Slackware Linux Installation

This document shows briefly how to install Slackware Linux version 3.1 on a PC, starting from a CD-ROM. The minimum system you will need is a 386SX PC with 4MB RAM.

A 6-CD set containing several Linux distributions (Slackware, RedHat, GNU), plus images of the main Linux FTP sites, is available from Infomagic for around $25 + shipping.

Create boot and root disks

Since you have to start Linux from floppy disk before the installation can proceed, you need to create startup floppy disks. You can do this under DOS; here we assume your Slackware CD-ROM is accessible as drive D:

d:
cd \bootdsks.144
rawrite bare.i a:
cd \rootdsks
rawrite color.gz a:

Note that there are a lot of boot disks to choose from in the \bootdsks.144 directory; type edit which.one to view a file which describes them. bare.i is suitable for installation from an ATAPI/IDE CD-ROM to an IDE hard drive. If you have a non-IDE CD-ROM or wish to install to a SCSI hard drive, you will need to choose a different boot disk which has the relevant drivers built in.

Make space for a Linux partition

If you want to install Linux alongside your current operating system, you will need to run FIPS to make space for new partitions. This is not necessary if the machine will be dedicated to Linux and you don't mind erasing whatever is currently on the hard disk.

Boot up from the Linux disks

Insert the BOOT disk and reboot your computer. At the boot: prompt hit enter. The kernel will then load from the disk and try to find the hardware in your system.

You will then be asked to insert the ROOT disk. Do this and hit Enter. The root disk will be copied into RAM. You should get a slackware login: prompt.

Set up partitions

fdisk /dev/hda

(for an IDE drive; if you have SCSI it may be /dev/sda for the first SCSI drive found, /dev/sdb for the second one etc). See the sample session for details of how to use fdisk.

Set up swap

If you have 8MB or more of RAM you can skip this step because the setup program can do this for you. But if you have less than 8MB, you must set up swap space by hand because otherwise the setup program won't have enough memory in which to run.

The commands to use are as follows, assuming /dev/hda3 is your swap partition:

mkswap /dev/hda3
swapon /dev/hda3

Type free to check that the swap space is active. Remember that when you install from setup, you can let the program select your swap space but when it asks you whether to use mkswap or swapon on that partition, you must say NO (because the swap space is already active and being used)

Install using 'setup'

Type setup and you will be taken into the setup system. Start by selecting the KEYMAP option (especially important if you don't have a US keyboard)

Keymap

Choose a keyboard from the list, and then you will be given an option to test it. If you think it's the right one, enter "1" on a line of its own. You will then carry on to the next step.

Swap space

You will be asked if you wish to install the swap partition. Say yes. However if you have already enabled swapping (with mkswap and swapon), when asked whether the program should use mkswap or swapon, you must say NO. Otherwise, the program will erase the swap partition, which is already being used, and will very likely crash your machine.

Target partition

You will be asked which partition you wish to use as your root Linux filesystem, and if you have only created one Linux partition (apart from the swap partition) you will only have one to choose.

You will be asked how you wish to format it (safest is to select 'slow with bad block check') and how many inodes to create (use the default which is 1 inode per 4096 bytes).

If you have a DOS or Windows partition, you can choose to make it available from within Linux; to do so, you must give the name of a subdirectory which it will be mounted under, for example /windows. Then when you are in Linux you can copy files to or from your Windows partition as if they were Linux files, e.g.

more /windows/autoexec.bat

to view your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

Source media

Next you will be prompted to select which source media you will use. Select CD-ROM. You will be asked to select the type (probably ATAPI/IDE) and then how it is connected. If it is on the same cable as your hard drive it is probably /dev/hdb; if it is on its own cable from a second IDE interface in your computer, it is probably /dev/hdc.

