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I simply cannot imagine life in a Windows only world. Windows is fine for playing games and a basic fallback (when there is nothing else available) but Gawd forbid that we ever have to depend on it. I've meet some of the fellas that have worked on Windows and think it's the cat's meow of operating systems. These people are either mineral deficient or chemical dependent. If you could only see these folks in action. "Hey, I got an idea, let's just slap that together!?!". In any event, we all can't be geniuses, I guess! I am so thankful we have a world where if you want to put something together properly, you can. Your not limited to an sea of monkeys out to rule the place. If you like putting something together yourself and like being around people that also do, then you'll love Linux. There is something about doing it yourself that makes you feel like it's worth the effort. And the rewards are great.
I hope things work out really well for you in your endeavor to install the latest Slackware distribution of Linux. I've included most of my secrets here. It should be a rewarding experience. Incidentally, I'm running a Kernel compiled for my AMD Athlon64. I "think" this means that my kernel is running in 64-bit mode while most of the support programs are still in 32 bit. This is pretty cool as it gives me the best of both worlds with no problems anywhere. Of all the Linux distributions and all the previous installations of Slackware I've had, I have to say that this installation (Slackware 12 + Dropline) is by far the best. Hope your experience is just as similar and even more rewarding.
Welcome to the world where things just work better and if they don't you can soon figure it out and fix it yourself!
I have to say, that over the last few years this site has been bit of an anchor and an outlet for me. I think this thread (a reflection of everything that I've learned from Linux) is my way of saying "Thanks" for being so good to me. It's nice to be able to be part of something this big (aka Linux). Who would have thought that not so many years ago when Linus set out to create an operating system as a simple school project that it would grow into this...! Everybody that wants to needs to be able to be part of Linux. Something that really only costs a little bit of your time and yet gives so much back. It's nice to be part of this do-it-yourself world as opposed to having everything handed to you on a platter, you just feel like your part of it! Part of something really great... ranks right up there with solving world hunger... not kidding! Incidentally, have you sponsored a child yet? Cause you gotta have faith!
ps.
Which says nothing of the fact that just by using Linux your insulated from 99.99% of all viruses written for and derived from the Windows platform!
Step 1: Download Slackware 12
1. download slackware 12 iso 1 & 2
2. create cd's from iso images
3. using partition manager software create a 10 gig partition on your system. if you do can't get your hands on a gui based partition manager package, be prepared to use cfdisk. In either case you'll need at least 10 gig of space for a full install + extras!
Step 2: Install Slackware 12
1. boot your system of slackware 12.0 cd #1 (at the boot prompt hit enter)
2. signon as root
3. run cfdisk to the harddisk to be installed (usually "/dev/hda1") partition you have reserved for slackware. reserve 8 gig for /, 1 gig for linux swap, 1 gig for /home. if you can do it, it's often a good idea to create an extended partition and place multiple partitions inside there, but for the everyday user, one single 8 gig partition is good!
4. run setup and go thru each item (for a Detailed Install Summary, see below)
Step 3: Configure Slackware 12
(see Configuring Slackware 12 below)
Step 4: Update the Kernel
(See Updating the Kernel! below)
Step 5: Configure Wireless Internet (optional)
(See Wireless support for Slackware 12.0 below)
Step 6: Install Hardware Acceleration (optional)
(See Installing 3D Hardware Acceleration! below)
(See Installing ATI-Driver-Installer-8.40.4 next page)
Step 7: Perform a Linux Update
(See Linux update with Swaret! below)
Step 8: Install Dropline Gnome
(See Installing Dropline Gnome! below)
Step 10: Install various extras!
There are remaining posts here for various options:
- Spaceage Customizations
- How to compile your Slackware 12 2.6.21.5 (22.x) Kernel!
- How to setup CPU Frequency Scaling for Slackware 12!
- How to install your very own initrd.gz!
- How to get sound working on your Slackware !
- How to use Bluetooth with Slackware 12 !
- Give your Windows Partition a Lobotomy!
- Add a graphical partition manager to your Slackware 12 setup!
- Seems to me you need to try your luck with Samba!
- How to resolve your "This Python has API version 1013" problem
- O.M.G I've Lost My Scroll Bars!!!!!
- "Want to play a game?" - Wargames (the movie)
- Play 3D Hardware Accelerated Games in Style!
- Configuring Linux Partitions
Getting Slackware
Download slackware-12.0-install-d1.iso, slackware-12.0-install-d2.iso
and MD5 checksum files from download mirrors. Verify the downloads in
Linux:
md5sum -c slackware-12.0-install-d1.iso.md5
md5sum -c slackware-12.0-install-d2.iso.md5
If they return ok or nothing, burn the first ISO's on a 650 MB CDR/
W disk, and the second ISO on a 700 MB CDR/W disk. If it returns "fail",
download the ISO image and MD5 checksum file from another mirror.
Booting Slackware
Boot Slackware CD 1 of 2 in the first optical drive, press Enter to use
default boot options, enter "1" to select a keyboard map, highlight the
keyboard map for the keyboard (i.e. qwerty/us.map for U.S. English
keyboard), <OK>, enter "1" to accept it, enter "root" to log in as root
without password.
Partitioning Hard Drive
Slackware needs a pair of Linux and swap partitions to install. You can
skip this part if you have made them previously, and you are installing
Slackware over the old system.
Run Curses-based disk partition table manipulator, replacing hdx with
hda for the 1st hard disk, or hdb for the 2nd, etc.:
cfdisk /dev/hdx
Highlight a 5 GB or larger partition for Linux, make a note of it (/dev/
hdx?), [Type], enter "83", highlight a 512 MB or smaller partition for
swap, [Type], enter "82", [Write], enter "yes", [Quit].
Running Installer
Run Slackware Installer:
setup
In the installer, you press Up and Down direction keys to highlight an
item, press Spacebar to select or unselect an item, and press Enter to
accept the selection.
