The Ultimate "When Will The Next Slackware Release Arrive" MegaThread

Slackitude · 09-10-2006, 03:36 AM

"just mount the ISO, copy the files to your disk, delete a few packages that you don't care about, then make a new ISO..."

I just slapped my head and said "Of course" It's amazing to me I didn't think of that. Thank you win32sux, I don't mind saying you're idea is better than mine. OK, I do mind saying it but what the heck.

Bruce Hill · 09-10-2006, 03:37 AM

Okay, class ... once more, from the top.

I am talking about INSTALLING Slackware-current with huge26.s ...
(See Post #881 ...)

When you install Slackware-11.0 you will find the first prompt -->
boot:
asks you which kernel you'd like to use. Pick huge26.s to stay with
me on this post.

The next prompt -->
Enter 1 to select a keyboard map:
allows you to change from the Slackware default US keyboard map.

The next prompt -->
slackware login:
will only work if you select root.

The next prompt is where the rubber meets the road. You will read:

Quote:

Linux 2.6.17.13

If you're upgrading an existing Slackware system, you might want to
remove old packages before you run 'setup' to install the new ones. If
you don't, your system will still work but there might be some old files
left laying around on your drive.

Just mount your Linux partitions under /mnt and type 'pkgtool'. If you
don't know how to mount your partitions, type 'pkgtool' and it will tell
you how it's done.

To partition your hard drive(s), use 'cfdisk' or 'fdisk'.
To activate PCMCIA/Cardbus devices needed for installation, type 'pcmcia'.
To activate network devices needed for installation, type 'network'. <--- that's what I'm talking about
To start the main installation, type 'setup'.

root@slackware:/# _

And that is where you type network and press Enter to start a NFS install;
and I'm telling you there is no network support in the Slackware install
using huge26.s as of today. (I previously quoted Pat's email to me.)

So you enter cfdisk /dev/sda to partition your SATA hard drive, which returns:

Code:

FATAL ERROR: Cannot open disk drive
Press any key to exit cfdisk
root@slackware:/# _

So the installer does not have support for my SATA controller:

Code:

00:0f.0 RAID bus controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VIA VT6420 SATA RAID Controller (rev 80)
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. A7V600/K8V Deluxe/K8V-X/A8V Deluxe motherboard

NB: The installer kernel and a kernel you install later are two different things.

The huge26.s kernel (note the $PATH) seems to support my hardware:

Code:

mingdao@paul:~$ less /backup2/ftp/pub/Linux/Slackware/slackware-current/kernels/huge26.s/config | grep -i via_rhine
CONFIG_VIA_RHINE=m
CONFIG_VIA_RHINE_MMIO=y
mingdao@paul:~$ cat /backup2/ftp/pub/Linux/Slackware/slackware-current/kernels/huge26.s/config | grep -i sata_via
CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_VIA=y

Okay, now that we're all on the same page, perhaps we can begin
to be pushy with Pat about this.

hitest · 09-10-2006, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Hill

Okay, class ... once more, from the top.

I am talking about INSTALLING Slackware-current with huge26.s ...
(See Post #881 ...)

When you install Slackware-11.0 you will find the first prompt -->
boot:
asks you which kernel you'd like to use. Pick huge26.s to stay with
me on this post.

The next prompt -->
Enter 1 to select a keyboard map:
allows you to change from the Slackware default US keyboard map.

The next prompt -->
slackware login:
will only work if you select root.

The next prompt is where the rubber meets the road. You will read:

And that is where you type network and press Enter to start a NFS install;
and I'm telling you there is no network support in the Slackware install
using huge26.s as of today. (I previously quoted Pat's email to me.)

So you enter cfdisk /dev/sda to partition your SATA hard drive, which returns:

Code:

FATAL ERROR: Cannot open disk drive
Press any key to exit cfdisk
root@slackware:/# _

So the installer does not have support for my SATA controller:

Code:

00:0f.0 RAID bus controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VIA VT6420 SATA RAID Controller (rev 80)
Subsystem: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. A7V600/K8V Deluxe/K8V-X/A8V Deluxe motherboard

NB: The installer kernel and a kernel you install later are two different things.

The huge26.s kernel (note the $PATH) seems to support my hardware:

Code:

mingdao@paul:~$ less /backup2/ftp/pub/Linux/Slackware/slackware-current/kernels/huge26.s/config | grep -i via_rhine
CONFIG_VIA_RHINE=m
CONFIG_VIA_RHINE_MMIO=y
mingdao@paul:~$ cat /backup2/ftp/pub/Linux/Slackware/slackware-current/kernels/huge26.s/config | grep -i sata_via
CONFIG_SCSI_SATA_VIA=y

Okay, now that we're all on the same page, perhaps we can begin
to be pushy with Pat about this.

