I can't get through Slack 10.0's install. The partitions especially are infuriating. Could anyone help me out here? I really don't want to put something like RH on again, nor do I want to use something that will run off a bootable CD all the time. I want something professional looking and that gives me a challenge. I think Slack is the right choice bit I can't beat this install. It's not even detecting my drive I made strictly to use for Linux so I won't have to put anything on my Win drive. I read a couple of useful guides but I'm still a bit nervous about this....

This article does a great job walking you through the Slack installation process. Good luck with it -- J.W.

You can also take a look at the official Slackware book. However, it is a bit out dated and alot of things have changed since it was written. What do you mean it's not detecting your drive? If it's a SATA drive, then use the sata kernel, ie
If it's an IDE drive, then this is how they normally map:
So if you wanted to create paritions on the Primary Slave to install Slackware too, you'd use:

Wow, just read most of the guide. It looks really complicated but I don't think I'll be running a network so I guess that part will be cut out for me then. Still a bit confusing but I'm willing to figure this all out if this is the best distro (which I've heard).

There is no "best distro", it's all a matter of preference...

Saying Slackware is the best distro is asking for an argument. I love Slack, but what is right for me may not be right for someone else. That being said, Slackware has some real challenges for newer users. If you're not comfortable with cfdisk, then you may want to try QtParted. It's a GUI partitioning tool,like Partition Magic. I'd recommend downloading the System Rescue CD, ( http://www.sysresccd.org/ ) that way you can repartition your drive graphically, without installing anything. Then boot the Slack CD, login as root , and run setup. Very easy.
Welcome aboard!

eep. I'm not trying to start any debates or arguments here, sorry if I prompted one.

Huge thanks to Brotherswing, now I won't have to partition my Linux drive using Slackware's methods. I'll try it out and run setup. Thanks again.

GUIs are fine for those that like to use them, but I can tell you they are almost non-existant in Slackware. Almost everything about it is configured via directly editing configuration files. So if you don't like reading manuals to figure things out, using the command prompt and etc, then Slackware is going to be a nightmare.

Ouch. So it doesn't get any better even if you get past the installation? I think I might have to go with Suse or Mandrake (something newbie) until I can get used to Linux and learn how to use a command line and such. Maybe I was just setting myself too high, I'm really new to this. I'll go low and then go higher up once I'm comfortable. Thanks for the help.

you're not setting your sights too high...you can do this. if you can use suse or rh, you can use slackware...it'll just take a little more learning...and trust me, in the end, it will be worth it....slack just works...did you get the partitions set up?

Well that depends on your definition of better. For instance, after you complete the Slackware installation and reboot into your shiny new OS, you'll be immediately dumped onto a commandline login. From there you have to manually configure X, although there are utilities such as xorgconf that do it for your on a question answer basis, and start your desired desktop yourself from the command prompt.

For me, Slackware is the perfect OS. It is the most simple OS I've ever used bar none. But my definition of simple is not that it does everything for me. It means almost everything is 100% vanilla from the kernel itself down to the very last package in it. That means all the software is exactly as it's author intended it to be and everytime I want to change something I don't have to go looking for some OS specific configuration utility that I can never remember the name of. All I have to do is find the program's configuration file, which is almost always exactly where it's suppose to be, and change whatever I like. If I get ready to add a program that doesn't come with Slackware or I want to make some customizations to it, all I have to do is download the source, compile and install it. I don't have to worry about whether this RPM or that one is installed and so forth. Slackware provides al complete manifest of every single file that comes with it, so if I'm missing a library I'm not familair with it's just a matter of searching that file to see which package it's a part of, if any, so there is no dependacy hell that is associated with other OSes.

Put simply, Simplicity is Devine.

However, I've been using Unix/Linux and it's deratives for years and am very comfortable with the command line. In fact, I spend almost 90% of my non-webbrowsing PC time on the command line. About the only thing I use X for is web browsing. But for someone coming over from the Windows world where everything is done for you without much, if any, input from you, Slackware is probably not the best choice and would seem to be overly complicated. Other distos such as Mandrake are better suited to those type users, as they have boatloads of nifty little GUIs that "guide" you through almost everything.

At the end of the day, my advice is this. Download several different distros and install them all, if you have the space. Play with them and figure out which one "you" like the best. Afterall, it's about which OS is best for "you" not about which one has the highest rating in the linux community or which one someone else says is the best. The best part of it is that they are all, well were all until recently, freely available for you to download. I do however suggest that once you settle on one to call your own that you support it's developers in any way you can, whether that be buying the CD sets directly from them, buying other goodies from them, or helping out in other ways, so that they can continue to provide that OS to you and the rest of us. Anyway, welcome aboard and enjoy Linux!

Thanks for motivation. I have plenty of room so I think I'll expiriment with RH 9, Suse 9.2, and Win XP. Afterwards I might move around a bit but I wil give myself some breathing room to get away from confusing stuff. In another year or so I should have Slack up on my PC enjoying it but for now I need some space.