Hi all,

I am new to Slackware, and have been doing the legwork for the last couple
of weeks trying to decide what I need. I am building a PVR (probably
FreeVo, record TV, play my MP3's on the stereo, have boring slide shows of
our whole digital picture album, etc) on an AMD XP2500+ box, and have
decided against Red Hat (although easy to install) because it is a pig of a
system. From all that I have read, this is the distro to be on, for
cleanliness, and for system resource management (very un-piggish).

So what exactly do I need to download to get started? I have look at the
download site, and everything is in packages. Is this an a-la-carte kinda
install, where I just pick and choose what I may need, and then build the
ISO and burn away to create my own install disks? Do I HAVE to have a boot
floppy? I think I saw that I can out the booter right on the CD, but the
doc was a bit shy in this area. This is definitely not a beginner's Linux.

Tips? Tricks. Warnings?

Skip Hollowell <skip_hollowell'at'yahoo.com> wrote:
> So what exactly do I need to download to get started? I have look at the
> download site, and everything is in packages. Is this an a-la-carte kinda
> install, where I just pick and choose what I may need, and then build the
> ISO and burn away to create my own install disks? Do I HAVE to have a boot
> floppy? I think I saw that I can out the booter right on the CD, but the
> doc was a bit shy in this area. This is definitely not a beginner's Linux.
>
> Tips? Tricks. Warnings?

if your bios supports bootable cdroms, you can burn an iso to a cdrom
and boot from it. probably this is the easiest method. if this is not
supported by your bios, you will need a floppy, yes.
there are a number of other methods for installation, e.g. download
the distribution on a spare hard disk, or on another computer and
install through NFS or something... in these cases you still need the
boot floppy. the different installation methods are explained in the
slackware book (on the website), i believe.
the packages are spread over different sets (A, AP, K, N, ...), each
filled with different types of applications. in the installation
program, you can select a degree of expert level (beginner will install
without asking you much, while expert lets you choose each package
individually).

you can still install or uninstall different packages afterwards with
the package utilities like installpkg, etc.

all the best,
steven.

Skip Hollowell wrote:
> So what exactly do I need to download to get started? I have look at the
> download site, and everything is in packages.

i do not know which download site you looked at, but there should be iso
images available under /pub/linux/slackware/slackware-9.1-iso/ or something
similar. disk1 is enough to do the install. personally, i wouldn't download
the other isos, just see if there are any packages on them that you might
need and download them separately.

btw, it's better not to use ftp.slackware.com (if that's what you were
doing). it's quite a bit slower than some of the mirrors due to bandwidth
limitations. better to let the mirrors use that bandwidth for sync'ing.

IIRC this is a good and up-to-date list of mirrors:

<http://www.abnormalpenguin.com/slackware-mirrors.php>

> Is this an a-la-carte kinda
> install, where I just pick and choose what I may need, and then build the
> ISO and burn away to create my own install disks?

not necessarily, but you could do that if you wish.

> Do I HAVE to have a boot
> floppy?

no, usually you don't, the first cd is bootable. unless your BIOS doesn't
support booting from cd, but since you're building a new system, that
shouldn't be a problem.

> I think I saw that I can out the booter right on the CD, but the
> doc was a bit shy in this area. This is definitely not a beginner's Linux.

that really depends on the kind of beginner you are. IMO slackware is a
distro for a certain kind of person, and if you're that kind of person, it
doesn't matter if you're a beginner or not. ;-)

HTH

--
Joost Kremers joostkremers@yahoo.com
Slackware doesn't have any quirks. Other distros have quirks. Slackware's
just pure Linux.

I think I am 'that kind of beginner'. I like to know what is going on
inside my machine,
and why it is doing what it is doing. I've run UNIX (HP, AIX, Solaris)
boxes at work
for years, but never actually had to start from scratch.

I looked for that Disk 1 ISO last night, and didn't see it but will dig
again. The CD is bootable
on this box, as you assumed, so that is one less hurdle in getting started.

Thanks.

Skip.
"Joost Kremers" <joostkremers@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:slrnc1ifq2.jkm.joostkremers@j.kremers4.news.a rnhem.chello.nl...
> i do not know which download site you looked at, but there should be iso
> images available under /pub/linux/slackware/slackware-9.1-iso/ or
something
> similar. disk1 is enough to do the install. personally,
> > Is this an a-la-carte kinda
> > install, where I just pick and choose what I may need, and then build
the
> > ISO and burn away to create my own install disks?
>
> not necessarily, but you could do that if you wish.
>
> > Do I HAVE to have a boot
> > floppy?
>
> no, usually you don't, the first cd is bootable. unless your BIOS doesn't
> support booting from cd, but since you're building a new system, that
> shouldn't be a problem.
>
> > I think I saw that I can out the booter right on the CD, but the
> > doc was a bit shy in this area. This is definitely not a beginner's
Linux.
>
> that really depends on the kind of beginner you are. IMO slackware is a
> distro for a certain kind of person, and if you're that kind of person, it
> doesn't matter if you're a beginner or not. ;-)
>
> HTH

Skip Hollowell <skip_hollowell'at'yahoo.com> wrote:

> So what exactly do I need to download to get started? I have look at the
> download site, and everything is in packages. Is this an a-la-carte kinda
> install, where I just pick and choose what I may need, and then build the
> ISO and burn away to create my own install disks? Do I HAVE to have a boot
> floppy? I think I saw that I can out the booter right on the CD, but the
> doc was a bit shy in this area. This is definitely not a beginner's Linux.

