I think I'd like to try installing Slackware 9.1. Maybe I'm ready for something different.

But before I do I would like to be sure I can use all my hardware with Slackware. I'm willing to get some drivers somewhere, but I'd like to do the research before I lose my OS.

Modem, Touchpad, Graphics display (screen), Ethernet PCI, CD-R, and so forth.

So I know that
a) I need to assemble a list of my hardware
b) I need to cross check this list with what is compatible with Slackware Linux ( I have Mandrake 8.1 installed on this machine now. So that is a start.)

I'm prepared for the research involved with b).

But how can I find all about my hardware? Surely there is some sort of command I can run in the terminal. I think I used it once but I don't remember. I'll be sure to write it down this time.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

the command lcpci (use as root) gives you a list of various things (like pci graphics cards, firewire ports, usb ports, dial up modems, ethernet cards, onboard sound chips, (not sure about plug in cards), and a few other things. The one thing it does not give (atleast for me) was cd rom drives.

But for the most part, slack setup autodetected all of this stuff for me. The only things it did not auto configure for me were xf86config stuff like my monitor and nvidia drivers.

I'm not sure if that is a command for all linux distributions, or just slackware. hope that helps.

If you want to check your monitor H an V frequencies, just open up /etc/X11/XF86Config, and go to the monitor section.

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately that must be for Slackware. (Unless it's an application that I didn't install from my install CD). I switched to root user "su root" and entered:
--> lcpci
And the result was "command not found." Thanks anyway though.

Was all your hardware supported under red hat 8? If so, I can't imagine that Slackware 9.1 wouldn't support it. You can also try downloading Slax from here http://slax.linux-live.org/ It is a live-cd based on Slackware. Download the iso and see if you can boot from it and if all your hardware is supported.

I would suggest backing up your xf86config file and using it when you install slackware. I did to save the hastle of getting my video card and monitor to work at the settings I want as well as getting the scroll wheel of my mouse to work.

one last command you can try is 'lspci', it does the same thing for me as lcpci. maybe you have lspci installed.

(btw, that command is (L)spci, hard to tell with my konqueror font)

I have Red Hat installed on my Dell Workstation. I'll be preserving that.

I have Mandrake 8.1 installed on my Qlilinux laptop and that's what I'm thinking of replacing.

I'll keep your information about the XF86config file in mind.

If I use that iso, then I lose what I have correct? I don't know if I want to install the iso's without knowing about my hardware though. I'd like to know about compatibility before acing what I already have.

Thanks for your response.

That live cd iso will just run everything off the CD without changing anything on your current installation. you just use it to see if slackware will support your hardware.

Yes that worked. I used
--> lspci

And I obtained the following information about my hardware.

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 440BX/ZX - 82443BX/ZX Host bridge (rev 03)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 440BX/ZX - 82443BX/ZX AGP bridge (rev 03)
00:04.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1420
00:04.1 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI1420
00:07.0 Bridge: Intel Corporation 82371AB PIIX4 ISA (rev 02)
00:07.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82371AB PIIX4 IDE (rev 01)
00:07.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82371AB PIIX4 USB (rev 01)
00:07.3 Bridge: Intel Corporation 82371AB PIIX4 ACPI (rev 03)
00:08.0 Multimedia audio controller: ESS Technology ES1978 Maestro 2E (rev 10)
00:10.0 Communication controller: Lucent Microelectronics LT WinModem
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Rage Mobility M3 AGP 2x (rev 02)

k good, that info should be helpful if for some reason slackware doesn't detect some of it. I guess its a good idea to use that live cd. I had no idea someone made one for slackware. thanks Minder.

Another thing you might want to check is what modules you use with Mandrake:

lsmod

This may make it easier to find out what's missing if some device does not work in Slackware but did in Mandrake. You might want to copy your XF86Config file in case you have trouble setting up XWindows on Slackware.

Thanks to everyone who responded here.

I'm no longer trying to install Slackware. I'm replacing Mandrake with Red Hat for now. I'm used to it and I like it.

But I did find an article worthy of linking in this thread. It's called "This is how I do it all" and you can read it here...

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=174447