Slackware 14.1slackware-14.1

Mon Nov  4 17:08:47 UTC 2013
Slackware 14.1 x86_64 stable is released!

It's been another interesting release cycle here at Slackware bringing
new features like support for UEFI machines, updated compilers and
development tools, the switch from MySQL to MariaDB, and many more
improvements throughout the system.  Thanks to the team, the upstream
developers, the dedicated Slackware community, and everyone else who
pitched in to help make this release a reality.

The ISOs are off to be replicated, a 6 CD-ROM 32-bit set and a
dual-sided
32-bit/64-bit x86/x86_64 DVD.  Please consider supporting the Slackware
project by picking up a copy from store.slackware.com.  We're taking
pre-orders now, and offer a discount if you sign up for a subscription.

Have fun!  :-)

1 files changed, 148 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/README_UEFI.TXT b/README_UEFI.TXT
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index 000000000..6584ec86a
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+++ b/README_UEFI.TXT
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+
+To use UEFI, or not to use UEFI?
+
+Unless your computer came with a preinstalled version of Windows that
+requires UEFI, switching to Legacy Boot (aka, traditional BIOS) is an
+option.  Just switch to Legacy Boot in the UEFI menus.  With most systems
+you can get into the UEFI menu by pressing the ESC key as the system
+boots.  Then boot the Slackware installer and remove any existing
+partitions using cgdisk to start over.  You may use either the GPT
+partitioning scheme, or the traditional MBR partitioning scheme, but
+there's really no advantage to switching back to MBR if your system
+already has a GPT partitioned hard drive.  But...  if you want to do
+that, you can.  To wipe out an existing GPT, use the gdisk command.
+For example, to wipe /dev/sda:
+
+
+gdisk /dev/sda
+Enter 'x' to enable the entended options.
+Enter 'z' to zap (wipe out) the existing GPT.
+Answer 'Y' to add questions.
+
+
+But I do want to use UEFI, and keep my existing Windows installation!
+
+Great!  First things first.  You'll need to enter the UEFI menus and
+disable Secure Boot, since Slackware does not currently work if Secure
+Boot is enabled.  Windows will continue to work fine without it.
+
+Then, you will probably need to shrink your main Windows partition, since
+otherwise it is unlikely that you'll have any free space to install Linux.
+To do this, boot the machine into Windows.  Move the mouse into the upper
+right corner, and select the search function (magnifying glass icon).
+Enter diskmgmt.msc to start up the Disk Management tool.  The disk
+partitions will be displayed as a bar chart at the bottom of the window.
+Mouse over the main Windows partition (probably the largest NTFS partition)
+and right click to bring up a menu.  Select "Shrink Volume..." from this
+menu.  Shrink the partition to make enough free space for Slackware's root,
+swap, and other partitions.  Reboot the machine, and start the Slackware
+installer from USB or DVD.  You might have to hit ESC and select your boot
+device from the boot manager menu.  Now you're ready to install!
+
+NOTE:  Rather than creating true free space, this resizing operation may
+leave the extra space in the form of a generic (but allocated) partition.
+Take note of the size of the "free space".  When it comes time to partition
+on Linux, you may need to delete this partition to make actual free space
+before you can install.
+
+NOTE on starting the installer under UEFI:  Depending on your UEFI firmware
+and the video card in your system, you might need to start the installer
+with KMS (basically a kernel-based video driver) in order to have text
+output.  If you boot and get screen garbage or no screen display then
+try again using KMS.  From the DVD, select the KMS menu option.  From the
+usbboot.img USB installer, hit TAB and then enter:  kms.s
+
+OK, the installer is started, now what?
+
+The next step is partitioning your system.  We'll assume that you want to
+use GPT partitioning.  If you are installing to a machine that has Windows
+installed, then you'll already have an EFI System Partition (this is used
+to store boot files on machines that use UEFI).  To check this, you can use
+gdisk.  We'll assume that you'll be installing to /dev/sda.  If you'll be
+installing to some other device, use that in the command below.
+
+gdisk -l /dev/sda
+
+If you see a partition with Code EF00 listed, then you are good to go.
+If not, you will need to make one.  To do that, use cgdisk:
+
+cgdisk /dev/sda
+
+Select the free space from the menu using the up/down keys, and then select
+"New" to make a new partition.  Hit ENTER to accept the first sector.  Then
+enter 100M as the partition size.  Give the new partition a hex code of EF00.
+You make give the partition a name (such as "EFI System Partition"), or just
+hit ENTER to use no name.  A name is not required.
+
+At this point, you've got a GPT disk with an EFI System partition (with or
+without Windows).  The next step is to make the partitions for Linux.  If
+you're not already in cgdisk, start that up with "cgdisk /dev/sda" (or
+whatever your install device is).  Start by making a swap partition.  A
+good rule of thumb is to make the swap partition equal to the amount of RAM
+in your machine.  So, select the free space again, and then "New".  Again,
+hit ENTER to accept the default first sector for the new partition.  Then,
+enter an appropriate size, such as 2G.  Enter the hex code for Linux swap,
+which is 8200.  Give the partition a name if you like.
+
+Make your root Linux partition (optionally if you leave some space you can make
+any additional Linux partitions that you'll need).  Select the free space, and
+"New".  Accept the default first sector by hitting ENTER.  To make the
+partition use the rest of the disk space, just hit ENTER again when asked for
+a size.  Or, you may choose a smaller size if you're planning to make more
+Linux partitions.  Hit ENTER to accept the default hex code, which is for a
+Linux filesystem.  Name the partition (if you like), or hit ENTER again.
+
+If you have any more free space and partitions to make, now is the time to
+make them.
+
+When you're done, select "Write" to write the partition table changes to the
+disk (verify by typing "yes" when prompted), hit a key to continue, and then
+select "Quit" to leave cgdisk.
+
+Now you're ready to begin the installation by running the "setup" command.
+You'll notice that after choosing your Linux partitions, the EFI System
+Partition will be detected by setup and added to your /etc/fstab to be mounted
+on /boot/efi when the system starts.
+
+After the packages are done installing, the other difference in a UEFI
+installation is the setting up of the bootloader.
+
+First up, making a USB boot stick.  The script to make the stick will add
+a UEFI bootloader to it by default, and the stick will work with either UEFI
+or regular BIOS.  It is highly recommended that you make a USB boot stick so
+that you have a way to boot your system easily.  On some machines, adding a
+boot entry to the UEFI boot menu doesn't work so well.  So, make the stick.
+When it saves you later on, you won't regret the effort.
+
+Since LILO doesn't work in pure UEFI mode, setup will recommend not installing
+it.  You can still install it if you like, though.  It would only be useful if
+you boot the machine in Legacy BIOS mode.  If you're not planning to do that,
+go ahead and skip LILO.
+
+Next, you'll get a menu prompting you to set up ELILO.  ELILO is a bootloader
+that is similar to LILO but that was written to support EFI machines.  Go
+ahead and tell the system to install ELILO, and it will set up ELILO in
+/EFI/Slackware on your EFI System Partition, along with a kernel and an ELILO
+configuration file.  Next you'll be asked if you want to install a new menu
+entry for your Slackware system in your UEFI firmware.  Unless you are using
+an Intel Mac, it is suggested that you do this.  Without such an entry, you
+would have to press ESC (or possibly DEL or a function key) to enter the UEFI
+menu, use the firmware to "boot from a file", navigate through the EFI System
+Partition directories to the /EFI/Slackware/bootx64.efi file and then select
+it to boot Slackware.  If you are using an Apple Intel Mac, DO NOT TRY TO
+INSTALL A MENU ENTRY!  It would probably brick your firmware requiring Apple
+to service the machine to reflash the firmware.  On other machines that use
+UEFI, it is highly recommended to add the menu entry to make it easier to
+chose an operating system at boot.
+
+If the menu entry doesn't work on your system, you can still force your
+machine to boot ELILO automatically by copying the files in /EFI/Slackware on
+your EFI System Partition to /EFI/BOOT on your EFI System Partition, and 
+renaming /EFI/BOOT/elilo.efi to /EFI/BOOT/BOOTX86.EFI.  Before doing this,
+you might want to back up any existing files in /EFI/BOOT.
+
+Once you've finished up the post installation menus, you'll be ready to reboot
+your machine and enjoy your new Linux system.
+
+Have fun!
+