Configuring Partitions
Next thing to do is to format both the swap and Linux partitions.
Highlight "ADDSWAP", <OK>, <Yes>, <OK>, highlight the Linux partition,
<Select>, highlight "Format", <OK>, highlight "reiserfs" to choose the
Reiser Filesystem as the filesystem for Slackware, <OK>, highlight
"4096" for 1 inode per 4096 bytes, <OK>, <Continue>, <OK>.
Configuring Windows Partitions
<Yes> if there is a need to access Windows partitions in Slack,
otherwise <No> and skip to the next part, highlight a Windows partition,
<Select>, type "/mnt/mydoc" for Windows My Documents folder or something
that makes sense, <OK>, redo this step with a different mount point as
many times as there are Windows partitions that you want available in
Slackware, or <Continue> when you are done.
Installing Slackware
Highlight "1 Install from a Slackware CD or DVD ", <OK>, highlight
"auto", <OK>, select all package categories, <OK>, highlight "full" for
installing everything, <OK>, replace CD 1 with CD 2 if the installer
ejects the CD and asks for the next one, highlight "Continue", <OK>.
Installing Kernel
Slackware 12 comes now with two kernel's (actually four). By default Slackware
will install the huge kernel. If you have a late model motherboard your probably
going to be interested in the SMP version kernel to support things such as
hyperthreading or multiple processors. Starting with Slackware 12, the huge kernel
will be selected for you. Once you've booted into your first install, you may want
to change over to the generic kernel. Slackware's product description discusses the
reasons why you would want to do this. If for any reason your initial boot does not
work, you'll probably need to switch to the generic kernel after the initial setup!
Configuring Modem and Hotplug
Highlight "no modem" if there is no dial-up modem in the computer, <OK>
or configure the dial-up modem following the on-screen instructions.
<Yes> to enabling hotplug for USB and Cardbus devices.
Configuring Optical Drives
Configure as many installed optical drives as you wish. Highlight
"expert", <OK>, highlight "Begin", <OK>, type "hdc=ide-scsi" for only
one CD/DVD drive or type "hdc=ide-scsi hdd=ide-scsi hde=ide-scsi
hdf=ide-scsi" for 4 IDE optical drives, for example, <OK>.
Configuring Console Resolution
A console is the same as a terminal where one does command lines in full
screen. Highlight a screen resolution for the console, <OK>.
Installing LInux LOader
LInux LOader installs itself on the hard drive, and loads Linux kernel
into memory. Every Linux distro needs a boot loader. For Slackware, it's
LILO.
Highlight "Root" to install LILO on the root section of Slackware
partition, <OK>, highlight "None" to make LILO boot straight to
Slackware, <OK>, highlight "Linux", <OK>, type the Slackware partition,
<OK>, enter "Slackware10" as the partition name, <OK>, highlight
"Install", <OK>.
Selecting Mouse Type
Highlight the correct mouse type if there is a mouse device, <OK>, <No>
to not load GPM for cutting and pasting text in command line interface.
Configuring Network
<Yes> to configure network, type "slackware" as the hostname, <OK>, type
"slackware.com" as the domain name, <OK>, highlight "DHCP" if you're on
a cable modem or router connected to DSL, <OK>, <OK>, type a DHCP
hostname for cable modem or leave blank, <OK>, <Yes>.
Selecting Services
Minimize unnecessary services that start at boot, and stop at reboot or
shut-down. Unselect rc.inetd, rc.pcmcia, rc.sendmail and rc.sshd to
disable them, select rc.cups for using Common Unix Printing System to
print, and rc.syslog for running a system logging daemon, <OK>.
Selecting Screen Font and Time Zone
<NO> to not custom screen fonts for the console, highlight "No" to use
local time, <OK>, highlight a time zone, <OK>.
Selecting Graphical Desktop
There is a number of installed graphical desktops. Window managers are
typically lightweight and good for old computers. Desktop environments
are heavyweight and good for new computers. You can still choose which
graphical desktop to log into in KDE or GNOME Display Manager.
Highlight a default graphical desktop, <OK>.
Setting root Password
A user account is used for daily operations such as Web browsing,
whereas root is the system administrator, who takes care of the
computer.
<Yes> to set root password, enter a root password twice separately,
Enter, <OK>, highlight "EXIT" to exit the installer, <OK>.
Rebooting Computer
Remove CD, and reboot the computer:
reboot
Check out Configuring Slackware 12.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (C) 2002-2004 by jet_blackz@lycos.com
Last edited by perry; 09-12-2007 at 11:10 AM.
Reason: Think of Slackware as a PC with a MAC operating system
Installing Slackware is one thing, configuring it is another. This section will actually be a gentle introduction to you to the internal workings of your new Linux system. Slackware is known for it's closeness to the ideals of Linus's Linux where the latest kernel is rarely modified. Changing a kernel to fit a distribution is like changing a room to fit a picture. With Slackware your basically given a virgin operating system that needs *your* input as to how you want it to run. You will have to do this section if you want to configure things like your graphics card, mouse wheel, graphical login, etc.
Code:
In the first half of this training manual, the Slackware recruit will
use Secure Locate, say no to fortune cookies, default vi to Vi IMproved,
set shell environment, add user accounts, enable Advanced Power
Management, enable graphical login, configure X Window, configure video
hardware acceleration, mouse speed, mouse wheel, X Window screen and
video memory, enable reboot and shutdown for users in GNOME Desktop
Manager, set terminal font, install Microsoft fonts, manage software
with swaret, and read documentation.
In the second half of this training manual, the Slackware veteran will
disable unnecessary services, disable Internet services daemon, delete
unnecessary accounts and groups, restrict services, logs and root files,
tighten login definitions, restrict remote access to computer, and
install a firewall rule set.
Getting Started
Reboot to Slackware on hard disk, and log in command line interface as
root.
