How Bad/Easy is it to install Slack?
 

HONESTLY....I've heard SO many differing opinions on this and thought this might be the place to get some informed opinions.

Mind you, I'm a Linux noob running Ubuntu Hoary 5.04 right now and I haven't had many problems. The Ubuntu support system though has been excellent for me when I've had a problem.

SO Slack users, what are your opinions? Can a noob actually install and run Slack?

Just like asking what is the best distro - you'll get BOUNDS of opinions. But thats
what your asking for - here's mine:

Installation for a self-proclaimed noob? pretty easy
Configuration for a self-proclaimed noob? do-able but get ready to learn

take it step by step and all should be well and right in the world - eventually - and
you'll know more then you did before.
-tw

slack is pretty hard to install if your used to graphical user interface. If you have experience with command line interface you'll probably do just fine. It does pay off in the end thouh, I assure you. A word to the wise: make sure you burn a CD before the installation with a LINUX version of your display driver. Otherwise, there's a good chance you're display won't be supported (as was mine, if you look at my previous posts). If that happens, you have to modify x-server so that it boots in VGA, and VGA is really hard to work in if you run a GUI. YUCK. Hope that helps, and good luck!

mario8723 if you are not afraid of don't having a graphical installer like mrchaos pointed out and you DO HAVE some little (just a little idea) of things like partitions, mount points, then you're able to install it :)
Oh, and you also need some will to read and to try and re try and read and try again :P
It's not hard, but it's a learning process, nothing is encovered, you've all the control you ever wanted :)

I'm certainly not afraid of not having a gui installer, seeing as how I installed Ubuntu Hoary without one. It just seems to me that everybody says installing Slack is NOT recommended for noobs etc...Beware of the Slack...etc, etc. Just wanted to get a feel for how it actually is and whether or not I'm up to the challenge...

hmmm... I'm about as n00b as they come, and I was able to install slack... I'm sure you'd do just fine. No worries! :-D

it's really not hard at all. familiarize yourself with fdisk first, and decide what your partition table is going to look like (separate partitions for /, /home, and /usr, for instance, and how big you want each to be). then when you boot the slack install disk use fdisk to set that up, save changes and enter setup. i would suggest doing a full install, or newbie install. if you do newbie, err on the side of caution and include something even if you're not sure you'll need it. anyway, check out shilo's guide (there's a sticky atop this forum), he makes it all very easy.

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Beware of the Slack...etc, etc
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:D

those are the people that are not able to install Slackware, and depend on a gui-jungle.
( wich is never complete , and will wear down your mouse ).

when you've taken the first hurdles ( the learning-part is at the start )
you'll stick to Slack. ( well..i do )
just try it....

good luck

egag

Oh, I forgot - heres a link to how to install Slack.

It even has pictures - so you can get a little familiar before you do it
good luck

http://www.bitbenderforums.com/vb22/...threadid=60154

-tw

Thanks to all for your responses to this point. I certainly am going to try it out and let you know how I did.

At this point though, I have to ask how the system is post-installation. Right now, being familiar with Ubuntu, I'm able to update/upgrade my system in less than 2 minutes through the apt feature and the Synaptic Package Manager. I know that Slackware uses the tgz format. Basically, you're just downloading the tgz files and extracting/installing from there? Just not familiar with it. I guess it sounds like downloaded and installing a .zip file in Windows. Although I'm sur e there is no Winzip wizard to do it all for you, lol. ..

Also, how is the user community and where can I go post-install for help? The one thing I like about Ubuntu is the forums they have as well as an IRC channel they use for support. Both have been very helpful to date, and I'm sure there is something similar for Slack users....?

Also, something I just thought of that may be of great importance (he he)
If I put this on my main PC as the only O/S and configure everything properly will it ever be to the point where my wife (wink) would be able to browse and sed/receive email? Or will it just completely keep my wife off the PC (which wouldn't be such a bad thing)?

this is the official slackware forum, so you're in the right place ;)

and .tgz are really easy to work with. just cd into the directory containing the file, and run pkgtool as root. it's very easy to use. slackpkg is also wonderful for updating or upgrading packages. slackpkg upgrade slackpkg, for instance.

I don't understand this 'comfortable with the command line; scary with no GUI thing' stuff. There is *one* CLI step (disk partitioning) and, while it isn't a *G*UI, it's still a *menu*. Slack's install is simple.

A tgz is a tarball which contains the package's binaries and other files in the same structure they'll eventually take on your system. They may also include a script to create the necessary symlinks or other details but often not even that. To install, issue 'installpkg foo'. Simple as that. Upgrade is 'upgradepkg'. Remove is - one guess: 'removepkg'.

If your wfe is to *administer* the machine and she's not comfortable doing so, she's got her work cut out for her. If she's just to *use* it, it's up to you to configure it for her and then she can use KDE or any other environment just as she would on any other distro. So it's up to you. ;)

Good luck.

Plenty of reassurance here for me too. I'm 98% through downloading discs 1 and 2, so hopefully tonight I can write back inside Slack 10.1! Hooray!

I have to agree with digiot, I've seen the Bitbender guide, and even got halfway through a 10.0 install (before I discovered my 2nd disc was corrupt... oh, the joys of MD5). It is definately a GUI, just not a Window System i.e. the conventional meaning of GUI. It is graphical (at least in my mind, a menu is graphical).

Don't say Slack doesn't have a GUI install until you've installed Gentoo/LFS :P

Is slack hard to install? Depends.. I've had installations that were a quick and easy, but then I've had others where things didn't go well and a newbie would have be lost. If you hardware is pretty standard then it's not bad at all.

I've heard slack is one of the hardest distro's to use. I've been using it for quite a while now and nothing could be further from the truth. Patricks goal to keep it the most "unix like" distro while using the keep it simple approach, makes it one of the most pleasurable OS's I've ever used.

Yes, emphatically yes, a noob can indeed install Slackware. I started out with Fedora Core 2, then one night, as an unnamed friend of mine was having a drink with me, I was informed quite rudely by a drunk MIS manager one booth to my left that I was not a man until I had completed a stage 1 Gentoo install blindfolded on a braille keyboard. He eventually lightened up and said that I would be best educated as to linux power and stability by installing Slackware. He was right. Installing Slackware will be daunting and the interface and post install configuration will be archaic and seemingly complicated, you will probably start drinking more and your family will hate you until that precious moment when Patrick Volkerding flicks the switch in your head. Once you have done it you will be ready to use linux on a whole new level without feeling that you have compromised basic knowledge for ease of use. I swear by Slack, Debian and Gentoo. Learning this stuff is frustrating sometimes, but between this forum's phenominal user base and noob support and the wonderful patience of any Linux Geeks in your life you will survive and indeed prosper well in your evolution toward "Guru-ity". Try to see if you have a local Linux User's Group (LUG) in your immediate area. LUGs are a phenomenal resource and support base. Remember that every single person you beg advice from, begged there knowledge from someone else. Don't be afraid to ask questions as long as you have made a real effort to find your own information. Remember to read and stay up on anything you can. Soon, you will have a shiny, gorgeous new Slack box and can kind of smile warmly with a quiet chuckle as you help someone figure out their first Command Line User Experience. Slack may have more of a learning wall than curve but it will teach you well. Good luck man.

-K