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+
+Slackware Linux CD-ROM Installation HOWTO
+Patrick Volkerding <volkerdi@slackware.com>
+v13.0, 2009-08-25
+
+This document covers installation of the Slackware(R) distribution of the
+Linux operating system from the Slackware CD-ROM.
+ ______________________________________________________________________
+
+
+ Table of Contents
+
+
+ 1. Introduction
+
+ 1.1 Sources of documentation
+
+ 2. Hardware requirements
+
+ 3. Slackware Space Requirements
+
+ 3.1 Preparing a Partition for Slackware
+ 3.2 Booting the Slackware CD-ROM
+ 3.3 Using Linux fdisk to create Linux partitions
+
+ 4. Installing the Slackware distribution
+
+ 4.1 The ADDSWAP option
+ 4.2 The TARGET option
+ 4.3 The SOURCE option
+ 4.4 The SELECT option
+ 4.5 The INSTALL option
+ 4.6 The CONFIGURE option
+ 4.7 LILO
+ 4.8 Networking
+
+ 5. Booting the installed Slackware system
+
+ 6. Post-installation configuration
+
+ 6.1 /etc/rc.d/rc.modules
+ 6.2 Configuring the X Window System
+ 6.3 Hardware acceleration with X
+ 6.4 User Accounts
+
+ 7. For more information
+
+ 8. Trademarks
+
+ ______________________________________________________________________
+
+1. Introduction
+
+Linux is a multiuser, multitasking operating system that was developed by
+Linus Torvalds and hundreds of volunteers around the world working over
+the Internet.
+
+The Linux operating system now runs on several machine architectures,
+including ARMs, Intel 80x86, Sparc, 68K, PowerPC, DEC Alpha, MIPS, and
+others. The x86 Slackware distribution of Linux runs on most PC
+processors compatible with the Intel 486 or better, including (but not
+limited to) the Intel 486, Celeron, Pentium I, MMX, Pro, II, III, Xeon,
+4, M, D, Core, Core 2, Core i7, and Atom; AMD 486, K5, K6, K6-II, K6-III,
+Duron, Athlon, Athlon XP, Athlon MP, Athlon 64, Sempron, Phenom,
+Phenom II, and Neo; Cyrix 486, 5x86, 6x86, M-II; Via Cyrix III, Via C3,
+Via Nano; Transmeta Crusoe and Efficeon. Essentially anything that's
+x86 and 32-bit (with at least i486 opcodes) will do for the 32-bit x86
+edition of Slackware, or 64-bit and supporting x86_64 extensions (also
+known as AMD64, EM64T, or Intel 64) for the x86_64 edition of Slackware.
+
+Linux is modeled after the UNIX(R) operating system. The Slackware
+distribution contains a full program development system with support for
+C, C++, Fortran-77, LISP, and other languages, full TCP/IP networking
+with NFS, PPP, CIFS/SMB (Samba), a full implementation of the X Window
+System, and much more.
+
+
+1.1. Sources of Documentation
+
+If you're new to Slackware, you'll be happy to know there is a *lot* of
+documentation and help available both on the Internet and on the CD-ROM
+itself.
+
+A great source of general documentation about Linux is the Linux
+Documentation Project, online at: http://tldp.org/
+
+Here you will find a collection of documents known as the "Linux HOWTOs"
+as well as other useful guides.
+
+For additional help with Slackware, check out the Slackware forum at
+linuxquestions.org.
+
+
+2. Hardware Requirements
+
+Most PC hardware will work fine with Slackware, but some Plug-and-Play
+devices can be tricky to set up. In some cases you can work around this
+by letting DOS initialize the card and then starting Slackware with the
+Loadlin utility. Setting the computer's BIOS to configure Plug-and-Play
+cards also may help -- to do this, change the "Plug and Play OS" option to
+"no".
+
+Here's a basic list of what you'll need to install Slackware:
+
+128 megabytes (128MB) or more of RAM. If you have less RAM than this, you
+might still be able to install, but if so don't expect the best possible
+experience.
+
+You also will need some disk space to install Slackware. For a complete
+installation, you'll probably want to devote a 6GB *or larger* partition
+completely to Slackware (you'll need almost 5GB for a full default
+installation, and then you'll want extra space when you're done).
+If you haven't installed Slackware before, you may have to experiment.
+If you've got the drive space, more is going to be better than not enough.
+Also, you can always install only the first software set (the A series
+containing only the basic system utilities) and then install more software
+later once your system is running.
+
+If you use SCSI, Slackware supports most SCSI controllers. The "huge"
+kernels support as much of the boot hardware as possible, including
+several hardware RAID controllers, Fiber Channel controllers, software
+RAID in linear and RAID 0 through 6 and RAID 10, LVM (Logical Volume
+Manager), and kernel support required to have fully encrypted systems.
+
+To install from the DVD or CD-ROM, you'll need a supported drive. These
+days, the chances that your drive is supported by the install kernels
+is excellent. But, if not, you can always use a USB stick and install
+via the network. Or, use a floppy disk to install using PXE and the
+network. See the docs in usb-and-pxe-installers and the etherboot
+directory within for instructions.
+
+
+3. Slackware Space Requirements
+
+Slackware divides the installable software into categories. (in the old
+days when people installed Linux from floppy disks, these were often
+referred to as "disk sets") Only the A series category (containing the
+base Linux OS) is mandatory, but you can't do very much on a system that
+only has the A series installed. Here's an overview of the software
+categories available for installation, along with the (approximate) amount
+of drive space needed to install the entire set:
+
+ A The base Slackware system. (270 MB)
+
+ AP Linux applications. (270 MB)
+
+ D Program development tools. (575 MB)
+
+ E GNU Emacs. (80 MB)
+
+ F FAQs and HOWTOs for common tasks. (35 MB)
+
+ K Linux 2.6.29.6 kernel source. (380 MB)
+
+ KDE The K Desktop Environment and applications. (800 MB)
+
+ KDEI Language support for the K Desktop Environment. (730 MB)
+
+ L System libraries. (840 MB)
+
+ N Networking applications and utilities. (275 MB)
+
+ T TeX typesetting language. (285 MB)
+
+ TCL Tcl/Tk/TclX scripting languages and tools. (15 MB)
+
+ X X Window System graphical user interface. (290 MB)
+
+ XAP Applications for the X Window System. (485 MB)
+
+ Y Classic text-based BSD games. (5 MB)
+
+If you have the disk space, we encourage you to do a full installation for
+best results. Otherwise, remember that you must install the A set. You
+probably also want to install the AP, D, L, and N series, as well as the KDE,
+X, and XAP sets if you wish to run the X Window System. The Y series is fun,
+but not required.