Installation

At this point you can choose which groups of packages (known as "disk sets" because originally people installed from bunches of floppy disks) to install. You have to install the A (base) set. Any other sets can be installed later if you like. However I recommend that you also install at least:

  AP  - extra applications
  D   - development tools (for compiling kernels etc)
  F   - Frequently Asked Questions and HOWTO documents
  N   - Networking software

At this point you can choose which method the system will use for prompting you for the individual packages to install. I prefer the "MENU" option because it offers the fastest install, as long as you know which packages you want. The "NORMAL" option will give you a more verbose description of each package as it goes along, making it easier to decide whether you want to install that package or not.

With the "MENU" option, certain recommended packages will already be selected. You can deselect them, or select other packages, by moving the cursor and hitting the space bar. You might wish to try the following:

A - remove scsi, add getty
AP - add bc
D - add m4, perl and ncurses
F - keep the default, which is to install both parts
N - add apache, dip, ppp, lynx, uucp, elm, pine, smailcfg

In Slackware 3.1 before Jan 13th 1997, the kernel source (set K) is for version 2.0.0 which is very old, so you should leave this out. If you wish to build your own kernel, you can get the latest source and install that instead (2.0.29 at the time of writing)

After all of the disk sets have been installed, you will be prompted to choose a kernel. You should normally choose the kernel on the bootdisk you installed from (since it at least has the driver for your CD-ROM), in which case, you will be asked to reinsert the Boot disk. You can always build a new kernel later.

Configure your System

At this stage Linux will have been copied to your hard drive but there is some important configuration still to be done.

Make a boot disk? If you have a spare, formatted floppy to hand, you can create a boot disk which can be used to start your machine in case there is any problem with the installation of LILO (the Linux Loader) later.
Configure your modem? All this does is create a link from /dev/modem to your device. This is actually NOT a good idea because it interferes with the locking system used to prevent simultaneous use of the modem by more than one process, so say NO.
Configure your mouse? If you have a mouse, you can do this. You will have to select the type of mouse you have and where it is connected.
Configure your CD-ROM? Select this, and choose the type of CD-ROM you have. This will create a link from /dev/cdrom to the actual device which represents your CD-ROM.
Choose custom screen fonts? Gives you a choice of different typeface appearances. Especially nice for laptops where the screen is not always very clear. If you're happy with the default Linux font you can skip this.
Install LILO. This is an important section as LILO enables your computer to boot directly into Linux, or for you to get a choice at bootup time of which operating system to use. You can decide not to install LILO. In this case, you will need either a boot floppy (which you made earlier), or you can boot into DOS and then run LOADLIN.EXE (in which case you will also need a copy of your kernel in your DOS partition)
Start by selecting "Begin LILO install". You will be asked if you need to pass any parameters to the kernel at boot time; you will almost certainly not need anything, so leave this blank. You can choose how LILO chooses an operating system: it can boot immediately into the default O/S; wait 5 or 30 seconds before booting the default (during which time you can hit ALT to choose another O/S); or wait for ever at the boot: prompt for you to select an O/S.
Next, you will select "Add a Linux partition", and if you have a DOS or Windows partition, "Add a DOS partition". The first one you select will be the default. In each case you have to enter the partition device name (e.g. /dev/hda1) and give a name to this operating system, such as "linux" or "windows". These are the names you will use at the LILO boot prompt to choose which operating system you want to run when the system starts up.
Finally, select "Install LILO". There are two main places you can install it: in the Master Boot Record, or in the Linux partition itself. I suggest you choose as follows:
- If your machine is dedicated to Linux, install LILO in the MBR. This ensures you are not dependent on the MBR from any other operating system. This is very useful in the case of a brand new hard drive, which has never had any operating system installed; there must be some program in the MBR, and LILO can do this job easily.
- If you will always want to boot your system through LILO, you can also put LILO in the MBR. In this case, beware that you may have a little difficulty removing LILO later on. The normal method is to boot from a DOS floppy disk which contains FDISK.EXE, then run "fdisk /mbr"
- If your machine is mainly for DOS/Windows use, you might prefer to install LILO in the root partition. This means that the MBR will contain code from your other operating system. To activate LILO, you must set the "active boot partition" flag on your Linux partition.
  You can do this after the installation is complete, but before you reboot, by running fdisk again. Let us say that your DOS/Windows partition is /dev/hda1 and your Linux data partition is /dev/hda2. Start like this:
```
fdisk /dev/hda
p                << print the partition table
```
  You will probably see an asterisk (*) next to /dev/hda1. You can toggle this flag using the 'a' command; once to remove it from /dev/hda1, once to add it to /dev/hda2.
```
a                << toggle active boot flag
1                <<   for partition 1
a                << toggle active boot flag
2                <<   for partition 2
p                << print the partition table again
w                << write it to disk
```
  Later, if you want to disable LILO on your machine, you can just toggle the flags back again (using either DOS or Linux FDISK). This approach also has the advantage that if you install a new operating system, say reinstall Windows 95, it may overwrite the MBR - but by putting LILO in the Linux data partition, it will remain intact.
Configure your network? Select Yes. Give your hostname and domain name. If you don't have an ethernet card, select "use only loopback". If you _do_ have an ethernet card, and know your IP parameters (IP number, netmask, gateway, nameserver) you can enter them.
GPM (mouse-based cut and paste) If you have a mouse, and enabled it previously, select Yes and you will have the facility to cut and paste between virtual consoles using the mouse (drag with left button to select an area, click right button to paste).
Configure sendmail. The ready-made config files are not always appropriate. A safe choice is SMTP (Internet with no nameserver). You can reconfigure sendmail later.
Select your timezone - choose the most appropriate one from the list provided.