Thanks for your informative post, Bruce:-) I think I understand what you mean. I'm currently running the 2.6.13 kernel from the second 10.2 install CD. Just to clarify your post a bit, will I be able to have network support with 11 when I boot with huge26s, install the kernel from the second install cd, mount the cd and install headers, modules, etc?
That is, once I've finished a normal 2.6.17.13 kernel install for Slackware 11 will I be able to surf the Internet?
I think you are saying that you are not able to currently do a network install of Slackware 11. Is that what you mean?
Thank you.

Alien Bob · 09-10-2006, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Just to clarify your post a bit, will I be able to have network support with 11 when I boot with huge26s, install the kernel from the second install cd, mount the cd and install headers, modules, etc?
That is, once I've finished a normal 2.6.17.13 kernel install for Slackware 11 will I be able to surf the Internet?
I think you are saying that you are not able to currently do a network install of Slackware 11. Is that what you mean?

With the huge26 bootkernel in Slackware -current (and the test26 in Slackware 10.2) you are able to install Slackware just fine. Afterwards (i.e. after the installation finishes and you reboot into your new Slackware) you need to install the "kernel-modules" package from the "/extra/linux-2.6.17.XX" directory that you will find in the Slackware directory tree and on one of the CD's of Slackware's 4-CDROM set. The difference for 2.4 and 2.6 kernels is that the setup program will install kernel modules for the standard 2.4 kernel in /slackware/k but not for the 2.6 kernel in /extra. As long as you install the kernel-modules-2.6.17.XX package your network card will be activated and you can surf the Internet.

One thing about network support during the installation: in order to install the packages from a NFS server you will need to load the kernel module for your network card. You do this by running the command "network" before you run the command "setup".
Slackware -current only only supports network installs if you choose a 2.4 kernel to boot the slackinstaller. There is no support for network installs running a 2.6 kernel (i.e. the "huge26" kernel). That is the issue here.

Eric

hitest · 09-10-2006, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alien Bob

With the huge26 bootkernel in Slackware -current (and the test26 in Slackware 10.2) you are able to install Slackware just fine. Afterwards (i.e. after the installation finishes and you reboot into your new Slackware) you need to install the "kernel-modules" package from the "/extra/linux-2.6.17.XX" directory that you will find in the Slackware directory tree and on one of the CD's of Slackware's 4-CDROM set. The difference for 2.4 and 2.6 kernels is that the setup program will install kernel modules for the standard 2.4 kernel in /slackware/k but not for the 2.6 kernel in /extra. As long as you install the kernel-modules-2.6.17.XX package your network card will be activated and you can surf the Internet.

One thing about network support during the installation: in order to install the packages from a NFS server you will need to load the kernel module for your network card. You do this by running the command "network" before you run the command "setup".
Slackware -current only only supports network installs if you choose a 2.4 kernel to boot the slackinstaller. There is no support for network installs running a 2.6 kernel (i.e. the "huge26" kernel). That is the issue here.

Eric

Thank you, Eric!

Now I understand; I appreciate your reply!

i.of.the.storm · 09-10-2006, 03:14 PM

So if we want to use the 2.6 kernel when 11 comes out, will we need to download and burn all 4 CD's? Will there be a DVD version?

danpadams · 09-10-2006, 03:17 PM

So if I understand correctly, and knowing that one of the easiest ways to get the 2.6 kernel after the installation is to use that kernel to install the system. For network, since I would most likely be using a CD based install, it would have network after it is up and running which is what I would need, just not network for the installation part? Also, I am assuming from what I have read I would need to install the 2.6 modules after the system is installed?

Dan

Alien Bob · 09-10-2006, 03:44 PM

You can also install Slackware using a 2.4 kernel (the default bootkernel is sata.i which supports IDE and SATA drives) and afterwards install the 2.6 "kernel-generic" package and accompanying "kernel-modules" package from the /extra directory.
The /extra directory will probably be on CD#3 but if you don't want to download the complete ISO you can just as easily go to any good Slackware mirror site and download the two kernel packages there: for instance http://slackware.mirrors.tds.net/pub/slackware/. Currently (but who knows there will be another kernel update before Slackware 11.o is released) the direct URL to kernel and modules packages are:
http://slackware.mirrors.tds.net/pub....13-i486-1.tgz
http://slackware.mirrors.tds.net/pub....13-i486-1.tgz

And read the kernel-headers.WARNING in case you are tempted to install the kernel-headers from the same directory.

The point to remember is that for Slackware 11.0 (no matter what kernel you selected for the install) you will need to download and install the kernel-modules-2.6.XX.XX package if you want to use the Slackware 2.6 kernel from the /extra directory. Of course you can also download the kernel sources and compile your own kernel without relying on Slackware packages.