+
+
+3.1 Preparing a Partition for Slackware
+
+If you plan to install Slackware onto its own hard drive partition
+(this offers optimal performance), then you'll need to prepare one or
+more partitions for it.
+
+A partition is a section of a hard drive that has been set aside for
+use by an operating system. You can have up to four primary
+partitions on a single hard drive. If you need more than that, you
+can make what is called an ''extended partition.'' This is actually
+a way to make one of the primary partitions contain several
+sub-partitions.
+
+Usually there won't be any free space on your hard drive. Instead,
+you will have already partitioned it for the use of other operating
+systems, such as MS-DOS or Windows. Before you can make your Linux
+partitions, you'll need to remove one or more of your existing drive
+partitions to make room for it. Removing a partition destroys the
+data on it, so you'll want to back it up first.
+
+If you've got a large partition that you'd like to shrink to make
+space for Slackware you might consider using GParted, a partition
+editor that allows resizing and moving of existing partitions.
+They have a Live CD and USB image that allows running the program
+on a minimal OS, as well as versions to boot from PXE or the hard
+drive. Bootable images with GParted may be found here:
+
+http://gparted.sourceforge.net/index.php
+
+There's also the regular version of GNU parted that does the same
+thing from the command line. It is included in the installer, and
+as a package in the L series.
+
+If you plan to repartition your system manually, you'll need to back
+up the data on any partitions you plan to change. The usual tool for
+deleting/creating partitions is the fdisk program. Most PC operating
+systems have a version of this tool, and if you're running DOS or
+Windows it's probably best to use the repartitioning tool from that OS.
+Usually DOS uses the entire drive. Use DOS fdisk to delete the
+partition. Then create a smaller primary DOS partition, leaving
+enough space to install Linux. Preferably this should be more than 6GB.
+If your machine doesn't have a lot of RAM, you'll want another
+partition for swap space. The swap partition should be equal to the
+amount of RAM your machine has, but should in any case be at least
+128MB. If you don't have that much drive space to spare, the more the
+better to avoid running out of virtual RAM (especially if you plan on
+using a graphical desktop). You'll then need to reinstall DOS or
+Windows on your new DOS partition, and then restore your backup.
+
+We'll go into more detail about partitioning later, and you don't need
+to create any new partitions yet -- just make sure you have enough free
+space on the drive to do an installation (more than 6GB is ideal), or
+that you have some idea about which existing partition you can use for
+to install on.
+
+
+3.2 Booting the Slackware CD-ROM
+
+If your machine has a bootable CD-ROM drive (you may need to configure
+this in the system's BIOS settings) then you'll be able to directly
+boot the first CD-ROM. If not, then see the files in the
+usb-and-pxe-installers directory for information about alternative
+methods of booting the installer. Also, don't neglect to read the
+CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT file, which is probably the most accurate piece
+of documentation to ship with Slackware (thanks Robby!).
+
+Now it's time to boot the disc. Put the Slackware installation CD-ROM in
+your machine's CD-ROM drive and reboot to load the disc. You'll get an
+initial information screen and a prompt (called the "boot:" prompt) at the
+bottom of the screen. This is where you'll enter the name of the kernel
+that you want to boot with. With most systems you'll want to use the
+default kernel, called huge.s.
+
+To boot the huge.s kernel, just enter huge.s on the boot prompt:
+
+boot: huge.s
+
+(actually, since the huge.s kernel is the default, you could have just
+hit ENTER and the machine would go ahead and load the huge.s kernel
+for you)
+
+
+These are the kernels shipped in Slackware:
+
+huge.s This is the default installation kernel. If possible,
+ you can save a bit of RAM later (and some ugly warnings at
+ boot time or when trying to load modules when the driver is
+ already built-in) by switching to a generic kernel. In this
+ case that would be the generic kernel, which is similar but
+ without filesystems and many of the less common drive
+ controllers built in. To support these (at the very least
+ your root filesystem), an initrd (actually an initramfs)
+ is required when a generic kernel is used. Previous
+ versions of Slackware used an ext2 filesystem for this, but
+ now a filesystem-less dynamic kernel-based directory
+ structure is used. A big advantage of this is that the size
+ usable by the initrd is only limited by the amount of RAM in
+ the machine. A disadvantage is that the generic kernels no
+ longer include *any* filesystems besides romfs, so old
+ initrd.gz files are not usable (they would have needed new
+ modules anyway), and it is trickier to get a custom binaries
+ or modules or whatever into the installer for guru-install
+ purposes. It's not impossible though -- think tar to/from a
+ device such as a USB stick, or leveraging ROMFS.
+
+speakup.s This is like the huge.s but has support for Speakup and all
+ the SCSI, RAID, LVM, and other features of huge.s. There is
+ no corresponding generic kernel for speakup.s, but the vanilla
+ linux sources may be patched with the speakup sources in
+ source/k (this will probably work on any recent kernel).
+ After that, whatever customizations are needed should be
+ easily adjusted. The speakup.s kernel is used to support
+ hardware speech synthesizers as well as software one like
+ festival (though these require additional programs that are
+ not yet shipped with Slackware).
+
+ For more information about speakup and its drivers check out:
+ http://www.linux-speakup.org.
+ To use this, you'll need to specify one of the supported
+ synthesizers on the kernel's boot prompt:
+
+ speakup.s speakup.synth=synth
+
+ where 'synth' is one of the supported speech synthesizers:
+ acntpc, acntsa, apollo, audptr, bns, decext, decpc,
+ dectlk, dtlk, dummy, keypc, ltlk, soft, spkout, txprt.
