UNIX (R) operating system. The Slackware distribution contains a
full program development system with support for C, C++, Fortran-77,
LISP, and other languages, full TCP/IP networking with NFS, SLIP,
PPP, a full implementation of the X Window System, and much more.
1.1. Sources of Documentation
If you're new to Slackware, you'll be happy to know there is a *lot*
of documentation and help available both on the Internet and on the
CDROM itself.
One of the primary sources of Linux information is a collection of
documents known as the "Linux HOWTOs." You can find these on the
Internet at sunsite.unc.edu, in the /pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO directory.
Other useful documentation at that site includes:
/pub/Linux/docs/FAQ -- answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Linux
/pub/Linux/docs/LDP/ -- Manuals written by the Linux Documentation Project.
/pub/Linux/docs/LDP/install-guide -- Matt Welsh's "Linux Installation and
Getting Started" book. Although the installation
information contained is a little bit dated, it's
still filled with useful information. If you're
unfamiliar with UNIX, you'll find this guide to
be a handy introduction.
Of course, these documents are also available on the Slackware CDROM
in the /docs directory, or on ftp.CDROM.com in /pub/linux/slackware/docs.
2. Hardware Requirements
Most PC hardware will work fine with Slackware, but there are a few
exceptions. Slackware does not support the MCA (Microchannel
Architecture) motherboards used in some IBM machines (most notably
PS/2s).
Some Plug-and-Play devices also cause problems under Slackware. In
some cases you can work around this by letting DOS initialize the
card and then starting Slackware with the Loadlin utility.
Here's a basic list of what you'll need to install Slackware:
Four megabytes (4MB) or more or RAM. If you only have four
megabytes, you'll want to make sure you disable shadow RAM in your
system's CMOS settings, as the couple hundred kilobytes of memory
freed can make the difference between a successful installation or a
failed one. If you have eight or more megabytes of RAM, you'll be
just fine.
You also will need some disk space to install Slackware. For a
complete installation, you'll probably want to devote a 250 MB or
larger partition completely to Slackware. You can make a smaller
subset of Slackware fit into as little as 20 MB, although an average
installation uses around 100 to 200 MB. The amount of disk space
required varies dramatically depending on the amount of software
you've chosen to install, the number of users on your machine, and
the amount of swap space you've given Slackware. If you haven't
installed Slackware before, you may have to experiment. If you've
got the drive space, again, more is going to be better than not
enough. Also, you can always install only the first software set
(the A series containing only the basic system utilities) and then
install more software later once your system is running.
If you use SCSI, Slackware supports most SCSI controllers. Check the
list of bootdisks in the bootdsks.144/README.TXT file to see if
there's a bootdisk for your controller. You also might consult the
SCSI-HOWTO for specific information about your controller.
To install from the CDROM, you'll need a supported CDROM drive. Again,
check the bootdsks.144/README.TXT file to see if your drive is
listed. If it's not, you still have an excellent chance of finding a
bootdisk through trial and error that works with it anyway, since
many CDROM drives sold by brand-X companies contain electronics
manufactured by one of the companies that make a supported drive.
Also, more and more drives made today use the ATAPI/IDE standard --
these drives will all work fine under Slackware.
3. Slackware Space Requirements
Slackware divides the installable software into categories. In the
early days most people installed Slackware from floppy disk, so I
often refer to the categories as "disk sets." Only the A series is
mandatory, but you can't do very much on a system that only has the A
series installed. Usually, you won't install the entire disk series,
but will pick which packages you wish to install. Here's an overview
of the software that's available for installation, along with the
amount of drive space you'd need to install the entire set:
A The base Slackware system. Contains enough utilities to get
Slackware running and have comm programs, editors, and installation
utilities available. Installing the entire A series requires 20 MB.
AP Linux applications. These are some useful programs, including
better editors, file quota utilities, a spell checker, man
pages (and the groff package needed to process them), a Norton
Commander clone called the Midnight Commander, extra shells, and
other utilities. Installing the entire AP series uses 15 MB.
D Program development. This series contains compilers, interpreters,
and translators for C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran-77, Common LISP,
Pascal, Perl, and more, as well as utilities needed to use them.
You need this series if you plan to recompile your kernel (or
anything else). Installing the entire D series
will require 48 MB. If you omit a.out support, you need 40 MB.
E GNU Emacs 19.34. This is a text editor with about a million extra
features that allow you to read your mail, news, edit and compile
programs, and just about anything else you might need to do.
Installing the entire E series will require 28 MB.
F Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Linux. This series
will install useful Linux documentation, including the Linux HOWTOs,
on your machine under /usr/doc/faq. Installing the F series
requires about 2 MB.
K Linux kernel source. This package contains source code for the
2.0.29 Linux kernel. You'll need this (along with the C compiler
and utilities from the D series) if you want to recompile
your Linux kernel. Installing the K series will require 23 MB, and
you'll need more to compile it.
N Networking. This package contains TCP/IP and UUCP support for
Slackware, including packages to support SLIP/PPP, mail programs such
as sendmail, pine, and elm, news readers like tin, trn, and nn, the
Apache Web server, and Web browsers. Installing the entire N series
will use 15 MB.
T The teTeX TeX distribution. TeX is a typesetting language that you
can use to format and print high-quality output on many types of
printers. Installing the entire T series requires 40 MB.
TCL Tcl/Tk/TclX scripting languages, and the TkDesk file manager.
The TCL series needs about 6 MB.
X The X Window System, from XFree86 3.2. This series provides a
system for supporting GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) under
Slackware. The entire X series requires 38 MB.
XAP Applications for the X Window System. Extra programs for X, such as
a couple of file managers (xfm, xfilemanager), a window manager that
makes X resemble Windows95 (fvwm95), the Arena web browser, image
editing and processing apps, a fractal generator (xfractint),
communications programs, and more. Installing the entire XAP series
will require about 12 MB.
XD Extra development tools for X. This series contains libraries used
to make static X applications, and a link kit used to compile X
servers. (This series is not needed to compile X applications)
Installing the XD series will use about 13 MB.
XV xview3.2p1-X11R6. The XView series adds support for the Open Look
window manager (commonly used on Sun systems), and for compiling
XView applications. The XV series uses 11 MB.
Y The Y series contains a collection of games for Slackware.
Installing the entire Y series will use about 11 MB.
You must install the A set. You probably also want to install
the AP, D, and N series, as well as the X, XAP, and possibly the XV
sets if you wish to run the X Window System. The Y series is fun if
you have the space for it.
3.1 Creating the Installation Floppies
No matter what media you install Slackware from, you'll need to make
a set of installation floppies. I call these the "boot" and "root"
disks. The bootdisk contains the Linux kernel, so you'll need to
choose a bootdisk matched to your hardware. The rootdisk contains a
small Linux system and the installation software. Later, you'll also
need a third formatted floppy disk when the system generates a custom
bootdisk to start your Slackware system.
