[SOLVED] New guy for Slackware :P

dwnthk · 05-01-2016, 05:11 AM

I am pretty new to Linux.

There are so many different Linux systems when I googled the web. I was thinking to try Arch, somehow I picked Slackware for myself to install.

Is it a good version to start with? I am planning to use 30GB for linux partition and 10GB for swap. Is it enough for beginning?

Thx guys.

beachboy2 · 05-01-2016, 05:53 AM

dwnthk,

Welcome to LQ.

I have no wish to upset the Slackware users on here (heaven forbid). Neither do I want to put you off using Slackware. You will learn a great deal about the fundamentals of Linux by doing so.It is just that, generally speaking, Slackware is not considered to be a beginner distro.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...xp-4175502495/

This previous thread may help you:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ckware-874007/

I would suggest a maximum of 2GB for swap, plus, say 15GB to 20GB for root and the remainder as /home. There are many other ways of partitioning your drive as per the above link.

I recommend that you closely examine the Slackware Docs first. It is a mine of information.

https://docs.slackware.com/

keefaz · 05-01-2016, 06:08 AM

I would say 20GB is a minimum for root partition for a Slackware full install (mine has 12GB used space and this is with separate /var, /tmp and /home partitions)

dwnthk · 05-01-2016, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachboy2

dwnthk,

Welcome to LQ.

I have no wish to upset the Slackware users on here (heaven forbid). Neither do I want to put you off using Slackware. You will learn a great deal about the fundamentals of Linux by doing so.It is just that, generally speaking, Slackware is not considerd to be a beginner distro.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...xp-4175502495/

Wow... there are so many different versions of Linux out there...

Thanks guys. I will be trying to install the Slackware first.

I've found that my laptop got one hard drive and it has 3 partitions already installed by Windows. They are Windows_Drv, Windows 7 and Windows_Recovery. So I can only create one primary partition for my Linux, and can't create anymore for swap. What should I do? Can I just skip the swap?

I read a little bit about the swap partition. They said the size of swap partition should be twice as the size of ram. So I got 4GB ram in my laptop. That's why I thought 10GB of swap would be nice... isn't it?

Thanks again guys.

PS:

Oh... after a search here, I see people are having /swap, /root and /home on different partitions...!
Should I delete the Windows_Drv and Windows_Recovery?

beachboy2 · 05-01-2016, 07:01 AM

dwnthk,

Wait!

You need to do a lot of reading first for a dual-boot, such as here:

http://lifehacker.com/5403100/dual-b...erfect-harmony

First backup all your personal data (and your W7 installation).

Next use the Windows shrink tool to create space for the Linux OS.

You are getting confused about the maximum number of Primary partitions which is 4.

You create an Extended partition, then within that create Logical partitions, as many as you like. This gets round the 4 Primary partitions limit.

Also the Windows OS must be installed (or be present already) FIRST, then the Linux OS is installed second.

You will find a gParted CD very useful for creating the partitions you require:

http://gparted.org/livecd.php

Here is another dual-boot article:

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/d...-8-ubuntu.html

Please read up on the subject of dual-booting and partitioning before you proceed any further.

I really think that you should consider using a "beginner" distro such as Linux Mint or Ubuntu for starters, especially on a dual-boot.

You can then try Slackware later when you have gained more experience with using Linux. I don't want your initial experience of Linux to be a bad one.

If your Windows machine's CPU supports virtualization, a better route initially may be to download and install VirtualBox in W7 and then install Linux as a Virtual OS.

Check here:
http://www.technorms.com/8208/check-...virtualization

VirtualBox:

https://www.virtualbox.org/

Guide:

http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/201...s-virtual.html

keefaz · 05-01-2016, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwnthk

I read a little bit about the swap partition. They said the size of swap partition should be twice as the size of ram. So I got 4GB ram in my laptop. That's why I thought 10GB of swap would be nice... isn't it?

Thanks again guys.

This was yesterday, now with modern amount of RAM you don't follow this rule, 2GB may be enough but not less than 2/5 of RAM (for suspend-to-disk*: https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/power/interface.txt)

*edit: of course you could just use suspend to ram and run a system without swap partition

onebuck · 05-01-2016, 09:07 AM

Hi,

Welcome to LQ! & Slackware!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwnthk

I am pretty new to Linux.

There are so many different Linux systems when I googled the web. I was thinking to try Arch, somehow I picked Slackware for myself to install.

Is it a good version to start with? I am planning to use 30GB for linux partition and 10GB for swap. Is it enough for beginning?

Thx guys.

As a new user you can use Slackware to learn the ins & out of a Gnu/Linux. As mentioned before the Slackware Doc Project can be useful to both new & old Slackware users. If you want to test drive Slackware and have the proper hardware then look at Slackware64_Live created by Alien_Bob (Eric) one of the Slackware project team members. Slackware Live Edition documentation will be of great help.

The LQ Slackware forum is the official Slackware forum. Members are very helpful to new Slackware users. Be sure to look at my signature for helpful links for Slackware information.