+
+ A serial port may be specified with an option like this:
+
+ speakup.s speakup.synth=decext speakup.ser=1
+
+ Note that speakup serial ports are numbered starting with
+ one (1, 2, 3) rather than the more typical 0, 1, 2 numbering
+ usually seen on Linux.
+
+
+Once you've entered your kernel choice and hit ENTER, the kernel and
+install program will load from the DVD or CD-ROM, and you'll arrive at
+the Linux login prompt. (You're running Linux now. Congratulations! :-)
+
+To log into the system, enter the name of the superuser account and hit
+Enter:
+
+ root
+
+Since there is no password on the install CD, you will be logged in right
+away.
+
+
+3.3 Using Linux fdisk to create Linux partitions
+
+At this point, you should have a large chunk of unpartitioned space on
+your hard drive that you'll be making into partitions for Slackware.
+
+Now you're ready to create your root Linux partition. To do this, you'll
+use the Linux version of fdisk.
+
+To need to partition a hard drive, you need to specify the
+name of the device when you start fdisk. For example:
+
+fdisk /dev/hda (Repartition the first IDE hard drive)
+fdisk /dev/hdb (Repartition the second IDE hard drive)
+fdisk /dev/sda (Repartition the first SCSI hard drive)
+fdisk /dev/sdb (Repartition the second SCSI hard drive)
+
+NOTE: If you prefer, you may also try a newer menu-driven version
+of Linux fdisk called 'cfdisk'. Rumor has it that MOST people do
+prefer cfdisk, and "newer" has to be taken in context. cfdisk has
+many years of testing behind it.
+
+Once you've started fdisk, it will display a command prompt. First look
+at your existing partition table with the 'p' command:
+
+ Command (m for help): p
+
+Disk /dev/hda: 40.0 GB, 40020664320 bytes
+255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4865 cylinders
+Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
+
+ Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
+/dev/hda1 * 1 2423 19462716 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
+
+
+Here we can see that there is one DOS partition on the drive already,
+starting on the first cylinder and extending to cylinder 2423. Since the
+drive has 4865 cylinders, the range 2424 - 4865 is free to accept a Linux
+installation.
+
+If the FAT32 partition were using the entire drive, you would have no
+choice but to delete it entirely (this destroys the partition), or go back
+and use some kind of partition resizing tool like GNU parted or Partition
+Magic to create some free space for the installation. If you need to
+delete a partition, use the 'd' command. You'll be asked which partition
+number you want to delete -- check the partition size to make sure it's
+the right one.
+
+Next, you'll want to use the 'n' command to create a primary partition.
+This will be your root Linux partition.
+
+ Command (m for help): n
+ Command action
+ e extended
+ p primary partition (1-4)
+
+You'll want to enter 'p' to make a primary partition.
+
+ Partition number (1-4): 2
+
+Here, you enter "2" since DOS is already using the first primary
+partition. Fdisk will first ask you which cylinder the partition should
+start on. Fdisk knows where your last partition left off and will suggest
+the first available cylinder on the drive as the starting point for the
+new partition. Go ahead and accept this value. Then, fdisk will want to
+know what size to make the partition. You can specify this in a couple of
+ways, either by entering the ending cylinder number directly, or by
+entering a size. In this case, we'll enter the last cylinder. Here's what
+the screen looks like as these figures are entered:
+
+ First cylinder (2424-4865): 2424
+ Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (2424-4865): 4700
+
+You have now created your primary Linux partition with a size of 18.7 GB.
+Next, you'll want to make a Linux swap partition. You do this the same
+way. First, enter another "n" to make a primary partition:
+
+ Command (m for help): n
+ Command action
+ e extended
+ p primary partition (1-4)
+
+Enter "p" to select a primary partition. Partition 1 is in use by DOS,
+and you've already used partition 2 for Linux, so you'll want to enter "3"
+for the new partition number:
+
+ Partition number (1-4): 3
+
+Since this is the last partition we plan to make on this hard drive, we'll
+use the end cylinder this time. Here are the entries for this:
+
+ First cylinder (4701-4865): 4701
+ Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (4701-4865): 4865
+
+Now we need to set the type of partition to 82, used for Linux swap. The
+reason we didn't need to set a partition type the last time is that unless
+otherwise specified Linux fdisk automatically sets the type of all new
+partitions to 83 (Linux). To set the partition type, use the "t" command:
+
+ Command (m for help): t
+ Partition number (1-4): 3
+ Hex code (type L to list codes): 82
+
+Now you're ready to save the updated partition table information onto your
+hard drive. Use the "p" command again to check the results and be sure
+you're satisfied with them:
+
+ Command (m for help): p
+
+Disk /dev/hda: 40.0 GB, 40020664320 bytes
+255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4865 cylinders
+Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
+
+ Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
+/dev/hda1 1 2423 19462716+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
+/dev/hda2 2424 4700 18720732 83 Linux
+/dev/hda3 4701 4865 1317332 82 Linux swap
+
+This looks good, so we'll use the "w" command to write the data out to the
+drive's partition table. If you want to exit without updating the
+partition table (if you've made a mistake), then you can exit without
+changing anything by using the "q" command instead.
+
+When you exit fdisk using the "w" command, fdisk recommends that you
+reboot the machine to be sure that the changes you've made take effect.
+Unless you've created extended partitions, you can go ahead and run setup
+without rebooting.
+
+Note: Sometimes fdisk will give you a message like "This drive has more
+than 1024 cylinders" and warn about possible problems using partitions
+with DOS. This is because MS-DOS suffers from a limitation that only
+allows access to the first 1024 cylinders on a hard drive. At one time,
+LILO used the standard BIOS routines to read sectors, so this was a
+limitation of LILO, too. Luckily modern versions of LILO use the LBA32
+method of accessing sectors, so this limitation no longer applies. If you
+see the warning from fdisk, you can safely ignore it.
+
+
+4.0 Installing the Slackware distribution
+
+Now that you have one or more Linux partitions, you are now ready to begin
+installing software onto your hard drive. To start the Slackware install
+program, enter the command "setup" and hit enter:
+
+ # setup
+
+The installer will start up with a full-color menu on your screen with the
+various options needed to install Slackware. In general, you'll want to
+start with the ADDSWAP option. Even if you've already created and
+activated a swap partition manually, you'll need to run this so Slackware
+adds the swap partition to your /etc/fstab file. If you don't add it,
+your system won't use the swap space when you reboot.