If you use a 3.5" floppy drive, you'll find the bootdisk images on
the CDROM in the bootdsks.144 (for 1.44 MB) directory. If you use a
5.25" floppy drive, you'll find the bootdisk images in the
bootdsks.12 directory.
USING THE VIEW PROGRAM: If you have MS-DOS on your machine, you can
greatly simplify the process of selecting and creating your boot and
root disks by running the VIEW.EXE program on the CDROM. This will
let you look at the lists of boot and root disks (showing the hardware
each supports) and will write out the disks automatically. To see a
list of bootdisks for your machine, start VIEW.EXE under MS-DOS.
NOTE: Writing out the boot and root disks will not work correctly under
Windows95. Start your machine in real MS-DOS mode before attempting
to create the disks.
Use the view program to switch into a directory containing Slackware
bootdisks. If you have a 1.44 MB floppy drive, bootdsks.144 is the
directory to use. Move the selection bar with the arrow keys until
'bootdsks.144/' is highlighted, and then hit enter to move into the
directory. If you have a 1.2 MB floppy drive, move into the bootdsks.12/
directory instead. Once you're in one of the bootdsks.*/ directories,
move down another level into one of the ide-bat/ or scsi-bat/ directories.
These contain MS-DOS batch files to write out the bootdisks. Use the
scsi-bat/ directory if your machine has a SCSI controller card, or the
ide-bat/ directory if it only has IDE. You'll see a list of the bootdisks
you can use. Use the view program to select one that supports the
hardware you've got. You'll be prompted to insert a formatted floppy disk,
and then hit a key. If all goes well, your floppy drive should start
chugging away, writing the bootdisk image onto the floppy disk.
There are two main categories of Slackware bootdisks, those that
support SCSI (and IDE) controllers, and those that only support IDE.
The disks that only contain IDE support have a .I extension to the
filename, while those with IDE and SCSI support have a .S extension.
Note that *all* of the Slackware bootdisks have full support for IDE
(including IDE/ATAPI CDROM drives). A detailed list of bootdisks for
Slackware follows:
IDE Slackware bootdisks:
------------------------
aztech.i CDROM drives: Aztech CDA268-01A, Orchid CD-3110,
Okano/Wearnes CDD110, Conrad TXC, CyCDROM CR520, CR540
bare.i (none, just IDE support)
cdu31a.i Sony CDU31/33a CDROM
cdu535.i Sony CDU531/535 CDROM
cm206.i Philips/LMS cm206 CDROM with cm260 adapter card
goldstar.i Goldstar R420 CDROM (sometimes sold in a 'Reveal
Multimedia Kit')
mcd.i NON-IDE Mitsumi CDROM support
mcdx.i Improved NON-IDE Mitsumi CDROM support
net.i Ethernet support
optics.i Optics Storage 8000 AT CDROM (the 'DOLPHIN' drive)
sanyo.i Sanyo CDR-H94A CDROM support
sbpcd.i Matsushita, Kotobuki, Panasonic, CreativeLabs
(Sound Blaster), Longshine and Teac NON-IDE CDROM
support
xt.i MFM hard drive support
SCSI/IDE Slackware bootdisks:
-----------------------------
7000fast.s Western Digital 7000FASST SCSI support
advansys.s AdvanSys SCSI support
aha152x.s Adaptec 152x SCSI support
aha1542.s Adaptec 1542 SCSI support
aha1740.s Adaptec 1740 SCSI support
aha2x4x.s Adaptec AIC7xxx SCSI support
(For these cards: AHA-274x, AHA-2842, AHA-2940,
AHA-2940W, AHA-2940U, AHA-2940UW, AHA-2944D, AHA-2944WD,
AHA-3940, AHA-3940W, AHA-3985, AHA-3985W)
am53c974.s AMD AM53/79C974 SCSI support
aztech.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus CDROM support for
Aztech CDA268-01A, Orchid CD-3110, Okano/Wearnes CDD110,
Conrad TXC, CyCDROM CR520, CR540
buslogic.s Buslogic MultiMaster SCSI support
cdu31a.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus CDROM support for
Sony CDU31/33a
cdu535.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus CDROM support for
Sony CDU531/535
cm206.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus Philips/LMS cm206
CDROM with cm260 adapter card
dtc3280.s DTC (Data Technology Corp) 3180/3280 SCSI support
eata_dma.s DPT EATA-DMA SCSI support (Boards such as PM2011,
PM2021, PM2041, PM3021, PM2012B, PM2022, PM2122, PM2322,
PM2042, PM3122, PM3222, PM3332, PM2024, PM2124, PM2044,
PM2144, PM3224, PM3334.)
eata_isa.s DPT EATA-ISA/EISA SCSI support (Boards such as
PM2011B/9X, PM2021A/9X, PM2012A, PM2012B, PM2022A/9X,
PM2122A/9X, PM2322A/9X)
eata_pio.s DPT EATA-PIO SCSI support (PM2001 and PM2012A)
fdomain.s Future Domain TMC-16x0 SCSI support
goldstar.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus Goldstar R420
CDROM (sometimes sold in a 'Reveal Multimedia Kit')
in2000.s Always IN2000 SCSI support
iomega.s IOMEGA PPA3 parallel port SCSI support (also supports
the parallel port version of the ZIP drive)
mcd.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus standard non-IDE
Mitsumi CDROM support
mcdx.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus enhanced non-IDE
Mitsumi CDROM support
n53c406a.s NCR 53c406a SCSI support
n_5380.s NCR 5380 and 53c400 SCSI support
n_53c7xx.s NCR 53c7xx, 53c8xx SCSI support (Most NCR PCI
SCSI controllers use this driver)
optics.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus support for the
Optics Storage 8000 AT CDROM (the 'DOLPHIN' drive)
pas16.s Pro Audio Spectrum/Studio 16 SCSI support
qlog_fas.s ISA/VLB/PCMCIA Qlogic FastSCSI! support (also
supports the Control Concepts SCSI cards based on the
Qlogic FASXXX chip)
qlog_isp.s Supports all Qlogic PCI SCSI controllers, except the
PCI-basic, which the AMD SCSI driver supports
sanyo.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus Sanyo CDR-H94A
CDROM support
sbpcd.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus Matsushita,
Kotobuki, Panasonic, CreativeLabs (Sound Blaster),
Longshine and Teac NON-IDE CDROM support
scsinet.s All supported SCSI controllers, plus full ethernet
support
seagate.s Seagate ST01/ST02, Future Domain TMC-885/950 SCSI
support
trantor.s Trantor T128/T128F/T228 SCSI support
ultrastr.s UltraStor 14F, 24F, and 34F SCSI support
ustor14f.s UltraStor 14F and 34F SCSI support
You'll want to choose a bootdisk from the list that supports your
installation media (such as a CDROM drive) and the hard drive you'll
be installing to. For example, to install from an IDE CDROM drive to
an IDE hard drive, you'd use the BARE.I disk. Or, for a system with
an NCR 53c810 SCSI controller, SCSI CDROM, and SCSI hard drive, you'd
use the n_53c7xx.s bootdisk.