Using Secure Locate
slocate is a secure version of locate in that only accessible, located
files are listed, depending on the account's security clearance. Disable
the slocate cron job, and update slocate database in the background,
excluding device directory, any mount point, variably-sized contents,
Windows FAT and process information pseudo filesystems:
chmod -x /etc/cron.daily/slocate
slocate -e /dev,/mnt,/var -f vfat,proc -u &
Saying No to Fortune Cookies
If you don't want Slack to serve you any more fortune cookies, just say
no:
chmod -x /etc/profile.d/bsd-games-login-fortune.sh
To elvis or Not To elvis
vi runs elvis, a vi text editor clone. The HOME and END keys move to the
beginning and end of a line respectively ONLY if vi is running in CLI.
In a graphical desktop, you have to use the shortcuts ^ to go to the
start of a line and $ to go to the end of a line. Or you can default it
to Vi IMproved:
ln -sf /usr/bin/vim /usr/bin/vi
Setting Shell Environment
/etc/profile sets the shell environment at login. However, /etc/profile
doesn't run if you open a terminal or console in X Window. For every
account including root, add the command to .bashrc:
echo ". /etc/profile" > ~/.bashrc
Adding User Accounts
Only root account was created during install. The root account is used
for system administration. A user account is used for daily operation.
Add as many user accounts as you wish.
In GNOME, click Applications menu > System Tools > Terminal. In KDE,
right-click on empty desktop > Open Terminal. Run adduser, enter a login
without spaces, press Enter seven times, hit CTRL C, create the user's
password where username is the name of a user:
adduser
passwd username
Enabling Advanced Power Management
If the desktop computer is powered by an ATX power supply unit that
reboots and shuts down the computer through software, you can enable APM
in Slack. Start the service, and uncomment apm in rc.modules to have it
auto-start on next boot:
modprobe apm
vi /etc/rc.d/rc.modules
/sbin/modprobe apm
Enabling Graphical Login
Slackware boots to command line interface. You can boot to the default
GNOME Desktop or Login Manager. Change the run level to 4 in inittab:
vi /etc/inittab
id:4:initdefault:
Configuring X Window
Before starting X Window, configure X:
xorgconfig
Follow the on-screen instructions. Start the X Window System:
startx
Configuring Acceleration, Mouse, Screen and Video RAM
The mouse speed is slow, any mouse wheel is disabled, screen is off
center, monitor power saving mode is off, and video RAM isn't set. My
mouse is a Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical on PS/2.
Open a terminal or console, run video mode tuner, center the screen,
[Apply], [Show], [Quit], highlight to copy your mode line, uncomment
OpenGL for X (glx) for primarily nVidia video or Direct Rendering
Infrastructure (dri) for primarily ATI video in Module section,
uncomment Resolution option and add the ZAxisMapping option in
InputDevice section, paste your ModeLine with middle mouse button, add
DPMS option in Monitor section, and uncomment VideoRam option in Device
section, of xorg.conf:
xvidtune
vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Section "Module"
Load "dbe"
SubSection "extmod"
Option "omit xfree86-dga"
EndSubSection
Load "type1"
Load "speedo"
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
# Load "dri"
EndSection
...
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "Resolution" "256"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection
...
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "My Monitor"
HorizSync 30-70
VertRefresh 50-160
ModeLine "1024x768" 94.50 1024 1088 1184 1376 768 769 772
808 +hsync +vsync
Option "DPMS" "true"
EndSection
...
Section "Device"
Identifier "NVIDIA GeForce"
Driver "nv"
VideoRam 65536
EndSection
Enabling Reboot and Shutdown for Users in GDM
GNOME Desktop or Login Manager logs a user or root in a graphical
desktop. You can let the user(s) reboot or shutdown the computer in GDM.
Log in KDE as root > click main menu > System > Login Screen Setup, or
log in GNOME as root > click Applications menu > System Tools > Login
Screen Setup.
In General tab, type "Slackware 10" in Welcome string: text box under
Greeter, check "Login a user automatically on first bootup" and select a
user name from the username: drop-down menu under Automatic Login.
In Graphical greeter tab, select a login theme.
In Security tab, check only "Allow root to login with GDM", "Show
actions menu", "Allow configuration from the login screen" and "Always
disallow TCP connections to X server" (port 6000), and uncheck
everything else.
Click [Close].
Setting Terminal Font
If you don't want any anti-aliased font like Courier in a windowed
terminal or console, try Terminal font.
In KDE, right-click on empty desktop > Open Terminal > Settings in menu
bar > Font > Custom > Font: Terminal, Font style: Regular, Size: 10,
[OK] > Settings > Save settings.
In GNOME, click Applications menu > Desktop Preferences > Font >
Terminal fonts > Family: Terminal, Style: Regular, Size: 10, [OK] >
[Close].
Installing Microsoft Fonts
Mozilla 1.7 and Firefox 0.9 scroll pages real smooth and fast. The only
downside is the fonts. You can install Microsoft fonts and make Mozilla
fonts look identical to its Windows version.
Install Microsoft fonts, set their file permissions to 0755, and add the
font path to xorg.conf:
vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Section "Files"
RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"
# ModulePath "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/local"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/local/share/fonts"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ttfonts"
EndSection
Close all Web browsers, and reset X font paths:
xset fp rehash
Configure the new fonts in KDE Control Center or GNOME Preferences, and
Mozilla or Firefox Preferences. You may have to log out and/or restart X
by pressing CTRL ALT Backspace.
Managing Software with Swaret
You can manage software easily Using swaret.