+
+Installing a typical system involves running the following options from
+the setup menu in this order: ADDSWAP, TARGET, SOURCE, SELECT, INSTALL,
+and CONFIGURE. You may also start with KEYMAP if you have a non-US
+keyboard layout, or with TARGET if you don't want to use a swap partition.
+
+For the rest of this section, we'll walk through a typical installation
+process.
+
+
+4.1 The ADDSWAP option:
+
+First, we select the ADDSWAP option. The system will scan for partitions
+marked as type "Linux swap" and will ask if you want to use them for swap
+space. Answer YES, and the system will format the partition and then make
+it active for swapping. Once it's finished, setup will display a message
+showing the line it will add to /etc/fstab to configure the swap partition
+at boot time. Hit enter to continue, and setup will go on to the TARGET
+section of the install.
+
+ NOTE: If you created a partition to use for swap space, but setup
+doesn't see it when it scans your drives, it's possible that the partition
+type hasn't been set in the partition table. Use the Linux "fdisk"
+program to list your partitions like this:
+
+ # fdisk -l
+
+ Disk /dev/hda: 40.0 GB, 40020664320 bytes
+ 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4865 cylinders
+ Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
+
+ Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
+ /dev/hda1 1 2423 19462716+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
+ /dev/hda2 2424 4700 18720732 83 Linux
+ /dev/hda3 4701 4865 1317332 82 Linux
+
+In this case, if /dev/sda3 is meant to be a Linux swap partition, you'll
+need to start fdisk on drive /dev/sda:
+
+ # fdisk /dev/sda
+
+ Command (m for help): t
+ Partition number (1-4): 3
+ Hex code (type L to list codes): 82
+
+ Command (m for help): w
+
+This will change the third partition to type 82 (Linux swap) and write the
+partition table out to /dev/sda.
+
+When you run setup again, the ADDSWAP option should detect the Linux swap
+partition.
+
+
+4.2 The TARGET option:
+
+The next option on the setup menu is TARGET. This lets you select which
+partition(s) you'd like to install Slackware on, and will format them
+using a Linux filesystem. Depending on which kernel you chose to boot
+with, your filesystem choices may include ext2 (the traditional Linux
+filesystem), ext3 (a journaling version of ext2), and Reiserfs (the first
+journaling filesystem written for Linux; it stores files in a balanced
+tree).
+
+When you select the TARGET option, the system will scan for "Linux"
+partitions on your hard drives. If it doesn't find any, you'll need to
+make sure that you've created partitions using the fdisk program, and that
+the partitions are labeled as type 83 (Linux). This is the same process
+shown above. If you've created one or more partitions for Slackware using
+Linux's fdisk program then you shouldn't have any problems, since Linux
+fdisk (and cfdisk) sets all new partitions to type 83 (Linux) by default.
+
+You will see a menu listing all the Linux partitions. Use the arrow keys
+to select the partition you'd like to use for your root (or primary) Linux
+partition and hit enter. The setup program will then ask if you'd like to
+format the partition, and what type of filesystem to use. If this is a
+new installation of Slackware, you'll need to do this. Otherwise, if you
+are installing software onto an existing Linux system, you don't need to
+format the partition. For example, the partition might be used as your
+/home and contains home directories that you want to keep. If you choose
+not to format a partition, you'll see "partition will not be reformatted"
+on the top of the screen as you confirm your choice, so that there can be
+no question about it.
+
+There are a few options you need to know about when you format Linux
+partitions. First, you'll need to decide whether or not you'd like to
+check the partition for bad blocks when you do the format. This is
+usually not necessary unless you know the drive in question has problems.
+Checking takes quite a while longer than a normal format (and most IDE
+drives do self-checking anyway), so you'll probably want to just go ahead
+and use the "Format" menu option to format the drive without checking.
+If you have drive problems later on (and can't just replace the hard drive
+with a better one), then you might want to go back and try again using the
+"Check" option to map out the bad sectors on the drive.
+
+You'll notice that the partition you just formatted is now listed as "in
+use." If you made some other partitions for Slackware, you'll need to go
+through the same process of formatting them, selecting whether or not to
+check for bad blocks, and setting a reasonable inode density. With these
+partitions there will be an additional step -- you'll need to select where
+you'd like to put the partition in your directory tree.
+
+MS-DOS/Windows assigns a letter such as A:, B:, C:, etc, to each device.
+Unlike DOS, Linux makes your devices visible somewhere under the root
+directory (/). You might have /dev/hda1 for your root partition (/) and
+put /dev/hda2 somewhere underneath it, such as under your /home directory.
+When prompted for a mount location, just enter a directory such as /home,
+and hit enter. As you format each additional partition and place it in
+the filesystem tree, you'll be returned to the partition selection menu.
+When you've prepared all of your Linux partitions, you'll go on to the
+SOURCE option.
+
+
+4.3 The SOURCE option:
+
+The next menu option is SOURCE, where you select the source from which to
+install Slackware.
+
+SOURCE displays a menu offering the choice of installation from CD-ROM, a
+hard drive partition, NFS, HTTP/FTP, or a directory (mounted manually).
+You'll want to make sure your Slackware CD-ROM is in your drive, and
+select the first option:
+
+ "Install from a Slackware CD-ROM"
+
+Next, the system will ask you if you'd like to scan for your CD-ROM drive
+or pick manually from a list. (unless you're trying to show off to your
+friends, go ahead and let setup scan for the CD-ROM drive automatically).
+Setup will then try to access the Slackware CD-ROM. If this is
+successful, setup will tell you that it found and mounted a CD-ROM on a
+Linux device such as /dev/hdc. If the CD-ROM was successful found, you
+may skip ahead to the SELECT section below, otherwise read on for some
+CD-ROM troubleshooting tips.