Disks with network support are usually used to install from NFS, so
you don't need to be concerned with whether the installed system will
require ethernet drivers at this point. When selecting the bootdisk,
you only need to think about what you need to get the system
installed. You can add additional drivers after installation by
recompiling the Linux kernel, or by loading the support in the form
of kernel modules.
Once you've selected your bootdisk, you'll need to write it out to a
floppy disk. The easiest way to do this is to use the MS-DOS VIEW.EXE
program on the CDROM.
Use the view program to navigate into either the bootdsks.12 or bootdsks.144
directory. From there, move into either the SCSI-BAT or IDE-BAT directory,
depending on whether you've got a SCSI controller in your system. Here,
you'll see a list of options. To create a bootdisk, select one of the choices
with the view program. Then follow the on-screen prompts to put a formatted
floppy in your drive and write out the disk image.
You also can create the disk manually under DOS using the RAWRITE.EXE
program. This utility copies a file onto a floppy disk directly,
track by track. To use RAWRITE, just put a formatted high density
floppy disk into your boot drive, change to the bootdsks.144 or
bootdsks.12 directory on the CDROM (depending on which size disk you
use), and use the RAWRITE command to write out the disk:
C:\> E: (or D:, or whatever drive letter your CDROM uses)
E:\> CD BOOTDSKS.144
E:\> DIR A: (NOTE: On some machines RAWRITE.EXE will incorrectly try
to use an incorrect sector size unless you make DOS look at the
disk first with the DIR command.)
E:\BOOTDSKS.144> RAWRITE BARE.I A:
In the example above, you'll notice the image written out is BARE.I.
You'll want to replace that with the name of the disk you've chosen
to use.
Making the floppy disks from Linux or UNIX is also no problem. In
most cases you can just stick a formatted floppy disk in the drive
and then send the image to the drive with 'cat':
$ cat bare.i > /dev/fd0 (The exact name of the floppy device varies
depending on the system used)
You also can write out the disk under Linux or UNIX using the 'dd'
command. This might work better in some cases than 'cat', since it
ensures that the correct sector size is used:
$ dd if=bare.i of=/dev/(rdfd0, rdf0c, fd0, or whatever) obs=18k
Once you've created your bootdisk, you need to pick a rootdisk. You
will find these on the CDROM in the rootdsks directory. If you plan
to install Slackware on its own partition, you'll probably want to
use the COLOR.GZ rootdisk. If you want to install Slackware on an
existing MS-DOS partition in a \LINUX directory, then you'll want to
use the UMSDOS.GZ rootdisk. Usually you'll want to use one of those
two rootdisks, although there are other disks that support more
complex installation procedures, such as installing from tape or via
NFS through a PCMCIA ethernet card. A list of Slackware rootdisks
follows:
COLOR.GZ This is the default Slackware installation disk, used to install
Slackware Linux to its own partition. The name COLOR.GZ comes
from the color menus used to install Slackware.
UMSDOS.GZ This is similar to the COLOR disk, but installs using UMSDOS -- a
filesystem that allows you to install Slackware into a directory
on an existing MS-DOS partition. This isn't as fast as using a
native Linux filesystem, and can use more drive space because of
limitations in the way DOS stores small files. The big advantage
of using UMSDOS is that you can try Slackware without
repartitioning your hard drive. This is much easier for the
beginner, and a lot less potentially dangerous to your system.
TEXT.GZ This is a text-based version of the install program. Although
many users prefer the COLOR.GZ disk, this version can be useful
for troubleshooting because it displays error messages on the
screen -- COLOR.GZ often covers error messages with menus before
you can read them. I derived the installation scripts used by
this disk from older versions of Slackware.
TAPE.GZ I designed this image to support installation from tape.
Tape installation remains experimental, but if you'd like to
try it, see the README file on tape installation found in the
rootdsks directory. This requires access to a machine with
GNU tar running Linux or UNIX to make the tape.
PCMCIA.GZ This is a version of the TEXT.GZ rootdisk with added support
for PCMCIA ethernet cards. You should use this disk to install
to a laptop through the network using NFS.
Once you've selected the rootdisk you want to use, you write it out
to a formatted floppy -- as you did with the bootdisk. Again, you
can use the VIEW program to create the rootdisk. From within the
VIEW program, change into the rootdsks directory on the CDROM. Then,
select an appropriate rootdisk such as COLOR.GZ, and use VIEW to select
it. Place a formatted floppy disk in your drive and press enter to write
the rootdisk image to the disk.
NOTE: Looking at the rootdisk images, you'll notice they end in .GZ.
This stands for GNU zip, a utility used to compress the rootdisk
images. Do not uncompress the rootdisk before writing it out.
The uncompressed images won't fit on 1.2 MB floppy disks.
Now you should have two installation disks prepared, a bootdisk and a
rootdisk.
If you haven't done so already, you also should format a high density
diskette that you will use to make an emergency bootdisk for your
system when you are finished with the installation.
3.2 Preparing a Partition for Slackware
If you plan to install Slackware onto its own hard drive partition
(this offers optimal performance), then you'll need to prepare one or
more partitions for it. If you're planning to use the UMSDOS system,
then you can skip to the next section.
A partition is a section of a hard drive that has been set aside for
use by an operating system. You can have up to four primary
partitions on a single hard drive. If you need more than that, you
can make what is called an ''extended partition.'' This is actually
a way to make one of the primary partitions contain several
sub-partitions.
Usually there won't be any free space on your hard drive. Instead,
you will have already partitioned it for the use of other operating
systems, such as MS-DOS or OS/2. Before you can make your Linux
partitions, you'll need to remove one or more of your existing drive
partitions to make room for it. Removing a partition destroys the
data on it, so you'll want to back it up first.
If you've got a large DOS partition that you'd like to shrink to make
space for Slackware, there's a program called FIPS in the INSTALL
directory on the CDROM. This utility allows you to shrink the size
of a DOS partition without destroying the data on it. The idea is to
use a disk defragmenter utility to compress all of your data into the
first part of the partition. MS-DOS versions 6.0 and above include
DEFRAG (a reduced-feature version of Norton Speedisk) which works well
for this purpose. Then you use FIPS to set a new end point for the
partition, leaving free space that you can make into Linux partitions.
