Hi everyone,
I am a newbie to linux. I have a laptop (zv5120us) and I want to install linux in it. Most of the distributions (Suse, Fedora etc) have problems with its modem and wireless. I am interested in Slackware because it is 'simple' (also means hard to configure and figure out but good to learn linux...) and secure.
My question is, should I install Slackware 10.2 with kernel 2.4 or 2.6? What are the specific risks of installing it with the test (boot: test26.i-?-) 2.6 kernel for using Slackware?
Or should I just wait for the Slackware 11? If so, to your experiences with slackware, how long would it take to release the 11th (I know slackware hates to give release dates).
Thanks for the help
Sincerely.

why procrastinate?
go ahead and give it a shot.

most report that 2.6 kernels have better support
for the hardware of newer laptops. as far as "risk",
i'm not sure if there is any...except that 2.6 might
not be a rock solid as 2.4.

nobody knows release dates.
it's pointless to even guess...

regarding compatibility it all depends:
real modem vs winmodem, the chipset of your wifi, etc...

I love Slack. 10.2 ships with Fire Fox 1.0.6 and T Bird, I installed 10.2 last night. I'd go for it. There are good how tos on the Internet.

I would jump right in and give it a try. You might do some checking about which kernel would give you best support. I would point out that Pat V.'s testing seems more stable oftentimes than many other distros stable.

this quite true for me on my laptop HP Compaq Presario M2000 (M2242AP), first i install with kernel 2.4 & everthing was good, usb drive can be detected & mounted properly , pppoe-start was very smooth & etc. Then i decided to upgrade to kernel 2.6 & ended with usb can't be mounted & pppoe-start failed.

The dmesg error was the usb is deregistered..

But, on Debian (on the same laptop) kernel 2.6.9 is working perfectly but i have throw away debian due to the Xfree86 does not support my video. Xfree only can give me 800x600 resolution.

I going reinstall back slack & try again to use 2.6...

So long as you know your hardware well (manufacturer/device numbers) you shouldn't have trouble compiling a new kernel. You will mess up your first few times, but don't let it get you down; just make sure you leave your original kernel as default in lilo until you're sure that the new one is perfect.

There are not risks when installing 2.6 kernel, it may have better support for your wireless device. Just remember to read release notes that explains the need of installing 2.6 modules after install.

So slack 10.2 can do automount such a usb flashdisk?

what i meant was, with Slack 10.2 kernel 2.4 i can mount the usb --> mount -t vfat /dev/sda /mnt/flash & not with slack 10.2 kernel 2.6.13

Quote: "Just remember to read release notes that explains the need of installing 2.6 modules after install."

Any chance you could give me the link to that (need to install 2.6 modules)? Now that I want to try instaling 10.2 WITH kernel 2.6, I need to know how not to screw the installation And I need to know whether I can manage to load 2.6 modules...

And for the responses, thanks so much!

PS. I looked at the slackbook project and other FAQs, but there were no references to installing with the new kernel. I remember reading somewhere (??) to give a test26.i option when booting/choosing the kernel, but I can't remember where it was.

Never mind, already installed Slackware 10.2 with 2.6 kernel (could not resist temptation). Thanks for the encouragement!

If you want it, you can do it. I also have an HP zv5200, compiled 2.6.12.5 some weeks ago and everything worked like a charm.

Good luck!

Peace

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is a difference between booting to 2.6 and installing it. You need to make sure that you choose to install the 2.6 kernel. you can
to see what kernel you are running.

I think a lot of us would really like to see a nice solid HOWTO on doing and installation using test26.s kernel during install such that after reboot the system works. I tried it and had no sound, no mouse pointer movement, etc. For these to work, should I have gone to the packages on CD 2 and installed kernel-modules....tgz?
(Still looking forward to receiving CD's I ordered, even though I already downloaded )

I installed with the test26.s and it's working fine. you will however do at least these so that you have the source and the modules. Note that I still have small problems (ACPI not fully working).
go to kernel folder in cd2, issue a ls to see the tgz files, and
# upgradepkg kernel-modules(....).tgz
# upgradepkg kernel-source(...).tgz
# upgradepkg alsa(...).tgz
sorry I don't remember the exact names.
These will get rid of your 2.4.x junk (that you are not using anyway) and install 2.6.x staff.
you may have to reconfigure alsa after reboot, I am not sure about that. Some people say you need to compile the kernel afterwords. I don't think that's really necessary but I'm a newbie...