+
+If setup is not successful in accessing the CD-ROM drive, you'll need to
+figure out why before you can go on. The most common reason for this is
+that you used a kernel that doesn't support the CD-ROM drive. If that's
+the case, you need to restart the installation CD-ROM and specify a kernel
+that contains a driver to support your CD-ROM drive (if the drive is
+connected to a SCSI card, for example, you'll need to use a kernel with
+support for that card). You can also try switching to a different console
+with Alt-F2 and mounting the CD-ROM drive manually and then installing
+from a pre-mounted directory (if you prefer a hands-on approach).
+
+If you have no idea which device an IDE CD-ROM drive is connected to, you
+should have the system scan for it. You also can look at the messages
+generated by the system as it boots -- you should see a message that
+Slackware detected your CD-ROM drive along with information about what
+type of drive it is. You can look at these messages by using the right
+shift key together with the PageUp and PageDown keys to scroll the screen
+up and down.
+
+For the network options, you'll need to have a network card that's
+supported by one of the installer's modules, and preferably a DHCP server
+running to make the network setup easy. The network install options are
+to use as your source an NFS server, an FTP server, or an HTTP server
+(along with an optional port). If you use DHCP to set up, odds are
+you'll have working name resolution and won't need to enter an IP
+address to specify the server (but you can if you wish, of course).
+
+The network installation feature is intended primarily to facilitate
+installing to many machines on a local network. Please don't use it to
+bog down the Slackware mirror sites.
+
+Thanks to Eric Hameleers for finally bringing FTP/HTTP installtion
+support to the Slackware installer. :-)
+
+
+4.4 The SELECT option:
+
+The SELECT option lets you select software to install.
+
+When you start the SELECT option, you'll see a menu where you can choose
+which categories of software you're interested in installing. The first
+series (called the A series) contains the base filesystem structure and
+binaries that are crucial for your system to boot and run properly. You
+must install the A series. Make sure that at least the selection for
+series A has an [X] next to it. Most of the other choices will also have
+an [X] next to them, and while you can use the cursor keys and the space
+bar to unselect items to save space (see the space requirements above for
+details), you're better off with a complete installation if you have the
+space for it.
+
+Once you've selected the general categories of software you wish to
+install, hit enter and you'll go on to the INSTALL option.
+
+
+4.5 The INSTALL option:
+
+This option actually installs the selected packages to the hard drive.
+
+The first question the INSTALL option will ask is what type of prompting
+you'd like to use during the installation process. A menu will show
+several options, including "full", "newbie", "menu", "expert", "custom",
+"tagpath", and "help". The help option gives detailed information on each
+of the choices.
+
+Most people will want to use "full". Others might want "menu", "expert"
+or "newbie" mode. We'll cover each of these in detail now.
+
+The first option to consider is "full". If you select this mode, then
+setup assumes you want to install all the packages in each selected series
+and installs them all without further prompting. This is fast and easy.
+Of course, depending on which software categories you've chosen, this can
+use a lot of drive space. If you use this option, you should be
+installing to a partition with at least 6GB free (and hopefully more like
+20GB or so) to insure that you don't run out of drive space during the
+installation process. Because Linux allows you to split your installation
+across multiple partitions, the installer cannot know ahead of time
+whether the packages you've chosen to install will fit your partitioning
+scheme. Therefore, it is up to you to make sure that there is enough
+room.
+
+The "newbie" mode (which was formerly known as "normal" mode) installs all
+of the required packages in each series. For each of the non-required
+packages (one by one) you'll get a menu where you can answer YES (install
+the package), NO (do not install the package), or SKIP (skip ahead to the
+next series). You'll also see a description of what the package does and
+how much space it will require to help you decide whether you need it or
+not. The "newbie" mode is verbose, requires input after each package, and
+is VERY tedious. It certainly takes a lot longer to install using newbie
+mode, and (in spite of the name), it is easier to make mistakes in newbie
+mode than by simply doing a full installation. Still, using it is a good
+way to get a basic education about what software goes into the system
+since you actually get a chance to read the package descriptions. With a
+full installation most of the package descriptions will fly by too quickly
+to read.
+
+If you can decide which packages you want from less information, the
+"menu" or "expert" options are a good choice, and go much faster than a
+"newbie" mode installation. These options display a menu before
+installing each series and let you toggle items on or off with the
+spacebar. In this Slackware release, the "menu" and "expect" install
+modes act the same, and both options are kept only for consistency.
+The "expert" mode lets you toggle packages individually, allowing the user
+to make good or bad decisions, like turning off crucial packages or
+installing a package that's part of a larger set of software without
+installing the other parts. If you know exactly what you need, the
+"expert" mode offers the maximum amount of flexibility. If you don't
+know what you need, using the "full" mode is strongly suggested.
+
+The "custom" and "tagpath" options are only used if you've created
+"tagfiles" for installation. In the first directory of each disk set is a
+file called "tagfile" containing a list of all the packages in that
+series, as well as a flag marking whether the package should be installed
+automatically, skipped, or the user should be prompted to decide. This is
+useful for situations where you need to install large numbers of machines
+(such as in a computer lab), but most users will not need to create
+tagfiles. If you are interested in using them, look at one of the
+tagfiles with an editor.
+
+If you're new to Slackware, and you have enough drive space, you'll
+probably want to select the "full" option as the easiest way to install.
+Otherwise, the "menu" option is another good choice for most beginners.
+If you think you need (or would just like to see) the extra information
+offered by the "newbie" mode, go ahead and use that. Don't say you
+weren't warned about the extra time it requires, though, especially
+when installing the fragments that make up modular X. Trust us, you'll
+be better off selecting "full".
+
+Once you have selected a prompting mode, the system begins the
+installation process. If you've chosen "menu" or "expert" mode, you'll
+see a menu of software to choose from right away -- use the arrow keys and
+spacebar to pick what you need, and then hit enter to install it. If
+you've chosen the "newbie" mode, the installation will begin immediately,
+continuing until it finds optional packages. You'll get a selection menu
+for each of these. If you selected "full", now it's time to sit back and
+watch the packages install.