Even though FIPS is usually safe to use, it's a good practice to back up
all of the data on the drive. You can find a detailed guide to using
FIPS on the CDROM in \INSTALL\FIPS\FIPS.DOC. If you plan to use FIPS
to resize your DOS partition, refer to the FIPS guide for further
repartitioning instructions.
To read the FIPS documentation from the MS-DOS view program, move into
the install directory, then into the FIPS directory, and then select
'FIPS.DOC' to bring up the documentation on the screen.
Once you've finished repartitioning, you can go on to
the section on installing Slackware on page xxx.
If you plan to repartition your system manually, you'll need to back
up the data on any partitions you plan to change. The usual tool for
deleting/creating partitions is the FDISK program. Most PC operating
systems have a version of this tool, and if you're running DOS or
OS/2 it's probably best to use the repartitioning tool from that OS.
Usually DOS uses the entire drive. Use DOS fdisk to delete the
partition. Then create a smaller primary DOS partition, leaving
enough space to install Linux (hopefully 200 MB or so, and about
another 16 MB for swap space). You'll then need to reinstall DOS on
your new DOS partition, and then restore your backup.
3.3 Using Linux fdisk to create Linux partitions
At this point, you should have a large chunk of unpartitioned space
on your hard drive that you'll be making into partitions for
Slackware. To do this, place the Slackware bootdisk in your machine
and reboot your machine. The disk will display a screenful of
information and give you the opportunity to enter extra kernel flags
to help configure your hardware. Most users won't need to enter
anything special here. However,if your hardware isn't detected
properly (and you're sure the bootdisk you're using contains the
correct support) then see the file BOOTING.TXT on the CDROM for
instructions on using this feature. If you don't need to enter any
kernel parameters (and you probably don't), then just hit enter to
begin loading the kernel. You'll see a message like this displayed
on the screen as the kernel loads:
LILO loading ramdisk........
The kernel will then boot. As the kernel probes your machine to
determine its hardware configuration, you'll see plenty of diagnostic
information printed to the screen. Eventually it will display this
message:
VFS: Insert root floppy disk to be loaded into ramdisk and press ENTER
Now take the bootdisk out of the drive, replace it with the rootdisk,
and hit enter. You computer will load the Slackware rootdisk into
memory, and then you'll get a login prompt. Log into the system as
"root."
Creating Linux partitions
-------------------------
Now you're ready to create your root Linux partition. To do this,
you'll use the Linux version of fdisk. By default, Linux fdisk
creates partitions on the first IDE hard drive (/dev/hda1). If you
need to partition a different hard drive, you need to specify the
name of the device when you start fdisk. For example:
fdisk /dev/hda (Repartition the first IDE hard drive)
fdisk /dev/hdb (Repartition the second IDE hard drive)
fdisk /dev/sda (Repartition the first SCSI hard drive)
fdisk /dev/sdb (Repartition the second SCSI hard drive)
Once you've started fdisk, it will display a command prompt. First
look at your existing partition table with the 'p' command:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 92 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Begin Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 1 32 257008+ 6 DOS 16-bit >= 32M
If you used FIPS to split a DOS partition, you'll see two primary DOS
partitions instead of one. The second DOS partition is empty, so you'll
want to go ahead and delete it to make freespace for your Linux root and
swap partitions. To do this, use the 'd' command. You'll be asked which
partition number you want to delete. This will probably be the second
partition on the drive, but check the partition size to make sure its the
right one.
Next, you'll want to use the 'n' command to create a primary
partition. This will be your root Linux partition.
Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
You'll want to enter 'p' to make a primary partition.
Partition number (1-4): 2
Here, you enter "2" since DOS is already using the first primary
partition. Fdisk will first ask you which cylinder the partition
should start on. Fdisk knows where your last partition left off and
will suggest the first available cylinder on the drive as the
starting point for the new partition. Go ahead and accept this
value. Then, fdisk will want to know what size to make the
partition. You can specify this in a couple of ways, either by
entering the ending cylinder number directly, or by entering a size.
In this case, we'll enter a size. To do this, you need to enter
+sizeM -- in this case, +450M. Here's what the screen looks like as
these figures are entered:
First cylinder (33-92): 33
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (33-92): +450M
You have now created your primary Linux partition with a size of 450
MB. Next, you'll want to make a Linux swap partition. You do this
the same way. First, enter another "n" to make a primary partition:
Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
Enter "p" to select a primary partition. Partition 1 is in use by
DOS, and you've already used partition 2 for Linux, so you'll want
to enter "3" for the new partition number:
Partition number (1-4): 3
Since this is the last partition we plan to make on this hard drive,
we'll specify the end cylinder manually this time. Here are the
entries for this:
First cylinder (90-92): 90
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (33-92): 92
Now we need to set the type of partition to 82, used for Linux swap.
The reason we didn't need to set a partition type the last time is
that unless otherwise specified Linux fdisk automatically sets the
type of all new partitions to 83 (Linux native). To set the
partition type, use the "t" command:
Command (m for help): t
Partition number (1-4): 3
Hex code (type L to list codes): 82
Now you're ready to save the updated partition table information onto your
hard drive. Use the "p" command again to check the results and be sure you're
satisfied with them:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 92 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Begin Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 1 32 257008+ 6 DOS 16-bit >= 32M
/dev/sda2 33 33 89 465885 83 Linux native
/dev/sda3 90 90 92 16065 82 Linux swap
This looks good, so we'll use the "w" command to write the data out
to the drive's partition table. If you want to exit without updating
the partition table (if you've made a mistake), then you can exit
without changing anything by using the "q" command instead.
When you exit fdisk using the "w" command, fdisk recommends that you
reboot the machine to be sure that the changes you've made take
effect. Unless you've created extended partitions, you can go ahead
and run setup without rebooting.
Note: Sometimes fdisk will give you a message like "This drive has more
than 1024 cylinders" and warn about possible problems using partitions with
DOS. This is because MS-DOS suffers from a limitation that only allows access
to the first 1024 cylinders on a hard drive. Since LILO (the utility used to
boot Linux from a hard drive) uses the BIOS routines for disk access, it's
also affected by this limitation. This means that if your drive has more than
1024 cylinders, all DOS partitions need to reside between cylinder 1 and 1024.
Linux has no problem with partitions that stretch beyond cylinder 1024, but
LILO may have trouble booting kernels from them. If that happens, you can
still set up Loadlin to boot from your DOS partition, or use a bootdisk to
start Linux.
4.0 Installing the Slackware distribution
You are now ready to begin installing software onto your hard drive.
To start this process, enter the command "setup" and hit enter:
# setup
This starts the installation program, and puts a full-color menu on
your screen with the various options needed to install Slackware. In
general, you'll want to start with the "ADDSWAP" option. Even if
you've already created and activated a swap partition manually,
you'll need to run this so Slackware adds the swap partition to your
/etc/fstab file. If you don't add it, your system won't use the swap
space when you reboot.
