Slackware 14.0

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Suggested post-install procedures:

The first thing I do is check the time and date to make sure it is correct, if not I correct it with command
ntpdate pool.ntp.org
I might also add cronjob to keep time accurate
20 4 * * 0 ntpdate pool.ntp.org
which will reset time/date at 4:20 each Sunday morning.

Next, I switch to the generic kernel, (which is already installed since version 14.0), so all we need to do is to create /boot/initrd.gz, list it in the linux stanza of /etc/lilo.conf, and change the symlinks for System.map, config and vmlinuz, and run lilo.

Example: Build an initrd image using Linux 3.2.29-smp kernel modules for a system with an ext3 root partition on /dev/sda2:

mkinitrd -c -k 3.2.29-smp -m ext4

Now we change the symlinks:

cd /boot
ln -sf /boot/System.map-generic-smp System.map
ln -sf /boot/config-generic-smp config
ln -sf /boot/vmlinuz-generic-smp-3.2.29-smp vmlinuz

Next we need to add the line to the /etc/lilo.conf file.
initrd = /boot/initrd.gz
So that it looks something like this:

# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
initrd = /boot/initrd.gz
root = /dev/sda2 label = Linux
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

While I'm at it, I shorten the timeout to 2 seconds (default is 2 minutes). (This is the timeout before the first entry boots.)
Here's what the line should look like if you want only 2 seconds:
timeout = 20

(Default is: timeout = 1200)

Run lilo to write the bootloader with changes to MBR:

lilo
Warning: LBA32 addressing assumed
Added Linux + *
One warning was issued.

If you get errors in the output, go over what you've done and figure out what you didn't do, or where you went wrong. After a reboot we should be running the generic kernel.

Here's what it will look like after successful reboot:

# uname -a
Linux te 3.2.29-smp #1 SMP Mon Sep 17 13:02:10 CDT 2012 i686 AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4400+ AuthenticAMD GNU/Linux

The next two projects are setting up slackpkg and sbopkg:
1) slackpkg is an automated tool for managing Slackware Linux packages and is installed by default. To start using it, edit /etc/slackpkg/mirrors and uncomment one of the mirrors, (only one). I usually use tds or easynews.
http://slackware.mirrors.tds.net/pub/sl ... ware-14.0/
or
http://mirrors.easynews.com/linux/slack ... ware-14.0/
You have to do "slackpkg update" The "update" action will download and format the list of files and packages in Slackware. Every time this list is changed, the update needs to be run.
To install a package from the slackware package tree, just do

To remove a package:

You can also search for keword

But the most useful task is keeping your install up-to-date:

BTW; There are two mail lists of interest to Slackware users: slackware-announce and slackware-security The slackware-announce mailing list is for announcements of new versions, major updates and other general information. It is a low traffic, moderated list. The slackware-security mailing list is for announcements relating to security issues. Any exploits or other vulnerabilities pertaining to Slackware will get posted to this list.

2) sbopkg you have to download and install. It is a command-line and dialog-based tool to interact with the SlackBuilds.org (`SBo'') repository, a collection of third-party Slack-Build scripts to build Slackware packages. See: http://www.sbopkg.org/ sbopkg is used to install and maintain packages outside the slackware package tree, (ones listed on slackbuilds.org - LOTS...) When you run it first it will ask to create a couple of working directories and files, once you agree to that and hit enter, you'll need to let it "sync" so that it can synchronize with the SBo repository. "The main menu allows the user to view the SBo ChangeLog, check for potential updates to SBo packages, display the contents of the local cache directory where source tarballs are saved, display the permanent build log, and browse or search the local copy of the SBo repository. Once the browse function is chosen, the user can select the category of software to view. After choosing a category, the user can then view the various software packages available in that category within the local SBo repository. Selecting a package will display another menu allowing the user to view the package's README, SlackBuild, .info, or slack-desc files. The user can also edit the .info file and SlackBuild and the edited files will remain after doing a sync. Additionally, the user can choose to build a package using either the original SlackBuild or the locally-edited one, if present. If using the dialog interface, and if sbopkg finds a built package for a particular piece of software in the OUTPUT directory, then sbopkg will automatically add a new menu entry allowing the user to install the package if he chooses. Alternatively, the user can choose to automatically download, build, or install individual packages or several packages in a queue. Finally, if KEEPLOG is set to YES in a configuration file, a permanent log of the build process is saved. See sbopkg.conf(5) under KEEPLOG and LOGFILE for details."

You can run sbopkg with no arguments and use the menu options or just use a command-line argument to install a package. For instance, to install OpenOffice, issue command: sbopkg -i openoffice.org It also has a search option. For instance

    sbopkg -s *office*
    Searching for *office*
    1) libraries/goffice       5) office/libreoffice
    2) office/broffice.org     6) office/libreoffice-langpack
    3) office/go_openoffice    7) office/openoffice.org
    4) office/kbgoffice        8) Quit

The first thing I use sbopkg for is to install xfce4-datetime-plugin. I rarely remember the exact name of a particular package and that's where the search function is particularly useful:

    sbopkg -s *date* 

    Searching for *date*
    1) academic/qrupdate                 5) libraries/python-dateutil
    2) desktop/wmdate                    6) network/openrdate
    3) desktop/xfce4-datetime-plugin     7) Quit
    4) libraries/perl-Params-Validate

I install xfce4-datetime-plugin and replace the default one with it which is a bit more feature rich. It has a drop-down calendar that is very handy.

The problem with httpd not running cgi scripts was that I needed to uncomment the line in /etc/httpd/httpd.conf
LoadModule cgi_module lib/httpd/modules/mod_cgi.so

I tried lxde and it seems pretty nice on Slackware 14.0 so, here's the list that I installed, you should be able to do it via sbopkg with one single (long) command:
sbopkg -i "lxde-common lxmenu-data lxshortcut lxml lxdm lxinput lxpolkit lxrandr lxsession lxsession-edit lxsplit lxtask lxterminal gpicview vala libgee menu-cache openbox xarchiver xmms2 lxpanel lxlauncher lxpanel-xmms2 lxappearance libfm"
(It seems to only run from runlevel 4, (on my system anyway) so I needed to telinit 4 and select it from the list. If you find it that way on yours too and plan to use it for a while you may want to edit the /etc/inittab file and change the default runlevel to 4, (by changing "id:3:initdefault:" to "id:4:initdefault:")

Note: After installing LXDE, I got xfce error: "GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.PolicyKit1.Error.Failed: An authentication agent already exists ..." which is Bug 657006
Cure:
Settings --> Settings Manager --> Applications Autostart
and uncheck [disable]: PolicyKit Authentication Agent

For those who have settled in on xfce4 and continue to run it from runlevel 3, you might like to shorten the command startxfce4 to something a little shorter:

But beware that NetworkManager will only run from runlevel 4 (by default - there may be a workaround but I don't know it).
<>< Registered Linux User 188099
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