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-   Slackware (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/)
-   -   SlackwareŽ 12.1 Install Suggestions (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/slackware%AE-12-1-install-suggestions-639835/)

onebuck 05-04-2008 01:13 PM
SlackwareŽ 12.1 Install Suggestions
 
Hi,

I would like to suggest that SlackwareŽ 12.1 users/newbies read the text files that are provided on your iso disk(s).
Read the ones that are relevant to your installation. The filename is self descriptive.

You will garnish a lot of information from the text files.

Smedley 05-04-2008 02:05 PM
Good post onebuck....... :D

Franklin 05-04-2008 02:09 PM
Always good advice.

Of particular note (for myself) was the comment in the changes and hints text with respect to passing the option "hda=noprobe" to lilo at install and when booting after install. This will allow the system to properly configure your SATA harddrive as /dev/sda and not /dev/hda. The text specificly refers to IBM Thinkpads and DMA, but this also corrected the problem stated above with respect to my Dell, SATA, and the ICH7 chipset. Without this option, booting would result in a kernel panic - even after a successful install.

Quote:
If you notice extremely long wait times when formatting partitions in the
installer, and you're installing on a Thinkpad that has a SATA drive, it's
possible that the wrong driver is being used, which disables DMA on the drive
(and could happen on other machines). A bit more detail about it is here:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Proble...stem_hard_disk
Try passing "hda=noprobe" to the kernel when booting the installer, and it
should use the correct libata driver.
If you find that you cannot stop the installer from configuring your SATA drive as /dev/hda, this option may get you running until you can configure a new kernel. In my case, removing IDE support from the kernel fixed things, but there may be other ways to correct this that are more appropriate for your situation.

AceofSpades19 05-04-2008 02:33 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Franklin (Post 3142465)
Always good advice.

Of particular note (for myself) was the comment in the changes and hints text with respect to passing the option "hda=noprobe" to lilo at install and when booting after install. This will allow the system to properly configure your SATA harddrive as /dev/sda and not /dev/hda. The text specificly refers to IBM Thinkpads and DMA, but this also corrected the problem stated above with respect to my Dell, SATA, and the ICH7 chipset. Without this option, booting would result in a kernel panic - even after a successful install.



If you find that you cannot stop the installer from configuring your SATA drive as /dev/hda, this option may get you running until you can configure a new kernel. In my case, removing IDE support from the kernel fixed things, but there may be other ways to correct this that are more appropriate for your situation.
I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to upgrade to 12.1 because of that, but thanks for the suggestion Franklin

harryhaller 05-04-2008 02:36 PM
No mouse
 
A problem I had was that I had no mouse - and thus wasted time playing around with its configuration and that of gpm.

The problem was solved when I decided to check /etc/rc.d/rc.modules and I saw that all four versions had the execution attribute.

Changing it so that just one (rc.modules-2.6.21.5-smp) had the execution attribute, fixed the mouse problem.

i.e.
Code:
chmod 0644 /etc/rc.d/rc.modules-2.6.2x.5[-smp]
will remove the execution attribute.

T3slider 05-04-2008 02:51 PM
harryhaller, that definitely shouldn't happen. Plus, with 12.1, you should be using 2.6.24.5-smp and not 2.6.21.5-smp. /etc/rc.d/rc.S should check to see if there exists a /etc/rc.d/rc.modules-$(uname -r) before using the /etc/rc.d/rc.modules symlink (and an rc.modules.local should override anything). I would check /etc/rc.d/rc.S and all of the /etc/rc.d/rc.modules* files to see what's going on. You obviously upgraded if 2.6.21.5-smp was present on the system. Did you properly merge your .new files etc.? /etc/rc.d/rc.modules-2.6.24.5-smp should be the file being used (it should say "Running /etc/rc.d/rc.modules-2.6.24.5-smp:" when it starts up, though this is not present in dmesg output or any other logs I have looked through).

harryhaller 05-04-2008 03:10 PM
You're right, T3slider.

