Is slackware really hard work with?
 

I have been reading many documentations and lots of questions and comments on this board trying to decide which linux distribution is gonna work for me. I have now downloaded and made iso CDs for mandrake 9.2 and slackware 9.1 but now i dont know which to go with. I very fluent in computers but only have worked with windows and currently run windoze xp pro and have very little knowledge obout linux at all. I know i will have no problem with mandrake from what i have read and seen. I have read many posts telling NEWBIES such as myself to go ahead with the slackware and i will be ok i have partitioned a hardrive before with a dual boot of Win98 and xp through fdisk but slackware is scaring me. I want to make linux my sole OS. please give me some advice?:newbie:

I can only say if you have "read many post telling NEWBIES...." I don't think that has changed. Since you want to make linux your sole OS, go for it. What are you going to hurt. It's just a computer, not a prom date.

prom date answer really made things clear to me. LOL actually just wondered if i should go with an easier one for lets say a few months or is it really a waste of my time and should just tackle slackware

it can't hurt to go with another distro for a while you can always change later.....I would just check to make sure slackware 9.1 has hardware detection durning install it makes it much easier than trying to figure out which drivers you need. I installed mandrake once just so I could get my X-windows working because the Debian distro I was using no matter what I did couldn't get me a workiing XF86Config-4 file. good luck.

--Alex

I used Mandrake 9.1 for about 5 months to get used to using a Linux system, and dove into Slackware just this week. After a lot of searching and reading and playing with the system, I now have a really clean running machine without all the bloat. :)

I found Slackware to be a bit intimidating at first, but that was just because I was afraid of *breaking* something. All the fear was for not, as it was much simpler to setup and install than I could ever have imagined.

Good luck!

Regards,

thank you sheidel21 and CAPLID

keeknspin,

For starters, I'm brand new to Linux, and am using Slackware 9.1, whilst starting with 3 installs of Mandrake 9.2 before nearly throwing my computer against a wall =P

I don't claim to speak for everybody (obviously not, even), but I had SOOOOO many troubles with Mandrake it's not even funny. Things disappearing randomly, stuff just going apeshit here and there, and a bunch of other stuff. Mandrake has some nice configuration utilities, but I reinstalled it 3x in 3 days, and still had problems. Maybe I had a bad disk or something, but I found it very frustrating.

Another thing is that Mandrake hides a lot of options in X and stuff. There was a bunch of stuff I didn't even know that X had until I installed Slackware, and got the full KDE or GNOME install without the Mandrake custom configurations.

On the flip side, once I figured out which kernel to load with for install, I'd gotten past the hardest part. Slackware install was pretty painless, and I have had almost no problems with it yet. The few things you may not know how to do, the people here are SOOOOOOOO wonderful and helpful.

My recommendation would be to go with Slackware. It is *not* difficult to use. You will get a more thorough understanding of Linux, and hopefully it will prevent you from having the same issues that I had. While you may not get some of the handy custom configuration apps that Mandrake has, there are always other solutions out there to do those kinds of things readily and easily.

Hello I plan on migrating to Slackware in a few months. I am currently running RH 9 and found that hardware detection thanks in part to "KUDZU"is super easy. I use RH mostly from the command line to prep for Slackware. Here is my:twocents: if it's the only OS on the box go for broke that most can happen is that you will :scratch: :confused: :cry: :study: and go at it again in short don't be afraid to break it I learn best this way.

I used Mandrake or a few months, and then SuSE for a couple weeks, and now I'm using Slackware 9.1. The installation was not difficult at all. Read the manuals, take some notes, and everything should go OK. It is MUCH MUCH faster than Mandrake, especially booting up - it starts KDE in half of the time. :)

I've had to edit config files a few times already, such as adding/changing a couple lines in my X config file so it could see my mouse wheel, and also in fstab so it would mount my Windows drive on boot time.

I have learned more about Linux and how it works in a day with Slack than I did in months with Mandrake/SuSE. OK, so maybe that's a little exaggerated, but I can tell I'll be learning much more with Slack than with Mandrake.

I'm not sure if I could have used Slackware at first... Mandrake was nice for getting used to Linux. But I think if you read all the documentation you'll be OK.

If you'd rather have something that does most things automatically for you, through a GUI config program, then Mandrake is probably better. If you don't mind editing configuation files and really learning how things work Slack should be great for you. :)

---
Anyway, I'm sticking with Slack. I think this is finally the distro that convinces me that I ought to get rid of Windows completely...

I have very little experience with RH and now I use slackware 9.1 and I think this is a great distro to start with. I don't really appreciate what I'm learning by using slack because it's all I know but one day if I try out a different distro it might be more clear just how much slack make you learn in the process of using it.
Overall, I have NO complaints with slack and I have to recommend it for any newbie like me.

good luck and Happy New Year!

I have installed two distros in my time with linux (this last month), though I have spent just about two years doing basic stuff on unix. The first was Mandrake for my friend because he needed something more like windows. But I just put Vector Linux (which is just a tweaked version of slackware) on my moms old 400mhz 64 mb ram ibm that I brought back from home for christmas. It runs like a dream, and I love fluxbox. Don't be afraid, and if you are, just hand onto your other partitions.

Good luck.

PS try vector linux you its basically slack but a little more user friendly.

I have many hard drives so my operating situation is confusing.

I used Mandrake 9.1 originally, then tried Redhat 9, then used Mandrake 9.2. I recently tried using Slackware and couldn't get the gui to load (X I think its called). I had a similar problem with Debian which said there was a problem with the X file or configuration.

In my opinion, you should try installing Mandrake (it has an extremely basic and quick install) and try it. Then after a week or so try installing formatting and installing Slackware (it has a more complex install and is a little more advanced).

This would allow you to get a feel for one Linux distro and then move to another which would broaden your view of Linux and possibly make it easier for you while starting slackware.

When Slack boots for the first time after install you need to type xf86config and answer the questions to generate the /etc/XF86Config file needed for X.
http://www.slackware.com/book/
another good source of info for Slackware
http://docs.rinet.ru/Slackware-Linux/

I use Slack and it is awesome :) very fast and stable and it does exactly what I tell it to.

I used to use Mandrake but the whole newbie friendly thing is a two edged sword - it is helpful when you're just starting out, but if a wizard doesn't work, you're stuck without any real underlying knowledge of how linux works and how to fix your problem. With Slack you are forced to learn quickly and in depth - but once you know, you know, and you have full control over your system and you know why things happen the way they do, not just how to do certain things.

keeknspin; probably what you will do is install one, check it out and get curious about the other one and install it. That's a good thing, as you can see more about Linux and how each distro works. Actually, you should install more than one, which I believe you will, as most everyone does. Both are good distros.