Quote:

will we need to download and burn all 4 CD's? Will there be a DVD version?

You can of course buy those from the Slackware store...

Eric

danpadams · 09-10-2006, 04:13 PM

So is the kernel-headers.WARNING file in the previous post saying that if we use the 2.6 kernel to install and that if we wish to have a 2.6 kernel present after our system is setup that we should install the headers that are part of the standard installation? Would these be the headers that are for the 2.6 kernel or the 2.4 one? I am basically asking as I am desiring to have my installation be completely 2.6 if I boot into slackware 11, I may have it as dual boot at first for compatibility, and also I know I will be building a few packages on my own.

I am just trying to figure out which packages I need to install.

dive · 09-10-2006, 04:45 PM

My tuppence worth:

If you really want to use a 2.6 kernel you are better off getting the source from kernel.org and compiling it yourself. That way you can optimize it exactly for your system.

What is the point of having a cutting edge kernel if it's optimized for intel cpu when you have athlon xp? Or has all the generic features enabled when you can customize for your particular chipset etc?

Just my opinion anyway. Install the default 2.4 kernel and grab 2.6 from kernel.org. There's a big long sticky at the top of this page on compiling/installing kernels.

Alien Bob · 09-10-2006, 04:56 PM

You can also install Slackware's "kernel-sources" package which has the added value of a kernel .config file with sane defaults. You can then use "make menuconfig" or "make xconfig" to change just the things you want differently, instead of plowing through the zillion configuration choices trying to come up with a kernel that works :-)

Quote:

I am desiring to have my installation be completely 2.6 if I boot into slackware 11

Well that will not be a 100% possible with Slackware 11.0 since it is still founded on a 2.4 kernel and the 2.6 kernel is added as a bonus. The next release should really have a 2.6 kernel as the foundation with 2.4 probably in /extra.

Eric

danpadams · 09-10-2006, 05:01 PM

Yes, I am thinking of doing that, but I first want to get the new system up and running with as much of the software I can being built off of a 2.6 kernel. I realize that at first it may not be as optimized as first because I use an AMD processor and an INTEL kernel, but I want to get the system up and running with the software I desire before trying to compile which I have not done before. I have found various tutorials (which I plan to read), but what is important to me is that I want to get the base installation up and running first. i.e. having the software built off of the 2.6 headers rather than the 2.4 ones.

gefst · 09-10-2006, 05:15 PM

I am not sure I understand the glibc issue with the 2.6 kernel, since in the changelog it says:

l/glibc-2.3.6-i486-2.tgz: Recompiled with gcc-3.4.5
against the 2.4.32 and 2.6.15.3 kernel headers.

This is rather old (Feb 9 2006) but I assumed that an new glibc version will be recompiled against the later 2.6 kernel headers (the one that will be on the installation cd).

On the subject of compiling a new kernel I have done that in my 10.2 box but i did not change any of the configuration - only the processor type. Is to much to ask to have the huge.s kernel precompiled with 686 optimizations (and perhaps AMD) as package? I have seen that debian does that but I am using slackware since version 9.0 and my experiences with other distros have been traumatic so far.

vonst · 09-10-2006, 05:21 PM

Back at post #200 or maybe #500, there was a discussion on the 2.4 vs. the 2.6 headers and having Slack 11.0 possibly give us both. (Or something like that.)

As I recall, the elders and sages (like Alien Bob...) nixed a full 2.6 install that this point, because some of the compiled apps and/or libraries don't run right (at this point) in 2.6. It was decided that Slack 11.0 w/ 2.4 headers was a stable kind of thing to do. And, recalling the posts on "stable," I mean it won't break your OS.

Personally, I'm running an RC3 install, upgraded thru Swaret. I've already installed several of my own apps using checkinstall and haven't broken anything yet. It's so stable for me, it's scary. I'm used to trying to make my own apps and crashing everything.

NB: I've compiled my own kernel too, to 2.6.17.7, foregoing huge26.s. I'm sure I'm using the 2.4 headers, as I chose "sata.i" out of the box.

--vonSt
PS: I *will* be buying 11.0 when it comes out, tho!

PPS: edit: I'm eating my words. Shortly after I wrote this, I tried to install the Gware Slackware Gnome (for Slack10.2) and it killed my RAID superblock. It's now 24 hours later. I had to uninstall Gware and use swaret to get everything back. Sheesh.

rkelsen · 09-10-2006, 06:33 PM

Thanks for clarifying things Bruce.

One thing though:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Hill

So you enter cfdisk /dev/sda to partition your SATA hard drive, which returns:

Code:

FATAL ERROR: Cannot open disk drive
Press any key to exit cfdisk

I didn't encounter any problems when installing with huge26.s. It worked right out of the box for me. My motherboard has an Intel chipset, and both HDs are SATA.