Reading Documentation
Don't miss out a good source of information about the software in
Slackware. If you're running GNOME, click Applications > Help > Desktop
> User Guide to get started. If you're running KDE, click main menu >
Help > "Welcome to KDE" in the left panel. If you're in command lines,
list the software documentation directories:
ls -l /usr/doc | more
Press Spacebar to continue, double-click to copy the directory name and
press q. Then read, for example, K Desktop Environment base package:
less /usr/doc/kdebase-3.2.3/README
Press Page Up/Down key to scroll, / to search for a keyword, ESC to
cancel the search, and q to quit the program.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (C) 2002-2004 by jet_blackz@lycos.com
Chances are you got a system capable of high end 3D hardware acceleration and it will look beautiful under Linux! Earlier 3D drivers were a pain, unfortunately. But if you are using mainstream hardware (ati,nvidia) your in luck! You should be able to setup without much hassle!
Taking your "best guess", download the latest driver for your card and go from there!
ATI people are recommended to download an extra package xf86-video-ati-6.6.3-i486-3.tgz and install:
Also, special note to ATI users!
Sometimes you'll want to restart your X-server with a <Ctrl><Alt><BackSpace> and sometimes, the system will seem to freeze on the terminal screen. If this happens, don't panic! Resist the temptation to reboot/reset your computer as this plays havoc on the file system. Instead switch to a terminal window by pressing <Alt-F1> thru to <Alt-F7> until a prompt shows up allowing you to enter as root in terminal mode. Once there, enter a init 3 and then a init 4 to restart the X-server!
Also Note!
ATI users have a RADEON driver which works 1/2 as good as the latest hardware proprietary driver! If for whatever reason you cannot get satisfaction with the proprietary drivers, the RADEON driver that ships with Slackware should work great. Especially if screen real estate is more important to you. With the RADEON driver (you go into your /etc/X11/xorg.conf and you find where it says "radeon" and you make sure the default driver is the identifier) you should get the maximum screen resolution by default (in my case it is 1400x1050) and decent FPS albeit thru your main board processor:
Code:
perry@slackware:~$ glxgears
6512 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1300.397 FPS
8080 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1614.070 FPS
8080 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1613.336 FPS
8060 frames in 5.0 seconds = 1608.636 FPS
Mind you ATI 3D hardware accelerate is at least twice that with almost no cpu utilization.
Keeping your system updated with the latest in refinements is not as critical as with Windows. Package updates do not occur that often so there is no need to worry there. However, after a fresh install there is usually a number of packages that will have to be updated. One popular method of doing that is using a product called swaret! Once again, the information is adopted from Slackware 10 instructions. But the latest swaret package is only 1.6.3, not bad considering how long it's been around!
Before you install swaret however, make sure to do they following so that you can make things easier on yourself at a later date (you'll be glad you did):
swaret is SlackWARE Tool for Slackware software management. As of
Slackware 9.1, it is in the extra directory of the CD. It installs,
reinstalls, uninstalls, upgrades, downloads, resumes, and lists
installed and available software source, packages and patches. After
all, it checks for and fixes dependencies.
swaret doesn't replace Slackware Package Tool. It complements pkgtool.
It depends on a number of programs in Slackware 8.1 and later.
Downloading
Download swaret-1.6.3-noarch-2.tgz to home directory. Before installing
or upgrading swaret, open a terminal or console, and switch user to
root:
su
Install swaret if you haven't:
installpkg swaret-1.6.3-noarch-2.tgz
Upgrade swaret if you have installed it:
upgradepkg swaret-1.6.3-noarch-2.tgz
Before using swaret, set up the configuration file. Create /var/swaret
directory, change directory to /etc, rename the sample config file, and
edit it as follows:
mkdir /var/swaret
cd /etc
mv swaret.conf.new swaret.conf
vi swaret.conf
DESC=1
DSEARCHM=1
EXCLUDE=alsa
PROGRESS=0
USEPKGDESC=1
VERSION=12.0
VERSION option refers to the Slackware release. See the configuration
file, online user's manual or "man swaret" for how to use the options.
After installing or upgrading swaret, exit root:
exit
Managing Software
swaret is installed. In a terminal or console, switch user to root,
update the Secure Locate database, update the swaret software package
list files, and check for new swaret version:
su
slocate -u -e /mnt &
swaret --update
swaret --check
=> Checking for new swaret Version... DONE!
swaret is up-to-date!
At this point just get swaret to check for & upgrade all your installed packages
root@slackware:/boot# swaret --upgrade -a
The rest of this tutorial is for showing you how to use swaret for special
situations. If your just upgrading after an initial install, your task is done!
Just run it occasionally to check for the latest upgrades. With Linux you'll find
that you are automatically protected from 99% of all virus's as 99% of all virus's
are written for other operating systems. Linux users still comprise less than 1%
of Internet users (not Linux based servers, thats like 77%) just users surfing
the net!
For some reason, checking for new swaret version may not work. Skip this
step since you probably installed the latest version of swaret.
List available packages, using Page Up/Down keys to scroll and "q" key
to quit the listing:
swaret --list -n | less
...
gnupg-1.2.3-i486-1 (1393 kB) (Installed: gnupg-1.2.3-i486-2)
...
xcdroast-0.98alpha14-i486-1 (1598 kB)
...
The listing is quite long. In my example, GnuPG is installed. The
available package is older. Leave that alone. X-CD-Roast isn't
installed. We'll take X-CD-Roast as an example and install the package:
swaret --install xcdroast
Listing available Packages matching Keyword: xcdroast...
xcdroast-0.98alpha14-i486-1 (1598 kB)
Install xcdroast-0.98alpha14-i486-1? (y/n/A/Q): [y]y
Sometimes a package can act up or something is wrong with the program.
Reinstalling may fix the problem. Reinstall X-CD-Roast:
swaret --reinstall xcdroast
Listing available Packages matching Keyword: xcdroast...
xcdroast-0.98alpha14-i486-1 (1598 kB)
Re-Install xcdroast-0.98alpha14-i486-1? (y/n/A/Q): [y]y
Upgrade X-CD-Roast when there is a new version of the package:
swaret --upgrade xcdroast
Listing available Packages matching Keyword: xcdroast...
Installed Packages are up-to-date matching Keyword: xcdroast!