Installing a typical system involves running the following options
from the setup menu in this order: ADDSWAP, TARGET, SOURCE, DISK
SETS, INSTALL, and CONFIGURE. If you don't have a swap partition,
you can just go ahead and start with the TARGET option.
For the rest of this section, we'll walk through a typical installation
process.
The ADDSWAP option:
-------------------
First, we select the ADDSWAP option. The system will scan for
partitions marked as type "Linux swap" and will ask if you want to
use them for swap space. Answer YES, and the system will ask if you
wish to format the partition with mkswap. If you already did this
manually then there will be no need to do it again. (Note: even if
the partition is active, formatting doesn't hurt anything).
Otherwise select YES to format the partition and then make it active.
Once it's finished, setup will display a message showing the line it
will add to /etc/fstab to configure the swap partition at boot time.
Hit enter to continue, and setup will ask if you want to go on to the
TARGET option. Answer YES.
NOTE: If you created a partition to use for swap space, but setup
doesn't see it when it scans your drives, it's possible that the
partition type hasn't been set in the partition table. Use the Linux
"fdisk" program to list your partitions like this:
# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 92 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Begin Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 1 32 257008+ 6 DOS 16-bit >= 32M
/dev/sda2 33 33 89 465885 83 Linux native
/dev/sda3 90 90 92 16065 83 Linux native
In this case, if /dev/sda3 is meant to be a Linux swap partition, you'll
need to start fdisk on drive /dev/sda:
# fdisk /dev/sda
Command (m for help): t
Partition number (1-4): 3
Hex code (type L to list codes): 82
Command (m for help): w
This will change the third partition to type 82 (Linux swap) and write the
partition table out to /dev/sda.
Now, if you run setup again, the ADDSWAP option should detect the
Linux swap partition.
The TARGET option:
------------------
The next option on the setup menu is TARGET. This lets you select
which partition(s) you'd like to install Slackware on, and will
format them using the Linux Second Extended Filesystem. When you
select the TARGET option, the system will scan for "Linux native"
partitions on your hard drives using the fdisk program. If it
doesn't find any, you'll need to make sure that you've created
partitions using the fdisk program, and that the partitions are
labeled as type 83 (Linux native). This is the same process shown
above. If you've created one or more partitions for Slackware using
Linux's fdisk program that you shouldn't have any problems, since
Linux fdisk sets all new partitions to type 83 (Linux native) by
default.
You will see a menu listing all the Linux native partitions. Use the
arrow keys to select the partition you'd like to use for your root
(or primary) Linux partition and hit enter. The setup program will
then ask if you'd like to format the partition. If this is a new
installation of Slackware, you'll need to do this. Otherwise, if
you're installing software onto an existing Linux partition, you
don't need to format the partition.
There are a few options you need to know about when you format Linux
partitions. First, you'll need to decide whether or not you'd like
to check the partition for bad blocks when you do the format. This
is usually not necessary unless you know the drive in question has
problems. Checking takes a long time compared to a normal format, so
you'll probably want to just go ahead and use the "Format" menu
option to format the drive normally. If you have drive problems
later on, then you might want to try using the "Check" option to map
the bad sectors on the drive.
Once you've picked your formatting mode, setup will prompt you to
provide the inode density. On Linux filesystems, entries called
"inodes" store the names of files and the locations of the blocks
that make up the file. You need at least one inode for each file, so
if you run out of inodes then you can't make any new files, even if
there seems to be plenty of space on the drive. Inodes themselves
take up space on your drive, so you need to consider how you will use
the partition. Usually, the default value of one inode for every
4096 bytes on the drive is fine. But if you're planning to use the
drive for a news feed or something that uses many small files, then
you may wish to increase the inode density to one inode for every
2048 (or even 1024) bytes. Once you've selected the inode density,
setup will go ahead and format your root Linux partition. You will
then return to the menu showing the partitions available for Linux.
You'll notice that the partition you just formatted is now listed as
"in use." If you made some other partitions for Slackware, you'll
need to go through the same process of formatting them, selecting
whether or not to check for bad blocks, and setting a reasonable
inode density. With these partitions there will be an additional
step -- you'll need to select where you'd like to put the partition
in your directory tree.
MS-DOS assigns a letter such as A:, B:, C:, etc, to each device.
Unlike DOS, Linux makes your devices visible somewhere under the root
directory (/). You might have /dev/hda1 for your root partition (/)
and put /dev/hda2 somewhere underneath it, such as under your /home
directory. When prompted for a mount location, just enter a
directory such as /home, and hit enter. As you format each
additional partition and place it in the filesystem tree, you'll be
returned to the partition selection menu. When you've prepared all
of your Linux partitions, select "Cancel" to go on to the SOURCE
option.
The SOURCE option:
------------------
The next option is SOURCE, where you select the physical media from which
you will install Slackware.
Source displays a menu offering the choice of installation from
floppy disk, NFS, a hard drive partition, a directory, or from CDROM.
Make sure your Slackware CDROM is in your drive, and select option 5:
Installing from CDROM. Next, the system will ask you what type of
CDROM drive you have. Select your drive from the menu provided.
Setup will then try to access the Slackware CDROM. If this is
successful, setup will ask you if you wish to go on to the next
option, DISK SETS. The Disk sets option lets you select
the software you want to install.
Setup was not successful accessing your CDROM drive.
----------------------------------------------------
If setup is not successful in accessing the CDROM drive, you'll need
to figure out why before you can go on. The most common reason for
this is that you used a bootdisk that doesn't support the CDROM
drive. In this case, you'll have to figure out the correct disk to
use. Refer to the list of bootdisks (on page xxx) and the drives
they support.
Another common mistake is selecting the wrong option when asked which
type of CDROM drive you have. Some manufacturers make different
versions of their drives, and it can be difficult to know which
version you've got without trying a few different options. For
example, Mitsumi makes several models of CDROM drives; some of these
come with their own interface card, and need the Linux Mitsumi driver
(and are selected as a Mitsumi drive from the menu), while most of
the recent Mitsumi drives plug directly onto the computer's IDE
interface (and are selected as an ATAPI/IDE CDROM drive).
For ATAPI/IDE drives, you also need to know which device entry your
computer uses to access the drive. Sometimes the system's hard drive
will be the master device on the IDE interface, while the CDROM is
connected as the slave device. In this example, the hard drive is
/dev/hda, and the CDROM drive is /dev/hdb.
