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Table of Contents
Get Slackware Up and Running
This guide puts a few common tasks together one place so that new users have a coherent guide to doing some essential tasks in a fresh installation of Slackware.
We'll assume that you've read the Installation Guide and that you have a clean install of Slackware on your machine and that you're happy with that.
Post Installation Overview
When you start Slackware for the first time, you will boot to a simple log in screen. Log in as root - you’ll have set the root password during the installation process.
So now what? You may want to start your desktop environment, set up your network and a host of other things.
Switch to generic kernel
It's recommended that you switch to the generic kernel. This is easy to do but there are a few steps to follow.
You will need to make an initial RAM disk (initrd for short). The initrd functions as a temporary root file system and it helps get the actual root system mounted when your system boots. Run this, as root:
# /usr/share/mkinitrd/mkinitrd_command_generator.sh
It will output something like this depending on your kernel version, the file systems you chose when you installed Slackware and so on.
# mkinitrd -c -k 3.2.28 -f ext4 -r /dev/sda1 -m usbhid:ehci-hcd:uhci-hcd:ext4 -u -o /boot/initrd.gz
Run the script's output as root to generate the initrd.gz
. If you have installed LILO, then you will also need to make changes to /etc/lilo.conf
by adding a line to your Slackware entry as follows:
image = /boot/vmlinuz-generic-3.2.28 initrd = /boot/initrd.gz # add this line so that lilo sees initrd.gz root = /dev/sda1 label = Slackware read-only
Save and then run
# lilo
- Have a look at
mkinitrd
manual page (man mkinitrd
) for more information. - If you use grub or other bootloader, then make changes as applicable to the version you use.
- If you do try to use the generic kernel without creating an
initrd.gz
booting will fail with a kernel panic.
Create User
The first thing you will need to do is create your user account. There are two ways you can do this, with the adduser script, thus:
# adduser
and follow the prompts. Read the user management page for more detail on the adduser script. You can use the command line too and use something like this;
# useradd -m -g users -G users,wheel,floppy,audio,video,cdrom,plugdev,power,netdev -s /bin/bash slacker
Once that’s done you can log in to your user account. Type in the command
su - slacker
Or login from a console.
Set Up Slackpkg Mirrors
In order to keep your Slackware installation up-to-date, you will need to set an online mirror from which to download updates with slackpkg.
The list of mirrors can be found on this file.
/etc/slackpkg/mirrors
Uncomment any one mirror for the appropriate version of Slackware.
Network
Have a look at AlienBob’s comprehensive guide to networking in Slackware here.
Wired
To configure your network, run (as root)
# netconfig
You would have the opportunity to run this script during the installation process.
On the assumption that you set configured your wired connection with netconfig
, wired connections should start automatically without the need for any post-installation configuration.
If you didn’t run netconfig during installation, just run netconfig
as root
then run
# /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 eth0_start
You should have a working internet connection which will start at boot. Various tools exist to monitor the network connection, including wicd.
Wireless
It will be worth checking whether your wireless hardware is supported by Linux, if you’ve not already done so. Again, read Eric Hameleers' guide. To summarize, you need to add information about your wireless connection to your wireless configuration file
/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf
You will also need to take steps to include wireless security too, whether WEP or WPA2. With the configuration file amended and your network security included, you should then be able to establish your wireless connection.
extra
. You can also install and use NetworkManager, as an alternative to the above methods.
Upgrading the System
This is how you can keep your Slackware up-to-date.
# slackpkg update # slackpkg install-new # slackpkg upgrade-all # slackpkg clean-system # to remove non-official packages installed from other sources
When tracking current, you should always read the latest ChangeLog before upgrading the system, to see whether any additional steps are required to be performed before or after upgrading. For upgrades to a stable release, it is a good idea to read the UPGRADE.TXT
file located on the CD/DVD or the official mirror.
Start Desktop Environment
Configure X If Required
Xorg should auto-detect your graphics card and load applicable drivers. If auto-detect does not work (X crashes on startup), you would need to create a file /etc/X11/xorg.conf
and set the correct options for your graphics card and display resolution. You can use
X -configure
To generate a basic xorg.conf
configuration file, which can be customized and placed in the /etc/X11/
directory. For a detailed overview of X configuration, check the xorg.conf
manual page (man xorg.conf
).
Choosing a Desktop Environment/Window Manager
To choose the Window Manger or Desktop Environment you wish to use, run the xwmconfig
utility:
$ xwmconfig
and select one of the available options. Then you can simply run;
$ startx
Your preferred Desktop Environment or Window Manager will then start up.
Graphical Login
To start with a graphical login screen on boot, change the default runlevel to 4. Edit the file /etc/inittab
and change the line that looks like
id:3:initdefault:
to
id:4:initdefault:
You can choose to use one of the available desktop (login) managers, KDM, XDM or install a third-party login manager like SliM
It may be of interest to new Linux users to explore the command line a bit more before installing a graphical desktop, just to learn some shell commands and applications available in non-graphical mode. For instance, web browsing can be done with Lynx, a text-mode browser.
Sources