What is wrong with Slackware these days?

Darth Vader · 03-01-2011, 06:10 AM

IF this bug exist, the only explanation is that the Slackware installer creates an buggy lilo.conf on the target system.

I would be curious about the lilo.conf content, when the installation failed for these reasons.

slkrover · 03-01-2011, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth Vader

IF this bug exist, the only explanation is that the Slackware installer creates an buggy lilo.conf on the target system.

I would be curious about the lilo.conf content, when the installation failed for these reasons.

This is not an install fail. If I have Sabayon installed on my primary drive and then install Slack to the secondary drive it will go into kernel panic when booting after the install but if I then switch the slack drive to the primary cable and the sabayon to secondary slack boots fine even if it was set up as /sdb and is now /sda.

onebuck · 03-01-2011, 05:53 PM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by slkrover

This is not an install fail. If I have Sabayon installed on my primary drive and then install Slack to the secondary drive it will go into kernel panic when booting after the install but if I then switch the slack drive to the primary cable and the sabayon to secondary slack boots fine even if it was set up as /sdb and is now /sda.

You were shown the way to identify the second drive. Try it?

Darth Vader · 03-01-2011, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slkrover

This is not an install fail. If I have Sabayon installed on my primary drive and then install Slack to the secondary drive it will go into kernel panic when booting after the install but if I then switch the slack drive to the primary cable and the sabayon to secondary slack boots fine even if it was set up as /sdb and is now /sda.

Okay, then. I will like, You to try to reproduce the 'failed' sda/sdb Slackware installation and show us the content of /etc/lilo.conf and /etc/fstab from this innocent system. It's important to understand "WHAT THE HELL HAPPEN?".

slkrover · 03-01-2011, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onebuck

Hi,

You were shown the way to identify the second drive. Try it?

Sorry I am just giving the only problem I have had with slack in the past. I always install slack on the primary drive now so its not a problem. Next time I have the case apart I will switch cables and see what happens.

folkenfanel · 03-01-2011, 09:29 PM

Some time ago (when going to 2.6.35.x from 2.6.33.x) I had a similar problem with a kernel panic with my custom kernel, but not with the stock Slackware kernel. There was a sh%&/%&/%&%/ty tiny 8MB "disk" posing as sda. So Lilo was becoming crazy. Booting to sdb from the boot console was somewhat successful, but as fstab was directed to sda, it wasn't a solution. I could of course have changed my fstab from another box, but I wanted that sh****ty "disk" to dissappear. My custom kernel was a hugesmp.s lookalike by the way, including all SCSI low level drivers which I suspected that was the problem (I had discarded other possible flags). Then I tested all drivers and found that one of those drivers that was the one that caused the problem. The "disk" was gone.

That was my most serious problem with Slackware in years, and it wasn't even caused by Slackware itself, but by an experiment.

All other boxes that I had running Slackware and have collapsed, collapsed by physical means (some were stolen). But none collapsed as a result of Slackware's fault.

One unattended box having Slackware 11.0 was still working years after leaving it in someone's kitchen.

I personally think that the main problem of Slackware is that it normally does not fail, thus lowering the users desire to backup. Had some of my boxes not been stolen, I would still have that information.

I do backup my systems more these days. Crime rates are rising worldwide, so (at least with Slackware) it's not the systems fault anymore, but the burglars.

A piece of advice for anyone: choose rewritable CDs/DVDs for data backup. Solid state drives are tempting, specially those 500GB nice ones, but they are also just too easy to carry about, which makes them attractive for an addict looking for something small to trade for some drugs. Used DVDs are worthless to anyone but yourself. (yes, most of what I was able to recover was on used CDs and DVDs).

bonixavier · 03-02-2011, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProtoformX

Pick a freaking start up script style, either choose sysv already or stick with BSD, using both is both annoying and redundant

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alien Bob

What's your gripe with BSD versus SysV boot scripts? Slackware uses a hybrid mix, it is neither of those.

