I install Gware 2.12.0 it dosen't see all my hardware I have 2 dvd drive and a jump drive. How can I get it work?

Slackware comes with a broken udev, and Gware and freerock gnome both use it. There is no way to get Hal working on them.

If you want hal's automounting in gnome you must use Dropline or install a new version of udev(and then possibly compile hal against it, i'm not sure).

I am running Gware for Gnome 2.12 in Slackware 10.2 and my devices mostly work. They do not automount but will mount when I click on the appropriate icon "Computer"

To get your devices to mount try editing your /etc/fstab.

My fstab:
Edit: Forgot to mention you need to make mount points. As you can see from my fstab I made cdrw and flash directories in /mnt.

Try installing just Dropline's udev-0.70 package and works. You may want to use Dropline hal package too..

The GWARE site has a link to a solution, but I haven't tested.

Bulldust.

Despite what you have read the udev configuration in Slack 10.2 is not broken. It works with everything I've thrown at it so far (including, but not limited to countless USB memory sticks and a USB SD card reader). It works with no additional configuration on my part, although I had to enable the CONFIG_SCSI_MULTI_LUN option in my kernel config for the USB card reader to work properly. If it is supposedly "broken" then why does it all work for me? Even my wireless network card is auto-detected - and I'm not even using a standard kernel module.

IMO, the whole HAL/DBUS hack is a WOFTAE. Under standard Slackware 10.2, if I plug in a (say) USB memory stick, it appears under /dev as /dev/sda. From there, I can mount its partition(s) easily. What benefit does HAL/DBUS add? I couldn't figure that out. I'll tell you this much for free though: I sure as hell don't want any of my system wide configuration files re-written every time I insert or remove a USB storage device. If you want a shock, run this command 'man fstab-sync'. How secure is such a process? Furthermore, what if fstab becomes corrupted as a result of a dodgy write, and I can't reboot the machine because of it?

No need to get fanatical... Believe it or not it is broken, in the sense it is not compatible with HAL. Hal allows automounting, and autorunning of programs. When i put in a dvd, totem automatically starts up and starts to play. When i put in an audio cd Rhythmbox starts up automatically. Gnome also uses hal(and howl) for various automatic network detection things.

You don't need to run fstab-sync, just so you know. You can set it up so HAL only mounts things that you manually put in YOUR fstab.

It is the only way i can get my parents to use linux. Period. Even i like the convienience of it. Sure, i can open a terminal and type mount /dev/sda1 -t vfat /mnt/usbstick when i insert a usb stick, but i shouldn't have to, it's a time consuming process.

No fanaticism here. Just stating facts. It isn't broken if you use it as it was intended to be used. Would you buy a Nascar and then complain that it pulls to the left when driven on the road?
Why would you want that? What if you don't want to play the DVD? What if you just want to rip it? You have to go and close everything? Even if you did want to play it, how hard is it to find Xine or Totem in your desktop menu? Same applies to CDs. I have a shortcut to xmms on my desktop. If I want to play a CD, I insert it and click the icon. Hardly rocket science...
In my book, this renders HAL completely pointless. Standard Slackware does this out of the box. One of the nicest things about Slackware is its simplistic way of handling things. Why should I ruin it with redundant layers of obfustication?
By comparison with other Linuxes on the market, Slackware is not the best one for beginners who have little experience with computers. It is better suited to people who know their way around Linux somewhat and want to step up to the next level. Suse or Ubuntu may be better suited to the needs of your parents.
But to use a USB key with HAL you'd also have to use fstab-sync, right? Sorry mate, not me. I've set up half a dozen generic mountpoints for the /dev/sdxx devices under /mnt and put them in my fstab. This allows me to insert a USB key, then open Konqueror and click on /mnt/sda1 to open it. How much easier does it need to be?

Well it is broken in the sense that it does not function as it should, or at least as gnome needs it to.

Not everyone knows totem is for videos and xmms is for audio. They want to put a cd in and use it. http://img470.imageshack.us/img470/8...uration5fe.png . it's also very configurable uncheck the box if you don't want it. Hal also does other VERY helpful things for newbs and professionals alike, like autoconfiguring a printer or scanner when attatched, or auto running programs necessary for digital cameras. This saves a LOT of time and allows me to swap my usb printers painlessly. Without hal this is impossible.

Slackware does not automount. HAL is necessary for this. Again, i can type mount /dev/sda1 -t vfat /mnt/usb , but that is time consuming, especially to have to do that EVERY time i put in a usb stick. With hal as soon as you insert it it gets put on the desktop and in the computer folder.