Resume a broken install-in-progress of X-CD-Roast, due to a power black-
out, accidental power-off or reset, or a dog stopping the computer:
swaret --resume xcdroast
No broken Packages found to Resume!
Show the description of X-CD-Roast:
swaret --show xcdroast
Description for xcdroast-0.98alpha14-i486-1:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
X-CD-Roast is a graphical front-end for the command line cdrtools.
You can do anything X-CD-Roast does yourself using the command line
tools - but it's nicer and easier with the front-end. The cdrtools
contain "cdrecord" (which does the actual writing of CDs), "readcd"
(reads data tracks of CDs"), "mkisofs" (masters CD images), and
"cdda2wav" (reads audio tracks). Cdrecord, readcd and mkisofs are
maintained by Joerg Schilling, cdda2wav by Heiko Eissfeldt, and
X-CD-Roast by Thomas Niederreiter.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Check for and fix dependencies of X-CD-Roast:
swaret --dep xcdroast
=> Creating a List of Packages matching Keyword: xcdroast... DONE!
%%% Verifying Dependencies... Libraries resolved successfully!
Remove X-CD-Roast from the system:
swaret --remove xcdroast
Listing installed Packages matching Keyword: xcdroast...
gnome-icon-theme-1.0.9-noarch-1
xcdroast-0.98alpha14-i486-1
Remove gnome-icon-theme-1.0.9-noarch-1? (y/n/Q): [y]n
Remove xcdroast-0.98alpha14-i486-1? (y/n/Q): [y]y
Be careful what extra packages you remove. They may be part of other
packages. Generally speaking, remove only the package you entered in the
command line. You've uninstalled XCDRoast. The downloaded package file
is still in the cache directory:
ls /var/swaret/
PKGLIST PKGLIST.list repos/ sources/
xcdroast-0.98alpha14-i486-1.tgz
Purge any downloaded package from the cache directory:
swaret --purge
Purging Packages Cache Directory: /var/swaret... DONE!
Is it really gone? You bet.
ls /var/swaret/
repos/ sources/
View the swaret log:
swaret --log | less
Clear the log:
swaret --log -c
swaret Log File has been cleared!
After using swaret, exit root:
exit
Check Out
http://swaret.sourceforge.net/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (C) 2002-2004 by jet_blackz@lycos.com
First things first!
You owe it to yourself to see if the support that comes already built into Slackware 12 is ready to go. The rc.inet1 script and accompanying rc.inet1.conf file are the primary means by which you can setup wireless on your system:
For more on this preferred approach check out Alien Bob's excellent wiki on wifi!
Plan B
If for whatever reason that approach doesn't work for you, here's a common fallback. It's called making use of the same Windows drivers that your using when your booted in that system. For this process to work, you *must* have the .inf file for your wireless modem, typically found on your install CD (that came with the modem). If you don't have the CD you may be able to find your .inf file off the Internet. Typically the .inf file is in a subdirectory on the CD or after you decompress your downloaded setup file you should be able to find it. Either way, you need that .inf file in order for this fallback plan to work.
NDISWRAPPER: Using your Wireless Windows Driver with Linux
Your system *probably* comes with eth0 or regular network support (as in a wire/cable that plugs in the back of your computer). For those of us who have to rely on wireless it's not that simple. However, this method maybe about as simple as it gets at the moment!
Step #1: Download/Install NDISWRAPPER
1. Download the latest version of NDISWRAPPER!
2. Untar, make, make install! (Ignore the CONFIG_4KSTACK warning)
Code:
wget http://umn.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/ndiswrapper/ndiswrapper-1.47.tar.gz
tar xvzf ndiswrapper-1.47.tar.gz
cd ndiswrapper-1.47
make
sudo make install
Step #2 - Download/Install Windows Wireless Driver
1. Get the CD that came with your wireless modem and look for an .inf file
Code:
cd /mnt/cdrom/Linksys/WUSB54Gv4_20051110/Drivers/WUSB54Gv4
ls
total 276
-rwxr-xr-x 1 perry users 8022 2005-11-02 20:11 rt2500usb.cat*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 perry users 19592 2005-10-18 20:03 rt2500usb.inf*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 perry users 245376 2005-10-17 15:50 rt2500usb.sys*
For those of you with Linksys WUSB54G hardware the driver can be found here!
Sometimes there is more than one .inf, typically the longer the .inf has been around the greater the chances it'll work. However the newer the .inf file, the greater are the chances that it'll work faster or better!
I'll use that driver here as an example.
If for whatever reason you didn't see the expression (device...present) the .inf driver didn't work and you've got to try another! (In that case do a "ndiswrapper -r rt2500usb" and try to install another .inf file)
3. Now modprobe the thing
Code:
root@slackware:/home/perry# modprobe ndiswrapper
Step #3: Download/Install rc.wlan0
Here's a script to copy into your /usr/local/sbin folder, do a chmod +x on it
Code:
#!/bin/sh
if [ "$1" == "start" ]; then
/sbin/modprobe ndiswrapper
/sbin/dhcpcd wlan0 -h slack12.0 &
/sbin/ifconfig wlan0 up &
/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 nick slackware &
/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 essid any &
# /sbin/iwconfig wlan0 key s:password [2]
fi
if [ "$1" == "stop" ]; then
/sbin/ifconfig wlan0 down
/sbin/dhcpcd -k
/sbin/modprobe -r ndiswrapper
fi
Step #4: Start/Stop your wireless!