Could you, or someone with enough knowledge, please explain the reason for using this hybrid setup? Isn't it adding unnecessary complexity? Wouldn't a pure BSD style init with an rc.conf or something make things simpler to manage? Would some things require too much tweaking to be made to work?

volkerdi · 03-02-2011, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonixavier

Could you, or someone with enough knowledge, please explain the reason for using this hybrid setup? Isn't it adding unnecessary complexity? Wouldn't a pure BSD style init with an rc.conf or something make things simpler to manage? Would some things require too much tweaking to be made to work?

A single rc.conf would not be compatible with the notion of runlevels.

In any case, we do not ship any scripts in the sysvinit runlevel directories such as /etc/rc?.d/ that are used by RPM based distributions, but it makes sense to support those if any are found.

bonixavier · 03-02-2011, 07:25 PM

And here I was asking for someone with enough knowledge... Thank you for the explanation, Pat. : D

Ignotum Per Ignotius · 03-03-2011, 07:20 AM

Quote:

And here I was asking for someone with enough knowledge... Thank you for the explanation, Pat.

...Yes, it feels as though Elvis has just sauntered by.

Thanks for a great distribution, Pat: I'm looking forward to the next release...

the_penguinator · 03-04-2011, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProtoformX

4)Get your act together! Slackware's track record for breaking things is the worst i have ever seen, if it works, dont break it by introducing new things, keep them in current, thats why current exists!

aside from my initial sense that this was just a long troll rant, I re-read this bit and couldn't help wonder...

I've been treating Slack as if if were a rolling release i.e., updating current as soon as updates come out, and aside from two burps with Xorg in the last year or two, it has been as stable as a rock for me...32bit on IBM R51 and Dell D600, D620 and C840 laptops

not feeling ya there bigboy, but courage!! winter (and Harper) will be gone soon!

BrZ · 03-04-2011, 09:56 AM

My disk is configured as secondary master and the boot flag is enabled. I made '/boot' on a separate partition*. If it help, here is some info:

'lilo.conf':

Quote:

# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/sdb
compact
lba32
message = /boot/boot_message.txt
append=" vt.default_utf8=0 rootfstype=ext4 acpi=force"
# prompt
# timeout = 5
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
vga = 790
# Normal VGA console
# vga = normal
# ramdisk = 0 # paranoia setting
# End LILO global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/sdb2
label = Slackware
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

'fstab':

Quote:

/dev/sdb1 /boot ext4 defaults 1 2
/dev/sdb2 / ext4 defaults 1 1
/dev/sdb3 swap swap defaults 0 0
#/dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom auto noauto,owner,ro 0 0
#/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto noauto,owner 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts gid=5,mode=620 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0

* If you mount it wrong during install, you'll hit the 99 wall =]

foodown · 03-14-2011, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProtoformX

Seriously, I went to upgrade from good old Slackware 9.1 to this new crappy 13.1 piece of dig turd!

1) Apparently, Slackware got into the trend of copying Microsoft Windows

...

2) If compiz doesn't work the way it should (IE freezing at random) on 3 of my boxes with totally different hardware configurations, they why on earth is it even supported? Do we not like having stable machines?

...

3) Pick a freaking start up script style, either choose sysv already or stick with BSD, using both is both annoying and redundant

4)Get your act together! Slackware's track record for breaking things is the worst

...

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrZ

...

I can't compare the similarities between Slackware and the other OS, because there are none, but I must admit: Slack seems the best replacement for XP/2K clients and NT/2K/2K3 servers around (go Russia =]).

...

Two desktops are running current with all the eye candy GNU/Linux can supply. Just stable, fast and beauty machines...

Still the king Slackware is!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik_FL

I've seen nothing but improvements in Slackware,

...

I've had my frustrations with Linux, but other Slackers always help, including people like Alien Bob, who spend time proactively making things easier and better. I'd much rather know how to solve a few problems than to be completely ignorant

...

Thanks to everyone who contributes to Slackware.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slkrover

Also as a Canadian, Slackware is the best I have ever found for an os. Stable beyond stable, 32 and 64b.

...

I feel a little guilty for renewing the timestamp on this thread ...

I hadn't read it until tonight, and couldn't help but be struck at how quickly this thread went the way of all "Slackware sucks" troll posts: It just became an opportunity for some of the faithful to gush.