Hi folks

I have a TOSHIBA A45-S151 and am running FC3 currently on it.But, I am having a problem with my laptop freezing often.I used only,ACPI ...no APM and tried other things, still no use and am tired of seeing this repeating problem and hence am planning a switch of distro....probably to SLACKWARE 10.1(heard some rave reveiews abt it ).I feel tht FC3 is slow and not stable........so hav some expectations frm slack!

So, I need some practical advise from slackware folks on these issues(since I have no idea of it,except tht it's linux too)...

1) I am using linux for quite a while now(though relatively new).....so can I get started well with it?How different is it migrating to slackware from FC3?
2) I have the wireless driver(madwifi for atheros) for my chipset and was able to configure and get it running in FC3 ....just some come usual commands........so will I be able to do the same in slackware too??(this is quite essential to me)
3) Is installing and configuring programs...same way as in FC3...foreg., ones like PostgreSQL server etc.
4) Apart from this need a good PDF viewer(like xpdf...like tht a lot ) and a decent web browser like firefox as in FC3..thts it.

expecting to hear frm the slack folks

Thanks

1. Slackware doesn't hold your hand. By default there you are not booted into a gui. But anything hard is rewarding; Slack is the best. You'll be amazed with the speed.

2. More than likely. I don't have direct experience with that card, but I'm sure it's nothing this forum can't tackle.

3. Installing programs is slightly different in Slack. The user is expected to have a tad more linux knowledge (dare I say) than the average linux user. Expect more compiling from source. *.tgz files act in some ways like an rpm file.

4. Add a gui to Slack and you can run all normal X programs.

Hi,

1) You'll have no problem getting used to Slackware. As regards normal (non-root) use, you can configure it to whatever way you like anyway, so it should be essentially no different. There are some differences in administration - the /etc/rc.d directory for one - but it's all very straightforward and well documented.
You hear a lot about how hard it's supposed to be to install Slackware. I must admit, it took be a few goes when I first installed it, but I've reinstalled a couple of times since then and never had a problem.
2) Don't know specifically about this, but I bet you can. If you look at the hcl section of this site, you'll probably be able to confirm that. Or search the forums.
3) Installing non-standard packages is the same: configure, make, install. Standard packages use the installpkg program, which pretty much does the same thing for you using tgz files. It's easy, easier than the rpm system.
4) Both available for Slackware.

Two very useful links: the slackware book and Linux packages is good for any additional packages you may want.

And, as usual, this site is an excellent resource for help and tips.

Good luck,

John

http://shilo.is-a-geek.com/slack/

some good info