Provided your router doesn't require encryption you should be able to connect to the Internet at this point. Also, if at any time your Internet goes down you can reset your wireless driver simply by entering a 'stop' and then another 'start'. Test this out now to see if everything is working! (You'll have to be in root to do this)
Step #5: Add it to your bootup/shutdown process
You should also add a reference to this script to your bootup and shutdown procedures!
your /etc/rc.d/rc.local file:
Code:
#!/bin/sh
#
# /etc/rc.d/rc.local: Local system initialization script.
#
# Put any local startup commands in here. Also, if you have
# anything that needs to be run at shutdown time you can
# make an /etc/rc.d/rc.local_shutdown script and put those
# commands in there.
/usr/local/sbin/rc.wlan0 start
your /etc/rc.d/rc.local_shutdown file:
Code:
#!/bin/sh
#
# /etc/rc.d/rc.local_shutdown: Local system termination script.
#
# Put any local shutdown commands in here. Also, if you have
# anything that needs to be run at startup time you can
# use the /etc/rc.d/rc.local script and put those
# commands in there.
/usr/local/sbin/rc.wlan0 stop
Adopt as appropiate! But at this point, you have wireless!
Encryption with rc.wlan0
You'll have to do some experimenting here as I don't have my Linksys router setup for encryption and am not going to set my Linksys router up for encryption (at the moment)! That could change, but experience comes the knowledge that if it's currently working, thats a good thing! Nonetheless to enable it with this script you simply config your wireless using the iwconfig utility. I'd advise you startup your wireless for the very first time by executing manually each of the commands in the "start" portion of rc.wlan0 and then execute one of the options for encryption using iwconfig. Once you got something working, add those commands to your rc.wlan0 script:
Code:
key/enc[ryption]
Used to manipulate encryption or scrambling keys and security mode.
To set the current encryption key, just enter the key in hex digits as XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX or XXXXXXXX. To set a key
other than the current key, prepend or append [index] to the key itself (this won't change which is the active key).
You can also enter the key as an ASCII string by using the s: prefix. Passphrase is currently not supported.
To change which key is the currently active key, just enter [index] (without entering any key value).
off and on disable and reenable encryption.
The security mode may be open or restricted, and its meaning depends on the card used. With most cards, in open mode no
authentication is used and the card may also accept non-encrypted sessions, whereas in restricted mode only encrypted
sessions are accepted and the card will use authentication if available.
If you need to set multiple keys, or set a key and change the active key, you need to use multiple key directives.
Arguments can be put in any order, the last one will take precedence.
Examples :
iwconfig wlan0 key 0123-4567-89
iwconfig wlan0 key [3] 0123-4567-89
iwconfig wlan0 key s:password [2]
iwconfig wlan0 key [2]
iwconfig wlan0 key open
iwconfig wlan0 key off
iwconfig wlan0 key restricted [3] 0123456789
iwconfig wlan0 key 01-23 key 45-67 [4] key [4]
For more on iwconfig, type man iwconfig at your prompt!
NOTE: Life on the cutting edge!
Before you can use ndiswrapper however, you may have to upgrade your kernel before hand. If you've done the above steps and still no wireless, upgrade your kernel (as described below) and try again!
Optional support
Using your desktop to inform you that you have wireless is pretty grovy! I use both my Dropline Gnome desktop to inform me that my wireless and Internet are working by adding applets that it provides. Also, if your a gkrellm fan you can activate your wireless plugin as well! Take a look at my desktop!
By default Slackware uses the huge kernel. For some of us, our system won't even boot with that. For me, I was able to work around this using a kernel from Slackware 10.1. If your doing a fresh install, your CD #2 should be able to boot up and give you a chance to install the generic kernel. I didn't do it that way and that's the best I can recommend at this point. In either case to those of you that are able to switch to the generic-smp kernel, before you can use wireless you have to upgrade the kernel as follows:
You *WANT* to install Dropline Gnome! Patrick gave up on supporting Gnome after 10.1 however, the folks at Dropline are a separate entity, they love Slackware and they have their act together. If you want a nice looking desktop with really nice eye candy and (full control over your) beautiful fonts, you'll want Dropline Gnome on your system. Slackware without Dropline is like cake without icing. Moreover the latest verion of Dropline is rebuilt explicitly for Slackware 12.0
And then go and get yourself a coffee as it has a lot of downloading to do, but don't worry it'll automatically install so that you won't have to wait.
You might also want to save the contents of /var/cache/dropline-installer for future installations!
Well that's essentially it! If you have other operating systems on your pc you might have to deal with ntfs if so check out fuse and ntfs-3g. Just download and install as per directions. There are a few more refinements that I'll describe a little later for now, this is the general gist of what you have to do to get Slackware 12.0 + Dropline onto your system.
Hope your learning curve is not *too* steep but rewarding. I've been using Linux since the late 90's and nothing compares to what Slackware 12 is doing for me tonight. Hope you get to have the same experience!
The following is documentation intended for Slackware 10.0, much of it can be adopted for 12.0. Some of it, like the arno iptables cannot! Take a look at it and make use of what you want.
Code:
Where Do You Go From Here?
If you are a Slackware recruit, you are done tweaking Slackware. I would
never recommend the following advanced topics to recruits. If you are a
Slackware veteran, proceed with caution as the following will
considerably tighten up the system security to the point some things may
not work. i.e. A user couldn't read system logs.
Disabling Unnecessary Services
There is a bunch of services that are not necessary for a stand-alone
home PC. atd runs jobs at a later time. cron is a good replacement. Stop
the service, and disable it from starting by commenting out this snippet
in the multi-user init script:
killall atd
vi /etc/rc.d/rc.M
# Start atd (manages jobs scheduled with 'at'):
#if [ -x /usr/sbin/atd ]; then
# /usr/sbin/atd -b 15 -l 1
#fi
The following table describes the init scripts or services in the /etc/
rc.d directory that should be enabled. The other services can be
disabled.