+
+If you've selected too much software, it's possible that your hard drive
+may run out of space during installation. If this happens, you'll know it
+because you'll see error messages on the screen as setup tries to install
+the packages. In such a case, your only choice is to reinstall selecting
+less software. You can avoid this problem by choosing a reasonable amount
+of software to begin with, and installing more software later once your
+system is running. Installing software on a running Slackware system is as
+easy as it is during the initial installation -- just type the following
+command to mount the Slackware CD-ROM:
+
+ mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
+
+Then go to the directory with the packages you want to install, and use
+the install-packages script:
+
+ cd /mnt/cdrom/slackware/xap
+ sh install-packages
+
+Other options for installing packages later on include "installpkg" and
+"pkgtool". For more information about these, see the man pages ("man
+installpkg", "man pkgtool").
+
+Once you have installed the software on your system, you'll go on to the
+CONFIGURE option.
+
+
+4.6 The CONFIGURE option:
+
+The setup's CONFIGURE option does the basic configuration your system
+needs, such as setting up your mouse, setting your timezone, and more.
+
+The CONFIGURE option will first ensure that you've installed a usable
+Linux kernel on your hard drive. The installation program should
+automatically install the kernel used to do the initial installation.
+If you installed using the speakup.s kernel from CD-ROM, the menu will
+prompt you to re-insert your installation disc and hit enter, and then
+setup will copy the kernel from the disc to your hard drive.
+
+NOTE: If you install a kernel on your system that doesn't boot correctly,
+you can still boot your system with the CD-ROM. To do this, you need to
+enter some information on the boot prompt. For example, if your root
+partition is on /dev/hda1, you'd enter this to boot your system:
+
+ huge.s root=/dev/hda1 initrd= ro
+
+The "initrd=" option tells the kernel not to run the /init script on the
+installer image in RAM, and the "ro" option makes the root partition
+initially load as read-only so Linux can safely check the filesystem.
+
+Once you've installed a kernel, you'll be asked if you want to make a
+USB bootstick for your new system. This is a very good idea if you
+happen to have a spare USB flash stick that you don't mind having
+COMPLETELY ERASED. :-), so if you wish to make one, insert a USB
+flash memory stick when prompted and use the "Create" option to create
+a USB bootstick for your system.
+
+Next you'll be asked what type of mouse you have. Pick the mouse type from
+the menu (or hit cancel if you don't have a mouse), and setup will create a
+/dev/mouse link. Most computers use a PS/2 mouse, which is the first choice.
+
+After this, other installation scripts will run depending on which
+packages you've installed. For instance, if you installed the network-*
+packages you'll be asked if you want to configure your network.
+
+
+4.7 LILO
+
+LILO is the Linux Loader, a program that allows you to boot Linux (and
+other operating systems) directly from your hard drive. If you installed
+the LILO package, you now have an opportunity to set it up.
+
+Installing LILO can be dangerous. If you make a mistake it's possible to
+make your hard drive unbootable. If you're new to Linux, it might be a
+good idea to skip LILO installation and use the bootdisk to start your
+system at first. You can install LILO later using the 'liloconfig'
+command after you've had a chance to read the information about it in
+/usr/doc/lilo-*. If you do decide to go ahead and install LILO, be sure
+you have a way to boot all the operating systems on your machine in case
+something goes wrong. If you can't boot Windows again, use the DOS command
+"FDISK /MBR" to remove LILO from your master boot record. (You can use
+a Windows Startup Disk for this)
+
+The easiest way to set your machine up with LILO is to pick the "simple"
+choice on the LILO installation menu. This will examine your system and
+try to set up LILO to be able to boot Windows (DOS) and Linux partitions
+that it finds. If it locates the OS/2 Boot Manager, it will ask if you'd
+like to configure the Linux partition so that you can add it to the Boot
+Manager menu. (NOTE: If you use a disk overlay program for large IDE hard
+drives such as EZ-DRIVE, please see the warning below before installing
+LILO)
+
+The "expert" option gives you much more control over the configuration
+of LILO. If you decide to use the "expert" option, here's how you do
+it. LILO uses a configuration file called /etc/lilo.conf to hold the
+information about your bootable partitions -- the "expert" LILO
+installation lets you direct the construction of this file. To create
+the file, first select BEGIN to enter the basic information about
+where to install LILO. The first menu will ask if you have extra
+parameters you'd like passed to the Linux kernel at boot time. If you
+need any extra parameters enter them here.
+
+Then you'll be asked if you wish to use the framebuffer console. The
+1024x768x256 console setting is a nice one to use in most cases, but you
+may need to experiment to find the nicest setting for your card. Some
+look terrible at modes larger than 800x600 because of the default refresh
+rates, but at least ATI cards are known to look great at 1024x768x256.
+If you want to use the framebuffer console, select a mode here.
+
+Next, decide where you want LILO installed. Usually you'll want to
+install LILO on the boot drive's MBR (master boot record). If you use a
+different boot manager (like the one that comes with OS/2) then you'll
+want to install LILO on your root Linux partition and then add that
+partition to the boot manager menu using its configuration tool. Under
+OS/2, this is the fdisk program.
+
+NOTE: If you use the EZ-DRIVE utility (a diskmanager program supplied
+with some large IDE drives to make them usable with DOS) then do not
+install LILO to the MBR. If you do, you may disable EZ-DRIVE and render
+your disk unusable with DOS. Instead, install LILO to the superblock of
+your root Linux partition, and use fdisk to make the partition bootable.
+(With MS-DOS fdisk, this is called setting the "active" partition)
+
+The next menu lets you set a delay before the system boots into the
+default operating system. If you're using LILO to boot more than one
+operating system (such as DOS and Linux) then you'll need to set a delay
+so you can pick which OS you'd like to boot. If you press the SHIFT key
+during the delay, LILO will display a prompt where you can type a label
+(typically Windows or Linux) to select which OS to boot. If you set the
+delay to 'Forever', the system will display a prompt at boot time and wait
+for you to enter a choice.
+
+Next, you need to add entries for each operating system that LILO can
+boot. The first entry you make will be the machine's default operating
+system. You can add either a DOS, Linux, or Windows partition first.
+For example, let's say you select "Linux". The system will display your
+Linux partitions and ask which one of them you'd like to boot. Enter the
+name (like /dev/hda1) of your root Linux partition. Then, you'll be
+prompted to enter a label. This is the name you will enter at the boot
+time LILO prompt to select which partition you want to boot. A good
+choice for this is "Linux".