Remember one thing, when you are using Slackware one must be patient and willing to dig deep into the inner workings of a Gnu/Linux. Slackware is a UNIX-like OS and you will learn more when you are willing to read and dig into information to assist in your endeavors. Slackware is not a HOLD-Your-Hand distribution. You will get out what you put into using Slackware. Plus, do not be afraid to present questions to the Slackware forum.

Some users say Slackware is not for newbies, I beg to differ. Work and you will learn to use a Great operating system that will open doors for any user willing to put the sweat into the venture.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!

ChuangTzu · 05-01-2016, 09:18 AM

Slackware is perfectly fine for new users as long as you are patient, willing to read, willing to learn and don't mind going against the grain or flow. Kinda like Salmon swimming upstream....

If you do get frustrated, ask for assistance, if you decide you want something a little easier then try SalixOS. But really Slackware is not as hard as people make it sound.

beachboy2 · 05-01-2016, 09:33 AM

dwnthk,

Salix a.k.a. Linux for the lazy Slacker:
https://www.salixos.org/

Download:
https://www.salixos.org/download.html

Salix 14.1 Xfce review (like a rock!):
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/salix-14-1-xfce.html

onebuck · 05-01-2016, 09:39 AM

Hi,

I just noticed that Alien_Bob has released Slackware Live ISO(32 bit). See his blog at; http://alien.slackbook.org/blog/slac...dition-beta-8/

To get the ISO based on beta 8; http://bear.alienbase.nl/mirrors/slackware-live/latest/

You will want to get the 32 bit then;

Code:

slackware-live-current.iso

To check the download via;
slackware-live-current.iso.asc   # PGP signature file

Or
slackware-live-current.iso.md5 # MD5 signature file

Note that the ISO that Alien_Bob creates for the Live edition are based on '-current' which is the development cycle for Slackware.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!

Emerson · 05-01-2016, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwnthk

I am pretty new to Linux.

There are so many different Linux systems when I googled the web. I was thinking to try Arch, somehow I picked Slackware for myself to install.

Is it a good version to start with? I am planning to use 30GB for linux partition and 10GB for swap. Is it enough for beginning?

Thx guys.

With 40 GB available on a 4 GB RAM machine I'd use all 40 GB as a single filesystem for everything. I'd not create a swap partition (unless you want to hibernate). You can always add a swap file if you really need it, but with 4 GB of RAM you will be fine without swap.

JWJones · 05-01-2016, 10:44 AM

Slackware is a great place to start, and stay. You can and will learn as much about Linux and UNIX-based OSs as you are willing to learn by going with Slackware. It is my go-to OS for rock-solid stability, dependability, and customization.

fido_dogstoyevsky · 05-01-2016, 04:41 PM

Hi and welcome.

With apologies to onebuck for quoting so much of their post:

Quote:

Originally Posted by onebuck

...As a new user you can use Slackware to learn the ins & out of a Gnu/Linux. As mentioned before the <font size="1">Slackware Doc Project can be useful to both new & old Slackware users...

The LQ Slackware forum is the official Slackware forum. Members are very helpful to new Slackware users. Be sure to look at my signature for helpful links for Slackware information.

Remember one thing, when you are using Slackware one must be patient and willing to dig deep into the inner workings of a Gnu/Linux. Slackware is a UNIX-like OS and you will learn more when you are willing to read and dig into information to assist in your endeavors. Slackware is not a HOLD-Your-Hand distribution. You will get out what you put into using Slackware. Plus, do not be afraid to present questions to the Slackware forum.

Some users say Slackware is not for newbies, I beg to differ. Work and you will learn to use a Great operating system that will open doors for any user willing to put the sweat into the venture.

The only thing I can add is that the best way to learn Linux is to use it to get your work done wherever you can. You may find

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachboy2

Salix a.k.a. Linux for the lazy Slacker:
https://www.salixos.org/

Download:
https://www.salixos.org/download.html

useful as a start when some hand holding can help while you're on the steep part of the learning curve.

Slackware has an undeserved reputation for being "hard to use", but in my experience no more difficult than other distributions, just a little more work sometimes.

vinyard · 05-01-2016, 06:37 PM

Anybody can use any distro. Just because new members are called newbies here, doesn't mean we are new to linux.

onebuck · 05-01-2016, 08:48 PM

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinyard

Anybody can use any distro. Just because new members are called newbies here, doesn't mean we are new to linux.

Maybe so but until we can learn or understand someone new to the forum that can actually understand or help someone else with the use of a Gnu/Linux. We will graciously label a new member as newbie without means of doing harm or attacking but a term of endearment until we know that persons true abilities.

As to anyone using any distribution, I know of no one that could start out knowing everything necessary to do a task without some experience or help. Sure sometimes one can be intuitive and successfully do a task by tracking in & out of attempts to perform a successful task. Most times a new user will need to use documentation or searches to identify a task that one needs to accomplish. That too, well require some experience over time.

I like to refer new members to this; http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...#faq_lqwelcome so that member can formulate a request to help us to help solve any issue that they may query the forum about. Maybe you should read that linked page.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!