Sorry, nvidia-71.xx.xx series is a bit too old for me to maintain on SBo. Also, it appears to old even for nouveau http://nouveau.freedesktop.org/wiki/CodeNames/ and the old 'nv' driver hasn't been updated in ages.

You can try running the install script as root (do NOT load a graphical environment) (do NOT load a graphical environment) but since this driver date is from 2011, it may not work with newer kernels. It might be better to pick up a cheap Geforce 7/8/9 series AGP card.

You have chosen wisely for a first-timer into Linux.

Slackware will teach you much of what you'll need to know to operate, manage, and maintain a working Linux installation. the rest, is up to you to ask questions.

May your days of Slacking be productive ones.

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Hello Sardinha,

Everything you wrote for me worked perfectly, the actual directory in the end was slightly different, but I received the confirmation that the plugin is installed and working and is the latest version. Brilliant! I really appreciate your time and efforts. I guess all I have left is to figure out one more printer install. I also read somewhere in SlackDocs that I can create a generic kernel to run at boot that will reduce the size of the kernel making it faster on bootup and I'm assuming it will speed the system up in general all around. Do you know anything about this? I think I read it in the

Go into your root partition and look in the directory /boot and look for the file README.initrd and read the directions there.

Keep in mind that getting under the hood of your operating system often ends up in a broken system and having to re install everything and start from scratch. Sure it can be a good learning experience but Linux assumes you know what you are doing and sometimes that can be really frustrating.

A good practice might be to install a virtual box and study your operating system there if it breaks is fine no harm done.

good luck to you

Hello again,
OK I found this at the docs.slackware.com site (See below) and I did most of it and backed up my files just in case. The only step I haven't done yet is the last step to make it permanent. I have installed Slackware 14 on a laptop of mine just to learn on so it's ok if I screw it up. I will try to do this, but my question is, is this a common or necessary thing to do or is it not a required thing to do? The reason I ask is with today's machines, they run fast and can handle a lot of data, but maybe a slower machine might benefit from the generic kernel.

"Switch to a generic kernel"
It's recommended that you switch to Slackware's generic kernel. This is easy to do but there are a few steps to follow.
What is the difference between a “generic” kernel and the “huge” kernel which has been installed as the default kernel?
The “huge” kernel is essentially a kernel which has every hardware driver built in which you might need for a successful installation of your computer. Think of storage and (wired) network drivers, filesy stem and encryption drivers and a lot more. All these built-in drivers result in a big kernel image (hence the name “huge”). When this kernel boots it will use up a lot your RAM (relatively speaking… with 1 GB of RAM you will not really be troubled by a few MB less RAM).
The “generic” kernel on the other hand, is a kernel which has virtually no drivers built in. All drivers will be loaded into RAM on demand. This will make your kernel's memory consumption lower and the boot process a bit faster. The smaller size allows for the use of an initial RAM disk or “initrd”. An initial RAMdisk is required in certain configurations, like software RAID, or a fully encrypted hard drive.
For now, you need to remember that a “huge” kernel will not support an intial RAM disk, but the “generic” kernel will. We go for maximum flexibility and use a “generic” kernel.

You will need to create an initial RAM disk (”initrd” for short). The initrd functions as a temporary root file system during the intial stage of the kernel booting, and it helps get the actual root system mounted when your system boots. Run this, as root:

# /usr/share/mkinitrd/mkinitrd_command_generator.sh

This command will not actually do anything. It is informational only, and will output something like this - depending on your kernel version, your hardware configuration, the root filesystem you chose when you installed Slackware and so on:
# mkinitrd_command_generator.sh revision 1.45
#
# This script will now make a recommendation about the command to use
# in case you require an initrd image to boot a kernel that does not
# have support for your storage or root filesystem built in
# (such as the Slackware 'generic' kernels').
# A suitable 'mkinitrd' command will be:

mkinitrd -c -k 3.2.29 -f ext4 -r /dev/sdb2 -m usb-storage:ehci-hcd:usbhidhci-hcd:mbcache:jbd2:ext4 -u -o /boot/initrd.gz

Run the script's suggested mkinitrd commandline (as root) to generate the initrd.gz image.
If you have installed LILO (the default bootloader of Slackware), then you will also need to make changes to its configuration file /etc/lilo.conf by adding a section to your Slackware entry as follows:

image = /boot/vmlinuz-generic-3.2.29
initrd = /boot/initrd.gz # add this line so that lilo sees initrd.gz
root = /dev/sda1
label = Slackware
read-only

Actually, the ”mkinitrd_command_generator.sh” script will show an example section which can be added to /etc/lilo.conf if you pass it the name of the generic kernel as an argument, like this:

# /usr/share/mkinitrd/mkinitrd_command_generator.sh -l /boot/vmlinuz-generic-3.2.29

Note that it is recommended to add a new section instead of editing the existing kernel image section. Assign a unique label to your new section. After reboot, LILO will give you two options: to boot into your freshly added generic kernel, or to boot into the failsafe huge kernel (of which you are certain that it will work).
After making the changes to /etc/lilo.conf you have to save the file and then run


# lilo -v

to make your change permanent. Then, reboot.

Thanks again, Rockitglider7

Hello Sardinha,

How does one such as myself learn which commands to do and what options to use with those commands to make things work or to install software? Is there a book I can get that will teach me this, or is there a place where I can read these things? I would have never been able to figure out the commands that you wrote for the flash player install. I really appreciate you typing all those commands out for me and making it easy for me, I just really want to learn how to do it as well. Please point me in the right direction if you can to where I can learn how to install some additional softwares. Thanks a bunch to all who have taken the time to help me.

Sincerely, Kit

Some experience will improve our knowledgement. My method is search, learn and try, if i have no success, i will starting again searching. Help a lot starting your own tutorials too.

Do you already understand all commands and options used in my tutorial to install programs with scripts slackbuils?
Explore the basic commands: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guide_to_Unix/Commands

The only command you will not find in gnu/unix coreutils is the upgradepkg, because is a slackware package utility: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ed-for-543445/

You can installing, in same way, any program that is listed in the slackbuilds.org website. You just need download the script and the source for the program you want to install. Beware if was pointed some dependencies, in that case you must installed they first.

I only use the huge kernel on my machines and see no problems with it. I tries using the generic kernel, but then had issues with my wireless card. I'd rather have a few more seconds on booting than the headaches trying to get the generic kernel to work properly. :-)