Slackware Official READMEs
Did you know that a good source of information about Slackware is located right on the DVD (or the FTP server)?
Lots of people realize only later (sometimes years after starting with Slackware) that the root of the distribution tree contains several text files containing information about the distro, the layout of the DVD's content and instructions about installing and configuring the software. A shame, since they contain invaluable information for setting up a Slackware system.
Let's start with a listing of these files as they appear on the Slackware 14.1 DVD:
ANNOUNCE.14_1 BOOTING.TXT CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT CHECKSUMS.md5 CHECKSUMS.md5.asc COPYING COPYING3 COPYRIGHT.TXT CRYPTO_NOTICE.TXT ChangeLog.txt FILELIST.TXT GPG-KEY PACKAGES.TXT README.TXT README.initrd README_CRYPT.TXT README_LVM.TXT README_RAID.TXT README_UEFI.TXT RELEASE_NOTES SPEAKUP_DOCS.TXT SPEAK_INSTALL.TXT Slackware-HOWTO UPGRADE.TXT isolinux/README.TXT source/README.TXT usb-and-pxe-installers/README_PXE.TXT usb-and-pxe-installers/README_USB.TXT
What's contained in these files?
- ANNOUNCE.14_1
The official announcement of the release, describing existing and new features and offering information about purschasing the DVD (this particular file is for Slackware 14.1).
- BOOTING.TXT
The various ways of booting the Slackware installer that contains the setup program, and tips for troubleshooting if the boot fails.
- CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT
A listing of all new, and removed, packages relative to the previous release. Also contains tips and tricks about setting up various parts of the distro.
- CHECKSUMS.md5
MD5 message digests for the files in the distribution. To test all files, use this command:tail +13 CHECKSUMS.md5 | md5sum -c --quiet - | less
Every line that does not say “OK” indicates a corrupted file.
- CHECKSUMS.md5.asc
The GPG signature of the CHECKSUMS.md5 file (signed with the GPG key of the Slackware Linux Project). It allows you to verify that the checksum values in CHECKSUMS.md5 are not manipulated by malicious 3rd parties. The following command:gpg --verify CHECKSUMS.md5.asc
should at least contain lines like these two:
gpg: Signature made Thu 11 Dec 2014 02:46:15 AM CET using DSA key ID 40102233 gpg: Good signature from "Slackware Linux Project <security@slackware.com>"
- COPYRIGHT.TXT
This is the Slackware COPYRIGHT file. This file provides documentation about many of the licenses used by components included in Slackware, as well as some acknowledgements (some required, some freely given). Some packages will have their license file in the respective subdirectory of/usr/doc.
- CRYPTO_NOTICE.TXT
Legal notice, due to U.S. Exports Regulations.
- ChangeLog.txt
The log of all updates to the release, made since the announcement of the previous release. Sort of Pat's own blog
- FILELIST.TXT
The list of all files that are contained in the directory tree for this release.
- GPG-KEY
The public key corresponding to the private key with which all Slackware packages are signed:security@slackware.com public key pub 1024D/40102233 2003-02-26 [expires: 2038-01-19] uid Slackware Linux Project <security@slackware.com> sub 1024g/4E523569 2003-02-26 [expires: 2038-01-19]
- PACKAGES.TXT
Details on the Slackware packages found in the./slackware*/directory (package description, metadata and content-listing).
- README.TXT
Slackware's README.TXT meaning READ THIS FIRST!.
- README.initrd
Slackware initrd mini HOWTO, describing how to create and install an initrd, which may be required to use the 3.x kernel. Also see “man mkinitrd”.
- README_CRYPT.TXT
The HOWTO for installing Slackware on (LUKS-) encrypted volumes.
- README_LVM.TXT
The HOWTO for installing Slackware on logical volumes (LVM).
- README_RAID.TXT
The HOWTO for installing Slackware on a software RAID root filesystem.
- README_UEFI.TXT
How to install Slackware (optionally leaving a Windows installation intact) on a computer with UEFI instead of old-fashioned BIOS. Only for 64-bit OS.
- RELEASE_NOTES
This file contains Pat's personal notes on the just-completed development towards the stable release.
- SPEAKUP_DOCS.TXT
Documentation for the Speakup speech synth software.
- SPEAK_INSTALL.TXT
HOWTO on installing with assistance of Speakup speech synthesis.
- Slackware-HOWTO
Instructions for installing Slackware from CD/DVD. If you're new to Slackware, start with this.
- UPGRADE.TXT
Slackware Upgrade HOWTO explains how to upgrade from one stable Slackware release to the next.
slackpkg in order to largely automate this process
- isolinux/README.TXT
How to burn a Bootable Slackware disc.
- source/README.TXT
Some information about the source used for this Slackware release.
- usb-and-pxe-installers/README_PXE.TXT
The HOWTO for installing Slackware over the network using PXE boot.
- usb-and-pxe-installers/README_USB.TXT
The HOWTO for installing Slackware using a bootable USB stick.
The links for the above files point to the “slackware-current” directory tree on the FTP server. Slackware-current is the development release, which means that the links point to the most recent version of the file. If you want a version for a specific release instead, just change the word “'current'” in the URL to a release version like “13.37” or “14.1”. The files are identical for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Slackware.