If you have a boot disk, I recommend installing from hard drive, since
it's faster, and also lets you choose which packages to install (I chose
to skip E, F, Gnome, KDE, KDEI, T, Tcl, and Y). Create and format your
partitions, download the package directories to /home, then run setup from
boot disk.

> Tips? Tricks. Warnings?

Just remember that Linux has a steep learning curve (for most people). It
might be weeks before you get everything running right on your system, so
patience is key. And if you really need things working right away, I
suggest dual booting Windows, and treating your first install of Slack as
a test run.

anon wrote:
> If you have a boot disk, I recommend installing from hard drive, since
> it's faster, and also lets you choose which packages to install

as opposed to what other installation method? installing from cd allows you
to do the same thing.

--
Joost Kremers joostkremers@yahoo.com
Slackware doesn't have any quirks. Other distros have quirks. Slackware's
just pure Linux.

Skip you can grab the ISOs at linuxiso.org. It is fairly fast server. Also
see if you can find the slackware book for download or download each
section at the slackware website. Make sure the hardware you are wanting to
use is supported by the recent kernels. Or better yet, buy a book. Its not
really a hard OS to get up and running once you get used to things.

John
"Skip Hollowell" <skip_hollowell'at'yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I am new to Slackware, and have been doing the legwork for the last couple
> of weeks trying to decide what I need. I am building a PVR (probably
> FreeVo, record TV, play my MP3's on the stereo, have boring slide shows of
> our whole digital picture album, etc) on an AMD XP2500+ box, and have
> decided against Red Hat (although easy to install) because it is a pig of
> a
> system. From all that I have read, this is the distro to be on, for
> cleanliness, and for system resource management (very un-piggish).
>
> So what exactly do I need to download to get started? I have look at the
> download site, and everything is in packages. Is this an a-la-carte kinda
> install, where I just pick and choose what I may need, and then build the
> ISO and burn away to create my own install disks? Do I HAVE to have a
> boot
> floppy? I think I saw that I can out the booter right on the CD, but the
> doc was a bit shy in this area. This is definitely not a beginner's
> Linux.
>
> Tips? Tricks. Warnings?

Thanks for the download tips. I shouldn't have a problem with the hardware,
as Red Hat knew about it all except for the Soundcard, and I found the
Conexant Linux drivers for that. I just need to get my head around this
particular distro to figure out what I want to install, what I HAVE to have,
and more importantly what I WANT to have.

While this machine will be primarily my PVR do-it-yourself TiVo kinda thing,
it's secondary purpose will be my at-home development tomcat-struts machine.

Keep those hints and tips coming, I can never have too much help.

Skip.

"John Robertson" <johndanielrobertson@cox-internet.com> wrote in message
news:101iihhcv5sc67b@corp.supernews.com...
> Skip you can grab the ISOs at linuxiso.org. It is fairly fast server. Also
> see if you can find the slackware book for download or download each
> section at the slackware website. Make sure the hardware you are wanting
to
> use is supported by the recent kernels. Or better yet, buy a book. Its not
> really a hard OS to get up and running once you get used to things.
>
> John
> "Skip Hollowell" <skip_hollowell'at'yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I am new to Slackware, and have been doing the legwork for the last
couple
> > of weeks trying to decide what I need. I am building a PVR (probably
> > FreeVo, record TV, play my MP3's on the stereo, have boring slide shows
of
> > our whole digital picture album, etc) on an AMD XP2500+ box, and have
> > decided against Red Hat (although easy to install) because it is a pig
of
> > a
> > system. From all that I have read, this is the distro to be on, for
> > cleanliness, and for system resource management (very un-piggish).
> >
> > So what exactly do I need to download to get started? I have look at
the
> > download site, and everything is in packages. Is this an a-la-carte
kinda
> > install, where I just pick and choose what I may need, and then build
the
> > ISO and burn away to create my own install disks? Do I HAVE to have a
> > boot
> > floppy? I think I saw that I can out the booter right on the CD, but
the
> > doc was a bit shy in this area. This is definitely not a beginner's
> > Linux.
> >
> > Tips? Tricks. Warnings?
>

> I think I am 'that kind of beginner'. I like to know what is going on
> inside my machine,
> and why it is doing what it is doing. I've run UNIX (HP, AIX, Solaris)
> boxes at work
> for years, but never actually had to start from scratch.
>
> I looked for that Disk 1 ISO last night, and didn't see it but will dig
> again. The CD is bootable
> on this box, as you assumed, so that is one less hurdle in getting
> started.
>
If you're using unix and have mkisofs, then take a look in the isolinux
directory of whatever ftp site you're using. There is a bin file and enough
instructions for how to make your own bootable cd. You can of course use
the official isos, which are available at ftp.kpn.be if nowhere else (look
for a slackware-9.1-iso directory instead of the slackware-9.1 dir.) but
they will probably have a lot of packages you don't need, for example half
the second cd is various kde internationalization files wheras most of us
will only need one internationalization file.

Skip Hollowell <skip_hollowell'at'yahoo.com> wrote:
> I think I am 'that kind of beginner'. I like to know what is
> going on inside my machine, and why it is doing what it is doing.
> I've run UNIX (HP, AIX, Solaris) boxes at work for years, but
> never actually had to start from scratch.

But you aren't any closer to the hardware with slackware than you
are with windows. And you don't learn anything more about the
system when you use the linux shell than when you use the windows
shell. You are just learning different shells, both of which are
equally abstract. The only real difference between the windows
shell and the slackware shell is that the former is easier to learn
and use, and hence, more productive. And that is a _good_ thing.

Bash is not linux. And while learning a bunch of bash commands
will, for some reason, inflate the egos of morons like yourself, it
doesn't translate into learning anything at all about linux.

cordially, as always,

rm