Scanning for IDE CDROM drive
----------------------------
If you have no idea which device an IDE CDROM drive is connected to,
you can try to have the system scan for it. You also can look at the
messages generated by the system as it boots -- you should see a
message that Slackware detected your CDROM drive along with
information about what type of drive it is. You can look at these
messages by using the right shift key together with the PageUp and
PageDown keys to scroll the screen up and down. If you don't see a
message about your drive, you're probably using the wrong bootdisk.
If you're not sure which bootdisk you need to use, try these steps:
If your CDROM drive is connected to a SCSI controller, try using the
SCSI.S disk. This contains most of the Linux SCSI drivers, and
should identify which controller your system uses. Then make the
bootdisk especially for your controller to use for the installation
process.
If you have an IDE controller, keep trying the various IDE bootdisks.
Watch the screen for a message saying that Slackware detected your
CDROM drive.
If Slackware still won't detect your drive, look at the file
BOOTING.TXT on the CDROM. This contains a list of extra parameters
you can pass to the kernel when you boot a Slackware bootdisk. These
parameters can be handy to force hardware detection when the
autoprobing fails. For example, you can tell the kernel to look for
a Sony CDU31a drive by entering the following command line on the
bootdisk's first prompt:
ramdisk cdu31a=0x1f88,0,PAS
This tells the kernel that you've got a Sony CDU31a drive connected
to an interface card at address 0x1f88, interrupts are disabled, and
the interface card is a Pro Audio Spectrum.
The documentation that comes with the Linux kernel also lists
examples for other types of hardware. You can find these on the
Slackware CDROM in the /docs/kernel.20 directory.
MS-DOS installation
-------------------
If you can't get your CDROM detected by Linux, it's possible that the
kernel doesn't support it. Linux supports most hardware, but some is
not (most notably plug-and-play devices). If you've tried everything
and still can't use the CDROM drive, you can still install Slackware.
You do this by copying files from the CDROM onto a DOS partition, and
then installing the software from there.
The Linux Installation-HOWTO (INSTALL.TXT on the CDROM) gives an
in-depth discussion of this, but here's a brief description of the
steps involved:
1. Under MS-DOS, create a directory to install from, such as C:\SLACK.
2. Copy the disk sets you wish to install from the CDROM into the
C:\SLACK directory with XCOPY. For instance, you'd use this command
to copy the A series from the CDROM to your DOS partition from a CDROM
assigned a drive letter of E:
XCOPY E:\SLAKWARE\A* C:\SLACK /S
This will copy the software into subdirectories of C:\SLACK named A1,
A2, A3, etc. Do the same for any other disk sets you wish to install.
3. Run setup. When you get to the SOURCE option, tell it you want to
install from a hard drive partition. Enter the source device (such as
/dev/hda1) and the directory to install from (in this case, /slack) and
then proceed with the installation as normal.
The DISK SETS option:
---------------------
The Disk sets option lets you select the software you want to install.
When you start the DISK SETS option, you'll see a menu where you can
choose which categories of software you're interested in installing.
The first series (called the A series) contains the base filesystem
structure and binaries that are crucial for your system to boot and
run properly. You must install the A series. Make sure that at
least the selection for series A has an [X] next to it. Use the
cursor keys and the space bar to select other disk sets to install.
(see page xxx for full descriptions.)
Once you've selected the general categories of software you wish to
install, hit enter and you'll go on to the INSTALL option.
The INSTALL option:
-------------------
This option goes through the categories of software you've chosen and
installs it.
The first question the INSTALL option will ask is what type of
prompting you'd like to use during the installation process. A menu
will show several options, including NORMAL, MENU, CUSTOM, PATH,
EXPERT, and NONE.
Most people will want to use NORMAL, MENU, or EXPERT mode. The
NORMAL mode installs all of the required packages in each series, and
for each of the others puts a menu on the screen allowing the user to
answer YES (install the package), NO (do not install the package), or
SKIP (skip ahead to the next series). The menu will print a
description of the package to help the user decide. Installing using
the NORMAL mode is verbose, so it can be tedious.
For users that can decide which packages they want from less
information, the MENU option is a good choice. The MENU option
displays a menu before installing each series and lets the user
toggle items on or off with the spacebar. When you install a series
using the MENU option, you do not see the required packages on the
screen at all, and packages that go together are combined into a
single menu choice. Once you have selected the software, you hit
enter and all the software is installed automatically.
The EXPERT option is similar to the MENU option, but assumes you want
control over every package that could get installed. The EXPERT mode
lets you toggle packages individually, allowing the user to make bad
decisions like turning off crucial packages or installing a package
that's part of a larger set of software without installing the other
parts. If you know exactly what you need, the EXPERT mode offers the
maximum amount of flexibility. If you don't know what you need,
using the EXPERT mode will allow you to install a system that's
missing crucial files.
The CUSTOM and PATH options are only used if you've created
"tagfiles" for installation. In the first directory of each disk set
is a file called "tagfile" containing a list of all the packages in
that series, as well as a flag marking whether the package should be
installed automatically, skipped, or the user should be prompted to
decide. This is useful for situations where you need to install
large numbers of machines (such as in a computer lab), but most users
will not need to create tagfiles. If you are interested in using
them, look at one of the tagfiles with an editor.
The last option to consider is NONE, or no prompting mode. If you
select this mode, then setup assumes you want to install all the
packages from the selected disk sets and just goes ahead with it.
This is fast and easy. It also may result in filling up your hard
drive with lots of software that you don't need.
If you're new to Slackware, you'll probably want to select the MENU
option as the easiest way to install. If you think you need the
extra information offered by the NORMAL mode, go ahead and use that.
Once you have selected a prompting mode, the system begins the
installation process. If you've chosen MENU or EXPERT mode, you'll
see a menu of software to choose from right away -- use the arrow
keys and spacebar to pick what you need, and then hit enter to
install it. If you've chosen the NORMAL mode, the installation will
begin immediately, continuing until it finds optional packages
(install will ask you about each of these).
If you've selected too much software, it's possible that your hard
drive may run out of space during installation. If this happens,
you'll know it because you'll see error messages on the screen as
setup tries to install the packages. In such as case, you'll have to
reinstall selecting less software. You can avoid this problem by
choosing a reasonable amount of software to begin with, and
installing more software later once your system is running.
Installing software on a running Slackware system is even easier than
the initial installation -- just type "setup" at a prompt, select
CDROM as the source, and select and install some more software.
Once you have installed the software on your system, you'll need to
go on to the CONFIGURE option.
The CONFIGURE option:
---------------------
The CONFIGURE option of setup does the basic configuration your
system needs, such as creating links for your mouse and modem,
setting your timezone, etc.
The CONFIGURE option will first ensure that you've installed a usable
Linux kernel on your hard drive. There are a couple of generic
kernels that come with the A series called IDE and SCSI, but the best
kernel to install is the one from your bootdisk. To do this, select
the "bootdisk" option on the kernel installation menu. The menu will
prompt you to reinsert your installation bootdisk and hit enter, and
then setup will copy the kernel from the bootdisk to your hard drive.