I'm not saying they should use slackware, i am saying they need gnome and HAL to function.(even the new kde 3.5 uses HAL extensively)

Not true. On my slack 10.1 with Dropline 2.10 i manually placed a /dev/sda1 entry in my fstab. HAL will use it if it is there. Once you put the usb key in it mounts it using the options you put in your fstab. The easy factor comes in agian here. My parents aren't going to know /mnt/sdaX is for usb keys, all they know is that when they plug one in it should appear on the desktop, and when they unplug it it disappears.

HAL's main feature is automounting, and even experts can use automounting. It saves time, and soon every DE is going to use it(GNOME uses it extensively, and KDE 3.5 uses it too, XFCE is soon to follow)

Sorry mate, I'm just sick of reading about Slackware's broken udev. It clearly isn't broken because it works as intended when used within the confines of a completely stock installation of Slackware 10.2.

It really depends upon what you mean. I certainly don't intend any disrespect to Pat V., but you may have not seen the things that he did to "fix" the latest udev builds by forcing them to revert back to some old methods of handling things (take a look at the SlackBuild scripts and you will see what I mean). Udev is now designed to take care of jobs that hotplug used to do, and Pat reversed that. So, if you mean that Slackware's Udev is designed to work in an archaic way that is incompatible with current standards, then yes - it's working fine. It's working as Pat intended it to. But if you want recent Udev builds to function the way the *developers* intended, then you need to *reverse* Pat's changes and make a fix to the way Slackware handles firmware loading.

Gware had a mention about how to fix this problem on their installs, with the stock Slack Udev, but this isn't 100% suitable because Slackware does not include the simple firmware_helper that is required for many devices. This is basically why Pat V. was having problems with it initially, but he took an alternate route to "fixing" the problem. Please don't take this as a stab against Gware, as they have a great desktop that meets the needs of many users. I just think that it might be advantageous for them to provide an optional "extra" Udev package like Freerock does, if they want it to work optimally. Recent udev builds must have this firmware_helper to work properly. It is doubtful that many wireless users will be able to make their Centrino chipsets (for example) work along with HAL, on Slackware systems, without a rebuild of udev (which is what we've provided with DLG 2.12.x). I personally use a pcHDTV card on my home box, and it requires loading of external firmware as well.

I'll go out on a limb and say that Slackware 10.2 wasn't really built with kernel 2.6 in mind, in spite of the fact that extra kernel and Udev are there. I just don't feel that enough testing is going on there. FYI: Several people informed PV about some of these problems, and he responded to nobody. It would appear that he simply just doesn't care about Kernel 2.6 at the moment. It's his system, after all, and he can do what he wishes with it. Bear in mind that GNOME is no longer a priority for him though, and extra work will undoubtably need to be done to correct some of the unique "issues" that are exclusive to his system, if users want a modern GNOME desktop. I think that we will see some improvement as KDE adopts more of these things as well though (HAL included).

It's up to the user to decide what they want. Some don't care for fstab-sync. For others, it's a godsend. I personally love the way it works on my boxes, and wouldn't go back to the stoneage of device handling that only a handful of UNIX purists seem to cling to. No offense intended. It's your box, afterall. I love Slackware, but I don't always agree with some of the methodology behind its design. But, then again, that's why I build a GNOME desktop for Slackware. To each his own.

I mean that it works for me. I have no problems with it whatsoever. All my devices work with little to no configuration on my part. Using the stock Slack setup I may not have the level of automation that some people want, but I'm happy with it.

You're not out on a limb. Slackware 10.x was predominantly designed to run with 2.4. Support for 2.6 is - as you say - currently work in progress. Remember that stability is one of Slackware's "twin goals." A key factor of stability is consistency across system upgrades, especially for point releases. If there is to be any change in this area, I wouldn't expect it until the next major release (or possibly the one after that).

Excellent. Let's now move back to issue at hand without polluting this thread any more than we have.

Jmdlcar, please let us know if any of this works for you. If you need any assistance with the fixes that are required to make HAL support work, please feel free to ask. The Gware solution is here:

http://gware.org/udev.txt

If you need any firmware loading, you may need to take some additional steps that we've mentioned above.

I'am going to use Dropline cause everything just seem to work. I just wish they could make an frontend for Dropline use Slackware but it could be there own. That you could install everything at the same time.

Thanks
Jack

It's in planning right now. We hope to have something soon. A few DLG devs are working on such CDs.

Thanks I'am glad to hear this if you need an tester I would like to it.