+
+Adding a DOS or Windows partition is similar. To add a Windows partition
+to the LILO configuration file, select the Windows option. The system will
+display your FAT/NTFS partitions and ask which one of them you'd like to
+boot with LILO. Enter the name of your primary Windows partition. Then
+enter a label for the partition, like "Windows". Once you've added all of
+your bootable partitions, install LILO by selecting the "Install" option.
+
+
+4.8 Networking
+
+Another configuration menu allows you to configure your machine's
+networking setup. First, enter a hostname for your machine. The default
+hostname after installation is "darkstar," but you can enter any name you
+like. Next, you'll be asked to provide a domain name. If you're running a
+stand-alone machine (possibly using a dialup link to an Internet Service
+Provider) then you can pick any name you like. The default domain name is
+"example.net". If you are going to add the machine to a local network,
+you'll need to use the same domain name as the rest of the machines on
+your network. If you're not sure what this is, contact your network
+administrator for help. Once you've specified the hostname and domain
+name, you'll be asked which type of setup you would like: "static IP",
+"DHCP", or "loopback".
+
+Loopback
+--------
+
+This is the simplest type of setup, defining only a mechanism for the
+machine to contact itself. If you do not have an Ethernet card, use this
+selection. This is also the correct selection if you'll be using a PCMCIA
+(laptop) Ethernet card and want to set up your networking in
+/etc/pcmcia/network.opts. (you could also configure a PCMCIA card using
+the "static IP" or "DHCP" options, but in that case will not be able to
+"hotplug" the card) Finally, this is the right option to use if you have
+a modem, and will be connecting via dialout and PPP. You'll select
+loopback now, and then set up your phone connection later using pppsetup
+or kppp.
+
+Static IP
+---------
+
+If your machine has an Ethernet card with a static IP address assigned to
+it, you can use this option to set it up. You'll be prompted to enter
+your machine's IP address, netmask, the gateway IP address, and the
+nameserver IP address. If you don't know what numbers you should be
+using, ask the person in charge of the network to help. After entering
+your information, you'll be asked if you want to probe for your network
+card. This is a good idea, so say yes. Confirm that the settings are
+correct, and your networking will be configured to use a static IP
+address.
+
+DHCP
+----
+
+DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, and is a system where
+your machine contacts a server to obtain its IP and DNS information.
+This is the usual way to get an IP address with broadband connections like
+cable modems (although some more expensive business-class broadband
+connections may assign static IP addresses). It is very easy to set up a
+DHCP connection -- just select the option. Some providers will give you a
+DHCP hostname (Cox is one that does) that you'll also need to enter in
+order to identify yourself to the network. If you don't have a DHCP
+hostname, just leave it blank and hit ENTER. After entering your
+information, you'll be asked if you want to probe for your network card.
+This is a good idea, so say yes. Confirm that the settings are correct,
+and your networking will be configured to use DHCP.
+
+Once you've completed all the configuration menus, you can exit setup and
+reboot your machine. Simply press ctrl-alt-delete and the kernel will
+kill any programs that are running, unmount your filesystems, and restart
+the machine.
+
+
+5. Booting the installed Slackware system
+
+If you've installed LILO, make sure you don't have a disk in your floppy
+drive -- when your machine reboots it should start LILO. Otherwise, insert
+the bootdisk made for your system during the configuration process and use
+it to boot. Also, make sure to remove the CD-ROM to avoid booting it, or
+disable your machine's CD-ROM booting feature in the BIOS settings.
+
+The kernel will go through the startup process, detecting your hardware,
+checking your partitions and starting various processes. Eventually you'll
+be given a login prompt:
+
+darkstar login:
+
+Log into the new system as "root".
+
+ Welcome to Linux 2.6.29.6.
+
+ darkstar login: root
+ Last login: Sun Aug 23 18:33:01 -0500 2009 on tty3.
+
+ Linux 2.6.29.6.
+ You have new mail.
+
+ darkstar: ~#
+
+
+6. Post-installation configuration
+
+Once the system is running, most of the work is complete. However, there
+are still a few programs you'll need to configure. We'll cover the most
+important of these in this section.
+
+6.1 /etc/rc.d/rc.modules
+
+This file contains a list of Linux kernel modules. A kernel module is
+like a device driver under DOS. You can think of the /etc/rc.d/rc.modules
+file as similar to DOS's CONFIG.SYS. The file specifies which modules the
+system needs to load to support the machine's hardware. After booting
+your machine, you may find that some of your hardware isn't detected
+(usually an Ethernet card). To provide the support, you'll need to load
+the correct kernel module. Note that modern Linux kernels include a
+feature that allows the kernel to load its own modules, called udev.
+This will load many modules automatically without any need to edit
+rc.modules, and when using udev it might be better to tell it how to
+load the modules you want automatically rather than loading them at boot
+time with rc.modules. This is an advanced topic, and outside the scope of
+this document. If you're interested in this, "man udev" is a good
+place to start reading. In any case, it's best to not edit rc.modules
+unless you find that the modules you want to use are not being loaded
+automatically by udev. You can see a list of the modules that were loaded
+with the "lsmod" command. Likewise, in the majority of cases "alsaconf"
+is not required to configure sound. Rather, the "alsamixer" tool is used
+to unmute the Master and PCM channels and turn up the volume, and the
+"alsactl store" is used to save the sound defaults.
+
+There's a lot more information out there about kernel modules, including
+lists of module names and the cards they support, as well as extra options
+you can can add to the module lines to configure the hardware in different
+ways. The kernel's documentation in /usr/src/linux/Documentation has a
+lot of good information, as does the information shipped with udev (found
+under /usr/doc/udev-*).
+
+
+6.2 Configuring the X Window System
+
+Configuring X can be a complex task. The reason for this is the vast
+numbers of video cards available for the PC architecture, most of which
+use different programming interfaces. Luckily, X has come a long way
+since the early days of X386, where monitor modelines had to be tediously
+calculated. With most hardware, X can now be run with NO configuration
+file or additional driver! But you still might want to make a
+configuration file if you'll be using a third party video driver (the
+installer for that may offer to make it for you), or if you just want to
+have greater control over the details of the X configuration.
