hope this is the right place for this. anyway,i installed slackware 11. one error(forget what it was but not the prob). when i was installing,i was asked to set root password,i left it blank.rebooted from hd(b) and was asked to log-in.couldnt.so slackware never booted. re installed,was going to set password but keyboard wont work. worked when keyboard "test" screen appeared during install.so,needless to say i am not running slackware 11.0 right now.(myah cause it works).so,next time i install how do i get past log in problem and actually use the o/s?

OK, the issue here is a little unclear, however:
Does the keyboard work, or does it not? Like, does it work while not messing with slackware, or is it broken? The solution should be obvious if it is broken hehe, but if it isn't broken, you may have selected a keyboard option during setup which wasn't compatible.
Choose the default when in doubt.
As for the root password, I have never tried setup without one, but I would guess it would work as normal, only with no password. Perhaps pressing return would suffice, but it is definitely the norm, and a good idea, to set a password for the root account.
So, that said, if you re-do the setup procedure, you should not have any login problems.
If you do, please post again the details, and we will try to help as best we can.
For the record, this should have been posted in the Slackware forum, I think, if it isn't a broken/malfunctioning keyboard issue.
Best of luck with Slack!

grimtripper,

I would suggest you always set a root password.

I don't know the specifics of slackware, but many Linux distributions do not allow password-less logins for the root account. If you want to fix this, use a Live CD, like knoppix to mount your partition, then update the /etc/shadow file to put a password on the root account.

Thanks for that x_t_3, I didn't know a lot of them wouldn't run w/o a root password
I suspect the original poster may have an easier time reinstalling, than messing with the shadow files though

Think it defaults to username "root" and password "toor". i set a new one after installation. There are a few blogs in the Slackware thread that might help you with the kb problem.

ok,my keyboard works fine. i'm using it right now.lol. it does nothing when i was going to add root password during install.no keys worked at all.so no root password.left it blank. and i couldnt log in after install so slackware 11 never booted. like i said,just before root password page, during install,there was a keyboard test page. worked fine for that. so i just want to know how to get the o/s running then i can add root password later.or why it wouldnt load in the first place.

OK, Sounds like perhaps you selected an incorrect keyboard selection during setup.
Let us know how it goes next time.
I can't explain why it would work on the test page but not on the actual O/S.
As to why it wouldn't load, possibly it was your boot-loader configuration. The most reliable way seems to be applying the bootloader to the MBR, and also make a boot floppy, incase you can't boot with the default bootloader.

i figured it out.keyboard is fine as i said. the "problem" was when creating a root and user password,it just doesnt show for security purposes i imagine.its still being typed.just have to be real careful to hit keys only once!

grimtripper has discovered linux does not print anything when he enters his password. The keyboard is not broken. Ye of little faith. This is good security, but if you hate it, you can set it to print * , or even *** instead of individual characters as you type. I think the options are under "login manager".
Linux is weird, wonderful and (mostly) logical.
++ tredegar removes "Dr. Spock" ears.
!!Wait - "These are my ears. Ouch!"

wow.i am new to linux and had a problem...i post the problem and get no solution..
i figure out what the problem was,even though the comunity i posed the problem to never helped and i'm the dummy?? wow. never expected to be ridiculed when no actual slackware users helped. i helped me. a windoze master. and in my last reply,it must be good security. but a little oxymoronish if root cant see what he/she's typing..

Call me Mr. Know it all, if I saw this thread earlier, I would have given the correct answer because the sentence that stated "i was asked to set root password,i left it blank.rebooted from hd(b) and was asked to log-in.couldnt.so slackware never booted" provided the only information that I needed even though it is cryptic and it has bad grammar. The root password does have to be set. If it is not, you will not be able to do anything unless you reboot into run level 1 also known as single user level. The reason why any masking is not shown is because of security which you already know now. Yes this can be changed if you want to, but I have not looked into this because it is fine how it is. Other command line programs that asks for a password also do this.

Really, anybody with a month or more of Linux knowledge should know this. If they do not, I recommend stop using GUI programs to configure and add users.

Linux is not Windows. A re-install of Linux does not fix any problem. In Linux there is always a solution.

To boot into run level 1 using LILO and assuming "linux" is the title for booting in Linux. Type "linux 1".

To boot into run level 1 using GRUB and assuming "linux" is the title for booting in Linux. Select linux with the arrow keys. Press "e", select the kernel line and press "e" again. Move the cursor to the end of the line and add "1". Hit "ESC" and press b to boot.

Difference between LILO and GRUB, one is low-level and other is user space. LILO have to be run every time its config is changed. GRUB does not have to be run after editing its config files. GRUB is easier for novice users. LILO is a pain if novice users forgot to run LILO after a change has been made to its config because they have to setup a chroot with in a live Linux boot and run LILO to apply the changes. I recommend switching to GRUB if you are using LILO. If you want, I or others can convert your LILO config file into GRUB.

well,thankfully linux works well and is fixable if/when needed.its time windoze figured this out.vista will be bill's downfall by the look of things as for boot manager, i actually like both. using lilo right now.grub does seem to be better.as for my grammar,didnt know we was in skool. cryptic?? problem was simple. and explaind- nothing showed when typing root password.but the prob is fixed(simplly)so time to enjoy a non-windowz os. thank god for linux!