Slack 12 installation unbearably slow

Cdzin · 07-09-2007, 02:37 AM

Hi all!

My box is an old K6-2 450MHz with 64MB RAM and 6.4GB storage. I'm having a very strange problem running Slackware 12 installation. First of, I'm unable to boot using the hugesmp.s kernel. Right after the 'ready' message, the computer reboots. Then I try the huge.s kernel and after getting some weird messages the boot process just freezes and take like a couple minutes to resume and get to the 'select a keyboard map' part. From that point, everything becomes way too slow. After I login as root and type setup, it takes 8 minutes(!) for the screen to show up. And it's like that with every step.

Some of the boot messages:

handlers
[<c046e2a0>] (ide_intr+0x0/0x0+0)
Disabling IRQ #14
ide 0 at 0x1f0_0x1f7, 0x3f6 on irq 14
hda: cache flushes not supported
hda: <4> hda: lost interrupt
hda: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x24
hda: DMA interrupt recovery

Anyone got a clue?

onebuck · 07-09-2007, 08:56 AM

Hi,

You should look at the Slackware 12.0 README.TXT.

The 'generic.s' as stated;

Code:

generic.s    The generic version of huge.s.  This should work
             on 486 or better equipment.  Like gensmp.s, this
             kernel will require an initrd to boot.  See the
             README file in /boot after installing if you're
             interested in switching to the generic kernel.

Might be a way to go on older hardware of your class. You will probably still need to compile a custom kernel for your particular hardware needs.

Ahmed · 07-09-2007, 09:01 AM

While I must say that 450 MHz and 64 MB Ram are pretty humble specs, it shouldn't be that way. I recommend you use the test26.s kernel. The hugesmp.s kernel has support for everything built right into the kernel, making it very widely applicable, but far too heavyweight. The test26.s should have the same range of hardware support, but most things are compiled as modules, so the kernel is rather lightweight. See how that works for you.

Another general tip if you want to install Slackware on a PC with more storage: If you want to speed up your installation dramatically, create a directory somewhere and throw everything from the DVD onto it, or even better: Rsync to a slackware-current server every now and then to keep the whole bunch up-to-date.
During installation you can then choose your hard drive as an installation source. So for example, say /dev/hda3 is your /home, and you have your whole thing on /home/cdzin/slackware-current, specify "/dev/sda3" as your source partition, and "/cdzin/slackware-current/slackware" as your package directory. Then sit back and watch the installation fly

-A

Cdzin · 07-09-2007, 11:45 AM

Hi onebuck and Ahmed!

Thanks for the tips. I guess I'll probably have to build my own kernel. After I do it, should I burn the install disc image with it or use a USB stick or something?

I tried booting with test26.s and generic.s but I guess they aren't in the CD, right? And as Ahmed said, although my hardware is humble I knew it shouldn't be like that, cause previous versions' installation ran fine.

If you guys thinks the boot log could help, please tell me and I'll post it here.

Again, I appreciate your help very much.

onebuck · 07-09-2007, 12:02 PM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ahmed

While I must say that 450 MHz and 64 MB Ram are pretty humble specs, it shouldn't be that way. I recommend you use the test26.s kernel. The hugesmp.s kernel has support for everything built right into the kernel, making it very widely applicable, but far too heavyweight. The test26.s should have the same range of hardware support, but most things are compiled as modules, so the kernel is rather lightweight. See how that works for you.

I think you are confusing Slackware 11 & 12. The kernel test26 is part of the 11 release.

If you read the Slackware 12 README.TXT;

Code:

 excerpt

|-- kernels/             Precompiled Linux 2.6.21.5 kernel images.
|   |
|   |-- gensmp.s         A generic 2.6.21.5 Linux kernel.  You'll need an
|   |                    initrd to switch from hugesmp.s to this kernel, but
|   |                    you'll save a bit of RAM, may get a slight
|   |                    performance increase, and won't get ugly (but
|   |                    harmless) -EEXIST warnings at boot as udev tries
|   |                    to load modules for things that are built into the
|   |                    kernel.
|   |
|   |-- generic.s        The generic version of huge.s.  This should work
|   |                    on 486 or better equipment.  Like gensmp.s, this
|   |                    kernel will require an initrd to boot.  See the
|   |                    README file in /boot after installing if you're
|   |                    interested in switching to the generic kernel.
|   |
|   |-- hugesmp.s        The default standard install kernel for Slackware.
|   |                    This supports pretty much everything in the
|   |                    2.6.21.5 kernel.  This kernel requires at least
|   |                    a Pentium-Pro processor.
|   |
|   |-- huge.s           A single-processor version of huge.s that will
|   |                    function with older hardware such as a 486 with
|   |                    48 or more MB of RAM.
|   |
|   `-- speakup.s        A huge.s kernel patched to support speakup
|                        speech output through various hardware speech
|                        synthesizers.

An the Slackware 12 RELEASE NOTES;

Code:

excerpt;

    About the only things to mention here are that Slackware now
requires a recent 2.6.x kernel (I believe 2.6.18 is a minimum), but
as usual unless your needs are specific you're probably better off
running the included kernels that we've tested things against.
The best kernel to run (even on a one CPU/core machine) is the generic
SMP one, but that needs an initrd, so be sure to read the instructions
in /boot after installing with a huge* kernel if you plan to switch.

The Slackware 12 CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT;

Code:

Install a 2.6.18 or later kernel (if you are using the default 2.4 kernel 
     from Slackware 11.0) - there are kernel packages available in the A series
     that should work fine.  Note that the generic* kernels will require an
     initrd, and 11.0's mkinitrd is unable to build a suitable one, so you need
     to choose one of the huge* kernels for now.  There is a discussion later
     in this document about whether to use the SMP-enabled kernel or not.

I would recommend that the OP should also read these or anyone for that matter that plans on using Slackware 12.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ahmed

Another general tip if you want to install Slackware on a PC with more storage: If you want to speed up your installation dramatically, create a directory somewhere and throw everything from the DVD onto it, or even better: Rsync to a slackware-current server every now and then to keep the whole bunch up-to-date.
During installation you can then choose your hard drive as an installation source. So for example, say /dev/hda3 is your /home, and you have your whole thing on /home/cdzin/slackware-current, specify "/dev/sda3" as your source partition, and "/cdzin/slackware-current/slackware" as your package directory. Then sit back and watch the installation fly

I agree, the hard disk media or loop device is a great way to install cheaply and keep current. Not everyone though has the luxury of big storage media. I've had some installations with the bare minimum.

The OP should look at more memory if possible. I'm still using AMD K6-2-550 for small servers. Meet the needs. Most are still 10.1 or 11.

If it ain't broke don't fix it!