+
+To try X without a configuration file, just type "startx" at a command
+line. If you're satisfied with the result, then you're done. If you
+would like X to start automatically at boot, see the /etc/inittab file
+once you've tested "startx" to be sure that X is working.
+
+If this doesn't work with your card, or if you'd like to take advantage of
+the high-performance features of your video card such as hardware
+acceleration or 3-D hardware rendering, then you'll need to reconfigure X.
+
+To configure X, you'll need to make an /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. This file
+contains lots of details about your video hardware, mouse, and monitor.
+It's a very complex configuration file, but fortunately there are several
+programs to help create one for you. We'll mention a few of them here:
+
+Xorg -configure
+---------------
+
+Modern versions of X provide a simple way to create an initial xorg.conf
+file that often will work without any additional configuration, or, at the
+very least, provide a good base from which to customize the file. To run
+this command, enter the following in a root terminal:
+
+# Xorg -configure
+
+The X server probes for available hardware and creates an initial
+xorg.file located in the /root directory. You can then use this initial
+file to test the configuration by entering the following:
+
+# Xorg -config /root/xorg.conf.new
+
+This will load the initial xorg.conf.new file and run the X server. If
+you see the default black and gray checkered background with a mouse
+cursor appear, then the configuration was successful. To exit the X
+server, just press Ctrl+Alt+Backspace simultaneously. Once back at the
+command line, you can copy this xorg.conf.new file to /etc/X11/xorg.conf
+and begin making any manual edits necessary to customize your setup.
+
+xorgsetup
+---------
+
+This is a simple menu driven frontend that's similar in feel to the
+Slackware installer. It simply tells the X server to take a look at the
+card, and then set up the best initial configuration file it can make
+based on the information it gathers. The generated /etc/X11/xorg.conf
+file should be a good starting point for most systems (and should work
+without modification).
+
+
+6.3 Hardware acceleration with X
+
+If you've used xorgsetup or X -configure to configure for your card, and
+it's one that can take advantage of X's direct rendering support,
+you'll certainly want to enable this. Check your /etc/X11/xorg.conf and
+make sure that the glx module is loaded:
+
+ Load "glx"
+
+This line will probably already be in place.
+
+
+6.4 User Accounts
+
+You should make a user account for yourself. Using "root" as your
+everyday account is dangerous, and is considered bad form (at the very
+least) since you can accidentally damage your system if you mistype a
+command. If you're logged in as a normal user, the effects of bad
+commands will be much more limited. Normally you'll only log in as root
+to perform system administration tasks, such as setting or changing the
+root password, installing, configuring, or removing system software, and
+creating or deleting user accounts.
+
+To make an account for yourself, use the 'adduser' program. To start it,
+type 'adduser' at a prompt and follow the instructions. Going with the
+default selections for user ID, group ID, and shell should be just fine
+for most users. You'll want to add your user to the cdrom, audio, video
+plugdev (plugable devices like USB cameras and flash memory) and scanner
+groups if you have a computer with multimedia peripherals and want to be
+able to access these. Add these group names, comma separated, at the
+following prompt:
+
+ Additional groups (comma separated) []:
+
+
+Passwords and security
+----------------------
+
+When choosing passwords for a Linux system that is connected to a network
+you should pick a strong password. However, passwords only help protect a
+system from remote trespassing. It's easy to gain access to a system if
+someone has physical access to the console.
+
+If you forget the root password, you can use the install disc to mount
+your root partition and edit the files containing the password
+information. If you have a bootable optical drive, you can use the first
+installation CD-ROM or the DVD as a rescue disk.
+
+At the prompt, you can manually mount the root Linux partition from your
+hard drive ("fdisk -l" will give you a list) and remove the root password.
+For example, if your root linux partition is /dev/hda2, here are the
+commands to use after logging into the install disc as "root":
+
+ mount /dev/hda2 /mnt
+ cd /mnt/etc
+
+Next, you'll need to edit the "shadow" file to remove root's password.
+Editors which might be available include "vi", "emacs", "pico", and "nano".
+"vi" and "emacs" might be more of an adventure than you need unless you've
+used them before. The "pico" and "nano" editors are easy for beginners to
+use.
+
+ pico shadow
+
+At the top of the file, you'll see a line starting with root. Right after
+root, you'll notice the encrypted password information between two colons.
+Here's how root's line in /etc/shadow might look:
+
+root:EnCl6vi6y2KjU:10266:0:::::
+
+To remove root's password, you use the editor to erase the scrambled text
+between the two colons, leaving a line that looks like this:
+
+root::10266:0:::::
+
+Save the file and reboot the machine, and you'll be able to log in as root
+without a password. The first thing you should do is set a new password
+for root, especially if your machine is connected to a network.
+
+
+Here are some pointers on avoiding weak passwords:
+
+1. Never use your name (or anyone's name), birthdate, license plate,
+ or anything relating to yourself as a password. Someone trying
+ to break into your machine might be able to look these things up.
+
+2. Don't use a password that is any variation of your login name.
+
+3. Do not use words from the dictionary (especially not "password" :)
+ or syllables of two different words concatenated together as your
+ password. There are automated programs floating around on the net
+ that can try them all in a short time.
+
+4. Do not use a number (like 123456) or a password shorter than six
+ characters.
+
+
+The strongest passwords are a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols.
+Here are some examples of strong passwords (but don't use these ;-):
+
+ *^5g!:1? ()lsp@@9 i8#6#1*x ++c$!jke *2zt/mn1
+
+In practice, any password containing one or two words, a number (or two),
+and a symbol (or two) should be quite secure.
+
+
+7. For more information
+
+For more information, visit our web site at http://www.slackware.com
+
+To shop for fine Slackware products (and help keep the project funded),
+please visit http://store.slackware.com. :-)
+
+
+ Email: info@slackware.com (Information or general inquiries)
+ FTP: ftp://ftp.slackware.com (Updates)
+ WWW: http://www.slackware.com (News)
+ Security issues: security@slackware.com
+ General Hotline: volkerdi@slackware.com
+
+
+8. Trademarks
+
+Slackware is a registered trademark of Slackware Linux, Inc.
+Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
+All trademarks are property of their respective owners.
+