If you don't want to use that kernel, you can pick a kernel from a
menu of kernels available on the CDROM, but if you install the wrong
kernel the machine likely won't boot. I recommend you install the
bootdisk kernel. Since you used it successfully to install
Slackware, you know it will work on the installed system as well.
NOTE: If you install a kernel on your system that doesn't boot
correctly, you can still boot your system with the installation
bootdisk. To do this, you need to enter some information on the
bootdisk's boot prompt. For example, if your root partition is on
/dev/sda1, you'd enter this to boot your system:
mount root=/dev/sda1 ro
The "ro" option makes the root partition initially load as read-only
so Linux can safely check the filesystem. If you're using the UMSDOS
filesystem, use "rw" (for read-write) instead.
Once you've installed a kernel, you'll be asked if you want to make a
bootdisk for your new system. This is a very good idea for
emergencies, so insert a formatted floppy disk and use the "lilo"
option to create a bootdisk for your system.
Next, you'll be asked if you have a modem. If you do, pick the
device from the list shown. This will make a link in /dev pointing
to the correct device, such as /dev/modem -> /dev/cua1. Similarly,
you'll be asked if you have a mouse. Pick the mouse type from the
menu, and setup will create a /dev/mouse link.
After this, other installation scripts will run depending on which
packages you've installed. For instance, if you installed sendmail
you'll be asked if you're running TCP/IP or UUCP.
LILO
----
LILO is the Linux Loader, a program that allows you to boot Linux
(and other operating systems) directly from your hard drive. If you
installed the LILO package, you now have an opportunity to set it up.
Installing LILO can be dangerous. If you make a mistake it's
possible to make your hard drive unbootable. If you're new to Linux,
it might be a good idea to skip LILO installation and use the
bootdisk to start your system at first. You can install LILO later
after you've had a chance to read the information about it in
/usr/lib/lilo. If you do decide to go ahead and install LILO, be
sure you have a way to boot all the operating systems on your machine
in case something goes wrong. If you can't boot DOS again, use the
DOS command ``FDISK /MBR'' to remove LILO from your master boot
record.
If you decide you want to install LILO from the Slackware LILO
configuration menu, here's how you do it. LILO uses a configuration
file called /etc/lilo.conf to hold the information about your
bootable partitions. To create this file, first select BEGIN to
enter the basic information about where to install LILO. The first
menu will ask if you have extra parameters you'd like passed to the
Linux kernel at boot time. If you need any extra parameters enter them here.
Next, decide where you want LILO installed. Usually you'll want to
install LILO on the boot drive's MBR (master boot record). If you
use a different boot manager (like the one that comes with OS/2) then
you'll want to install LILO on your root Linux partition and then add
that partition to the boot manager menu using its configuration tool.
Under OS/2, this is the fdisk program.
NOTE: If you use the EZ-DRIVE utility (a diskmanager program supplied
with some large IDE drives to make them usable with DOS) then do not
install LILO to the MBR. If you do, you may disable EZ-DRIVE and render
your disk unusable with DOS. Instead, install LILO to the superblock of
your root Linux partition, and use fdisk to make the partition bootable.
(With MS-DOS fdisk, this is called setting the 'active' partition)
The next menu lets you set a delay before the system boots into the
default operating system. If you're using LILO to boot more than one
operating system (such as DOS and Linux) then you'll need to set a delay
so you can pick which OS you'd like to boot. If you press the SHIFT key
during the delay, LILO will display a prompt where you can type a label
(typically DOS or Linux) to select which OS to boot. If you set the
delay to 'Forever', the system will display a prompt at boot time and wait
for you to enter a choice.
Next, you need to add entries for each operating system that LILO can
boot. The first entry you make will be the machine's default
operating system. You can add either a DOS, Linux or OS/2
partition first. For example, let's say you select "Linux." The
system will display your Linux partitions and ask which one of them
you'd like to boot. Enter the name of your root Linux partition.
Then, you'll be prompted to enter a label. This is the name you will
enter at the boot time LILO prompt to select which partition you want
to boot. A good choice for this is "Linux".
Adding a DOS or OS/2 partition is similar. To add a DOS partition to
the LILO configuration file, select the DOS option. The system will
display your DOS partitions and ask which one of them you'd like to
boot with LILO. Enter the name of your primary DOS partition. Then enter a label for the partition, like DOS. Once
you've added all of your bootable partitions,
install LILO by selecting the "Install" option.
Networking
----------
Another configuration menu allows you to configure your machine's
networking setup. First, enter a hostname for your machine. The
default hostname after installation is "darkstar," but you can enter
any name you like. Next, you'll be asked to provide a domain name.
If you're running a stand-alone machine (possibly using a dialup link
to an Internet Service Provider) then you can pick any name you like.
The default domain name is "frop.org". If you are
going to add the machine to a local network, you'll need to use the
same domain name as the rest of the machines on your network. If
you're not sure what this is, contact your network administrator for
help. Once you've specified the hostname and domain name, you'll be
asked if you want to set up the machine to only use loopback. If you
don't have an ethernet card, just use loopback.
Otherwise, say NO. Then the setup program will ask for your machine's IP
address, gateway address, netmask, and nameserver. Again, if you
don't know what numbers you should be using, ask the person in charge
of the network to help provide the information.
Once you've completed all the configuration menus, you can exit setup
and reboot your machine. Simply press ctrl-alt-delete and the kernel
will kill any programs that are running, unmount your filesystems
and restart the machine.
4.1 Booting the installed Slackware system
If you've installed LILO, make sure you don't have a disk in your
floppy drive. When your machine reboots it should start LILO.
Otherwise, insert the bootdisk made for your system during the
configuration process and use it to boot.
The kernel will go through the startup process, detecting your
hardware, checking your partitions and starting various processes.
Eventually you'll be given a login prompt:
darkstar login:
Log into the new system as "root".
Welcome to Linux 2.0.29
darkstar login: root
last login: Mon Jul 1 10:37:39 on ttgl
Linux 2.0.29.
You have mail.
darkstar: ~#
4.2 Post-installation configuration
Once the system is running, most of the work is complete. However,
there are still a few programs you'll need to configure. We'll cover
the most important of these in this section.
/etc/rc.d/rc.modules
--------------------
This file contains a list of Linux kernel modules. A kernel module
is like a device driver under DOS. You can think of the
/etc/rc.d/rc.modules file as similar to DOS's CONFIG.SYS. The file
specifies which modules the system needs to load to support the
machine's hardware. After booting your machine, you may find that some
of your hardware isn't detected (usually an ethernet card) then
you'll need to load the correct module to provide the support.