Minimal Services
rc.0 Symbolic link to rc.6
rc.4 Graphical login
rc.6 Shutdown or reboot
rc.K Safe mode for system administration
rc.M Multi-user login
rc.S System initialization
rc.acpid Advanced Configuration and Power Interface
rc.alsa Advanced Linux Sound Architecture
rc.cups Common UNIX Printing System
rc.font.new Console font
rc.hotplug Hotpluggable subsystems
rc.inet1 Network initialization
rc.iptables Arno's firewall ruleset (optional)
rc.keymap Keyboard map
rc.local Local system initialization
rc.modules Extra hardware drivers
rc.serial Serial port initialization
rc.syslog System logging
rc.sysvinit System V init script compatibility
rc.udev Dynamic device naming support
The following are cut-and-paste console utility, network services and
filesystems, wireless devices, and Yellow Pages Network Information
Service. Disable these unnecessary services if you don't need them:
cd /etc/rc.d
chmod -x rc.gpm-sample rc.inet2 rc.nfsd rc.wireless rc.yp
Disabling Internet Services Daemon
You disabled Internet Services Daemon if you'd followed my install guide
to the letter. The leftover is its config file. Rename and empty it if
you want:
mv /etc/inetd.conf /etc/inetd.conf.old
touch /etc/inetd.conf
Restricting Services, Logs and root Files
You can restrict services, logs and root files to everybody but root:
chmod -R go-rwx /etc/rc.d
chmod -R o-rwx /var/log
chmod -R go-rwx /root
Deleting Unnecessary Accounts and Groups
There are accounts that can be used against the system per se. If you
don't run an ftp server, news server, RPC port mapper, Secure Shell,
Unix to Unix Copy, the following accounts and their corresponding groups
can be deleted.
Change directory to /etc, back up group, password and shadow files,
delete ftp, news, operator, rpc, sshd, sync and uucp accounts, check the
integrity of the password file, delete news, sshd and uucp groups, and
check the integrity of the group file, and delete ftp directory:
cd /etc
cp group group.old
cp passwd passwd.old
cp shadow shadow.old
userdel ftp
userdel news
userdel operator
userdel rpc
userdel sshd
userdel sync
userdel uucp
pwck
groupdel news
groupdel sshd
groupdel uucp
grpck
rm -fr /home/ftp
Next, comment out this line in syslog.conf to disable their logging:
vi /etc/syslog.conf
#uucp,news.crit -/var/log/spooler
Finally, restart the system logging daemon:
killall -HUP syslogd
Tightening Login Definitions
The login definitions are lax. What the settings do is explained in the
same file. Tighten them up:
vi /etc/login.defs
#
# Enable logging and display of /var/log/faillog login failure
# info.
#
FAILLOG_ENAB yes
#
# Enable display of unknown usernames when login failures are
# recorded.
#
LOG_UNKFAIL_ENAB yes
#
# Enable logging of successful logins
#
LOG_OK_LOGINS yes
#
# Enable logging and display of /var/log/lastlog login time info.
#
LASTLOG_ENAB yes
...
#
# Enable additional checks upon password changes.
#
OBSCURE_CHECKS_ENAB yes
...
#
# Enable checking of time restrictions specified in /etc/porttime.
#
PORTTIME_CHECKS_ENAB yes
...
#
# Password aging controls:
#
# PASS_MAX_DAYS Maximum number of days a password may be used.
# PASS_MIN_DAYS Minimum number of days allowed between
# password changes.
# PASS_MIN_LEN Minimum acceptable password length.
# PASS_WARN_AGE Number of days warning given before a
# password expires.
#
PASS_MAX_DAYS 180
PASS_MIN_DAYS 0
PASS_MIN_LEN 6
PASS_WARN_AGE 7
...
#
# Max number of login retries if password is bad
#
LOGIN_RETRIES 3
...
#
# Should login be allowed if we can't cd to the home directory?
# Default in no.
#
DEFAULT_HOME no
Restricting Remote Access to Computer
If you're using TCP wrapper or Secure Shell, you can restrict access
from outside to the local computer. Edit hosts.deny to read this:
vi /etc/hosts.deny
ALL: ALL
Installing a Firewall Rule Set
Please refer to Using iptables for installing a firewall rule set.
Official Book
http://www.slackware.com/book/
How-To's
http://www.linuxpackages.net/howto.php
http://shilo.is-a-geek.com/slack/links.html
Basic Slackware Security
http://www.geocities.com/jtarin47/linux/Slackware/
Securing_Slackware.html
Direct Rendering Infrastructure
http://dri.sourceforge.net/
Updates
http://www.linuxpackages.net/search_view.php?orderby=p_date&advance=DESC&
ver=10.0
http://slackware.at/data/slackware-10.0/patches/packages/
Software Management
http://software.jaos.org/
http://swaret.sourceforge.net/
Slackware Software Packages
http://www.slackcare.com/download.php
Kernel Insecurity
http://www.linuxsecurity.com/advisories/slackware_advisory-4463.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (C) 2002-2004 by jet_blackz@lycos.com
To save a little space, most modern cpu's these days have little trouble creating images/thumbnails for you and information left in your browser can actually cause it malfunction on occasion. What I find really helps is to keep certain hidden directories on my system, temporary. That way I won't be carrying around hordes of thumbnails and browser cache info that I'll never use again! To do this, simply add this to your /etc/fstab:
Both the cache and thumbnail directories can eventually chew up a large percentage of your hard disk leaving you wondering where all the space went, especially after you have cleaned up your work area. Save yourself the trouble, place those entries at the bottom of your fstab and no longer worry about it!
Also, don't forget your /tmp directory. You wouldn't believe how many times having a permanent /tmp area kicking around has caused so many 'mysterious' problems threw out the system. If you have any decent memory at all (say 1 gig+) you owe it to yourself to setup /tmp as a truly temporary space that gets reset with every reboot (or in this case, remount)! Add this to your fstab (comment out the one already there with a '#'), you won't be sorry you did.
Code:
none /tmp tmpfs defaults 0 0
It makes a big difference, keeping your system all that much more self-cleaning!
How to compile your Slackware 12 2.6.21.5 (22.x) Kernel!
Anybody else compiling their kernel can go check out the vanilla recipes for kernel compiles but us Slackware 12 people have certain refinements that require special attention.
How to setup CPU Frequency Scaling for Slackware 12!