Except I didn't do an upgrade but a clean install.

My kernel is indeed 2.6.24.5-smp but the @rc.modules symlink is pointed at rc.modules-2.6.21.5-smp!

It would be best that my previous post is ignored.

I fixed my mouse problem - but I don't know how.

Probably, since I have a pretty low tech PC, the difference between the the two rc.modules scripts didn't affect my machine. I'll have to correct that and try it out again.

Sorry about that - I wanted to help people installing - not confuse them.

Alien Bob 05-04-2008 04:03 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by harryhaller (Post 3142530)
You're right, T3slider.

Except I didn't do an upgrade but a clean install.

My kernel is indeed 2.6.24.5-smp but the @rc.modules symlink is pointed at rc.modules-2.6.21.5-smp!
In that case you definitely did not do a fresh install of Slackware 12.1 - unless you installed to a partition that was not wiped but still had a previous Slackware on it.
The kernel-modules package in Slackware 12.1 has this piece of code in the post-install script:

Code:
# If rc.modules is a real file, back it up:
if [ -r etc/rc.d/rc.modules -a ! -L etc/rc.d/rc.modules ]; then
  cp -a etc/rc.d/rc.modules etc/rc.d/rc.modules.bak
fi
# Make rc.modules a symlink if it's not already, but do not replace
# an existing symlink.  You'll have to decide to point at a new version
# of this script on your own...
if [ ! -L etc/rc.d/rc.modules ]; then
  ( cd etc/rc.d ; rm -rf rc.modules )
  ( cd etc/rc.d ; ln -sf rc.modules-2.6.24.5-smp rc.modules )
fi
So, if the rc.modules -> rc.modules-2.6.21.5-smp symlink already existed (i.e. if you install on top of an existing Slackware), the symlink will not be changed. If it did not yet exist (i.e. fresh install onto an empty/formatted partition) the proper symlink will be created.

Eric

harryhaller 05-04-2008 04:48 PM
How NOT to install.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alien Bob (Post 3142575)
In that case you definitely did not do a fresh install of Slackware 12.1 - unless you installed to a partition that was not wiped but still had a previous Slackware on it.
<bangs his head on the table>

Yes, now I remember - but it's worse than that.

I was installing 12.0. Since it was a clean install I had to go through all the files in /etc and compare them with the live ones on my previous installation (10.1).

I then saw a security alert for the kernel and that the kernel needed a patch. As there was talk of 12.1 being released soon, I checked to see if it was there and it was - I downloaded it some hours before the official announcement, making a dvd using isolinux.

I then tarballed the /etc I had changed, installed 12.1 (clean), and then restored the tarballed /etc.

On reflection - I should be shot.

SqdnGuns 05-04-2008 04:51 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by harryhaller (Post 3142616)
<bangs his head on the table>

On reflection - I should be shot.
BANG!! LOL........we all have fallen victim to brain farts before.

onebuck 05-04-2008 08:14 PM
Hi,

I like it!

BANG!! LOL........we all have fallen victim to brain farts before.

Compressed;

Bang! ! LOL ....BF.

hitest 05-04-2008 08:43 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by harryhaller (Post 3142616)
<bangs his head on the table>

On reflection - I should be shot.
Heh-heh, don't be too hard on yourself:-) I seem to only learn by making mistakes in Slackware.
BANG............oops:-)

php 05-04-2008 09:27 PM
Nice suggestions

onebuck 05-05-2008 02:02 PM
Hi,
Quote:
Originally Posted by php (Post 3142823)
Nice suggestions
Yes these are nice but I would like too see more from the group. I'm sure people have resolved some issues without realizing the help to others the solution would be.

I've not had anything major with the Slackware 12.1 install but I'm at the point to start breaking.

shadowsnipes 05-07-2008 04:01 AM
Speaking of posting solutions for 12.1, I posted a HowTo on upgrading from Slackware 12.0 to 12.1. Check it out and let me know what you think.


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