Finish off and reboot

You should now be back at the main setup menu. Select Exit and you will be returned to the Unix prompt. Reboot by typing "reboot" or pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del. The system will shut down and reboot; remember to remove the root floppy disk if it is still in the drive. It is very important to always shut down a Linux system properly, rather than just removing the power, because it needs an opportunity to write altered data blocks back to the hard drive.

When you see the LILO prompt you can hit ALT (if you chose to have a 5 or 30 second wait before booting the default O/S). This will then give you a "boot:" prompt. Hit TAB to get a list of operating systems; type the name of the one you wish to boot.

When you get your machine's login: prompt, login as root. The first thing you must do now is to set a root password (with the passwd command) and create a normal user account for yourself (with adduser)

Fixing bugs

There are some problems with Slackware 3.1 which you have to fix manually.

With Slackware 3.1 dated before 16 Jan 1997, you need to change the permissions on the serial port devices:
```
chown uucp.uucp /dev/cua*
chmod 660 /dev/cua*
chmod 660 /dev/ttyS*
```
In Slackware 3.1 (current as of March 3rd 1997) uugetty is configured for the wrong location of lock files, so dial-in and dial-out on the same line don't work. You can work around the bug like this:
```
rm -rf /var/lock
ln -s /var/spool/uucp /var/lock
```

This sort of problem is difficult to fix on an already-running Slackware; you would have to uninstall the package, get hold of an updated package, and reinstall again (which may delete your configuration files in the process). For this reason I strongly recommend Red Hat over Slackware, as its package management system is much, much better.

What to do in an emergency!

It is possible to modify your system in such a way that it hangs during bootup. For example, if you make a bad error in /etc/inittab, and then reboot, your machine could hang when INIT starts up; or if you change the shell for 'root' to a non-existent program, you won't be able to log in as root at all; or you might just forget the root password.

To help you with these problems, Slackware has a 'rescue' disk. This is made in the same way as the color.gz root disk:

d:
cd \rootdsks
rawrite rescue.gz a:

You then boot up with an install boot disk as if you were installing Slackware, but use the rescue disk for the root disk. This boots up and you can mount your hard drive onto /mnt:

mount -t ext2 /dev/hda2 /mnt

You can then use vi on the system configuration files. For example, to fix a problem with the root account:

vi /mnt/etc/passwd

Edit the first line (for 'root') so that it looks like this:

root::0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash

then exit and save. Reboot with Ctrl-Alt-Del.

Last updated 4 Mar 1997