Also, in addition to the changes to the kernel that the author of that how-to guide indicates that you should do. Be sure to activate your cpu frequency scaling ability thereby allowing linux to keep your processor from burning out (and keep your system much running much quieter)! (also, be aware that you can use make gconfig instead of make menuconfig for a more graphically pleasing way to make changes to the kernel):
Code:
<*> Power Manage options (ACPI, APM)
<*> Power Management support (NEW)
CPU Frequency scaling
(*) CPU Frequency scaling (NEW)
...
<*> 'performance' governer (NEW)
<*> 'powersave' governer (NEW)
<*> 'userspace' governer (NEW)
<*> 'ondemand' governer (NEW)
<*> 'conservative' governer (NEW)
...
<*> AMD Opteron/Athlon64 PowerNow! (NEW)
(or whatever your processor is)
Then (After your kernel compile) when in Gnome, be sure to "Add to Panel" your "CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor". Right mouse click on the sensor and specify either a governor or specific frequency in which to run your processor. Add another "Hardware Sensor Monitor" sensor to see the current temperature of your processor. Watch how it falls from the 45-50 degree high range to a much more economic and cooler on the motherboard & fan, 35 degrees celcius.
And be sure to add this line to your /etc/rc.d/rc.local to make sure your computer boots up in ondemand mode!
Code:
#!/bin/sh
#
# /etc/rc.d/rc.local: Local system initialization script.
#
# Put any local startup commands in here. Also, if you have
# anything that needs to be run at shutdown time you can
# make an /etc/rc.d/rc.local_shutdown script and put those
# commands in there.
echo "ondemand" >> /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor
IT'S SOOOOO COOL!!!!!!!!!
Thanks and have a great day,
- Perry
ps.
what a relief, all this time now seeing the CPU temperature hovering around 45-55 degrees with a red bar next to it and always operating at 2 GHz and I'm thinking "whats the sense in telling me something the I already know". Then when I tinkered with it and found out that my frequency scaling ability wasn't activated, i said, "right, time to get that kernel compiled properly..."
It's going to be important that you update your initrd.gz if your going to compiling your kernel. Especially if you are building up from your 2.6.21.5-generic-smp kernel. Otherwise it's not going to know how to load the thing. Here's a build (gedit /boot/build) script that you can include in your /boot directory:
If you downloaded & installed the /sbin/installkernel as recommended, make a change to the last two lines of that script:
Code:
# The -p is for the few people that know you can set passwords on lilo that
# will then be required if someone wants to be sneaky and root the system
# with "linux single" or similar lameness..
/boot/build
/sbin/lilo -p
Also, make sure your lilo.conf has a reference to your initrd.gz
Code:
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
initrd = /boot/initrd.gz
root = /dev/hda3
label = slack12.0.vesa
read-only # Partitions should be mounted read-only for checking
vga=773
# Linux bootable partition config ends
Now when you do:
Code:
cd /usr/src/linux
make gconfig
make all
make modules_install
make install
Your initrd.gz will be setup properly and lilo will know where to find it. Mind you, I am assuming that you choose reiserfs as your root (/) file system. If you choose any other file system you'll have to make changes appropiately. BE careful using ext3 as Patrick mentioned that that filesystem needed help when being included in initrd.gz. I'll see if I can find that complication for you later.
Given that your new Slackware 12 / Dropline Gnome is now going to handle 99.99% of all your computer needs, the only thing you'll be keeping your Windows partition around for is just a convenient fallback position for certain games that just won't run correctly with Wine or Cedega!
In this case, what you want to do is install Fuse & NTFS-3G to properly access your Windows partition. Then with those packages in place, you'll make a backup of your Windows partition, perferrably when it's in it's ideal state (as in before all the viruses and spyware clouded it up). You can use the ntfsclone utility to make an image for you then redeploy it when you want to save yourself hours (if not days) reinstalling all those Windows drivers and updates!
To activate NTFS read/write support place into your /etc/fstab:
Code:
/dev/hda1 /mnt/win2k ntfs-3g defaults,force 1 0
Where you change "hda1" to whatever your windows partition is.
To copy your Windows partition:
Code:
cd /mnt/{somewhere with enough space}
ntfsclone --output ntfs.img /dev/hda1
To paste your Windows partition:
Code:
cd /mnt/{where you stored your ntfs.img}
ntfsclone --overwrite /dev/hda1 ntfs.img -f
Lobotomize Windows Viruses and Spyware with Linux!!!
Create your ntfs.img file just after you get everything setup *perfectly* (or as "perfect" as it gets with Windows) and then make your image on another hard disk or partition (one with enough space to house a complete copy of your NTFS partition). After you drop the partition and then create it again (using fdisk, cfdisk or gparted), simply run the 2nd ntfsclone command.
Afterwords, your Windows partition will act a little tipsy (just like coming out of a lobotomy) but after a chkdsk or two and a couple reboots be back to it's old reckless self for another dip in the mud!
Divide & Conquer!
As a bonus, this technique can allow you to clone multiple computers than need the same setup. If your running a games arcade or something you can setup a Linux server to lobotomize your Windows machines every morning...! Nice way to start the day... your Windows slaves start off with a lobotomy, you start off with a Java...!
Isn't it nice to be able to say that Linux can install Windows better than Windows can install itself...!
This is like common problem with sound #1
By default, your sound capability with Slackware is muted. Too many times people freak out because they can't seem to get their sound working. As root, you might want to set this up. In a terminal window:
Code:
alsamixer
alsactl store
While the alsamixer is displayed, use your cursor left or right to select which volume control you wish adjust. Use up & down to adjust the volume itself. And be sure to press 'm' to unmute that paticular sound. Press ESC when your done.
To save your settings as default, be sure to use alsactl store. Better done as root, but should work as a user.
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How to install Slackware (plus others)
Give your Windows Partition a Lobotomy!
How to get sound working on your Slackware !