To do this, edit the /etc/rc.d/rc.modules file with a text editor
such as 'vi' or 'emacs'. You'll see a list of modules, one per line.
Most of these lines will have a '#' at the beginning of them -- this
causes the line to be ignored. As an example, let's say your machine
has a 3com 3c509 ethernet card. To activate support for this card,
find the line with '3c509' in it, and remove the '#' from the
beginning of the line. Then save the changed file. When you reboot
the system, the module will load and the kernel will recognize the
card.
There's a lot more information out there about kernel modules,
including lists of module names and the cards they support. You will
also find extra options you can can add to the module lines to
configure the hardware in different ways. This
documentation is on the Slackware CDROM in the /docs directory. Useful
files include /docs/mini/Kerneld, /CDROM/docs/kernel-2.0/modules.txt,
and /CDROM/docs/kernel-2.0/networking/net-modules.txt.
Configuring the X Window System
-------------------------------
Configuring X is a complex task. The reason for this is the vast
numbers of video cards available for the PC architecture, most of
which use different programming interfaces. For this reason, you
need to know quite a bit of information about your video hardware
before you can configure X. Fortunately (especially since many
off-the-shelf systems don't even tell you what type of card you've
got) there's a utility to help. "SuperProbe" comes with XFree86 (the
version of X included with Slackware) and probes your video hardware
and displays as much information as it can find on the screen. To
use it, just type SuperProbe at a prompt, and then write down all of
the information listed.
# SuperProbe
To configure X, you'll need to make an /etc/XF86Config file. This
file contains lots of details about your video hardware, mouse, and
monitor. It's a very complex configuration file, so fortunately the
XFree86 team has written a program called "xf86config" to help with
the process. To use xf86config, first start the utility from a root
prompt:
# xf86config
This will present a screenful of information about xf86config. To
continue, press enter. xf86config will ask you to verify
you have set your PATH correctly. It should be fine, so go ahead and
hit enter.
Next, select your mouse from the menu presented. If
you don't see your serial mouse listed, pick the Microsoft protocol
-- it's the most common and will probably work. Next xf86config will
ask you about using ChordMiddle and Emulate3Buttons. You'll see
these options described in detail on the screen. Use
them if the middle button on your mouse doesn't work under X, or if
your mouse only has two buttons (Emulate3Buttons lets you simulate
the middle button by pressing both buttons simultaneously). Then,
enter the name of your mouse device. The default choice, /dev/mouse,
should work since the link was configured during Slackware setup.
xf86config will ask you about enabling special key bindings.
If you need this say 'y'. Most users can say 'n' -- enter this if
you're not sure.
In the next section you enter the sync range for your monitor.
To start configuring your monitor, press enter. You will see a list
of monitor types -- choose one of them. Be careful not to exceed the
specifications of your monitor. Doing so could damage your hardware.
Specify the vertical sync range for your monitor (you should
find this in the manual for the monitor). xf86config will ask you to
enter strings to identify the monitor type in the XF86Config
file. Enter anything you like on these 3 lines (including
nothing at all).
Now you have the opportunity to look at the database of video card types.
You'll want to do this, so say 'y', and select a card from the
list shown. If you don't see your exact card, try selecting
one that uses the same chipset and it will probably work fine. Then
choose an X server. You should have installed the server recommended
for your card, but if not, you can always go back and install that
later. Choose option (5) to use the X server recommended
for your video card's chipset.
When asked if you wish to set the symbolic link, say 'y', and set the
link in /var/X11R6/bin. Next, tell xf86config how much RAM you have
on your video card. xf86config will want you to enter some more
descriptive text about your video card. If you like, you can enter
descriptions on these three lines.
You'll be asked next about your
RAMDAC and clock generator settings. Enter them if you like, but the
X server will probably successfully probe for these values. The next
option is to run X -probeonly to find the clock settings for the
card. You can try this, and if it works it will speed up X's startup
time. If it fails, don't worry about it.
You'll then be asked which
display resolutions you want to use. Again, going with the provided
defaults should be fine to start with. Later on, you can edit the
/etc/XF86Config file and rearrange the modes so 1024x768 (or whatever mode
you like) is the default. Now, the xf86config program will ask if
you'd like to save the current configuration file.
Answer yes, and the X configuration process is complete. You can now
start X now with the 'startx' command.
User Accounts
-------------
You should make a user account for yourself. Use this account unless
you have system administration tasks to do that require the special
powers of the root account. Using the root account for everyday
tasks is dangerous, since you could damage or erase important files
with a simple typing error. When you use a normal user account, you
can't cause any major damage to the system since it won't let you
erase or change important system files. To make a user account, use
the 'adduser' program. Just type 'adduser' at a prompt, and follow
the instructions. Going with the default selections for user ID,
group ID, and shell should be just fine for most users.
Securing your machine
---------------------
When you first boot a newly installed Slackware system, there is no
password for the root account. You should change this immediately.
To do this, use the 'passwd' command:
darkstar:~ # passwd
The system will prompt you to enter a password for the root account.
When choosing passwords for a Linux system that is connected to a
network you should pick a "strong" password. However, passwords only
help protect a system from remote tresspassing. It's easy to gain
access to a system if someone has physical access to the console.
If you forget the root password, take the original boot and root
disks you used to install and start up the system as if you were
going to reinstall linux. At the prompt, you can manually mount the
root Linux partition from your hard drive and remove the root
password. For example, I might do the following (assuming my root
partition is /dev/hda2):
# mount /dev/hda2 /mnt
# cp /mnt/etc/passwd /mnt/etc/passwd.bk
# cp /mnt/etc/passwd.OLD /mnt/etc/passwd
This will make a backup of your password file and copy a default
password file (without a root password) over the current one. Now
you should be able to reboot and login as root.
Here are some pointers on selecting "strong" passwords.
1. Never use your name, birthdate, license plate, your dog or child's
name or anything relating to yourself as a password. These are the
first things a cracker will try.
2. Don't use a password that is any variation of your login name.
3. Do not use words from the dictionary, syllables of two different words
concatenated together or "password" as your password.
4. Do not write your password down and stick it to your terminal.
5. Do not use a number as your password like "123456" or a password shorter
than six characters.
Here are some examples of strong passwords:
*^fg!:1? ()lsp%@9 i6v917&# ++c$!jke *!zd/mn1
Here are some weak passwords:
irule god root sex power password unix
5.0 Using the Slackware CDROM Word Index
The Slackware CDROM is indexed so you can quickly locate files
containing any keyword. You can access this feature from the MS-DOS
view program by using the F7 key. Under Linux, you can use the
'utils/lookup.lin' binary on the CDROM.
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This Document Copyright 1996 Walnut Creek CDROM.