Going to have to reinstall WinXP

[deadly7]

Yeah, I tried to create a WinXP boot disk for my other computer but it doesn't work for some reason... So I'm going to have to spend like, forty minutes of my day installing WinXP again.  However, before I do that, I'm thinking of installing Slackware..  Last time I posted people said "Reinstall WinXP and you can put slackware in as well".. so yeah.
What am I going to need?

[Ergot]

A Slackware CD and an iago.

[deadly7]

You forgot PartitionMagic, you suck..
Speaking of which, someone gots a copy?

[Armin]

You don't need PartitionMagic, Slackware's installation disc does it all for you.

EDIT: Here's a link to Slackware torrent files. Download Installation ISO disc 1 and 2, don't mind the source discs. Burn them to a CD after that and have iago or Newby walk you through it.

[Newby]

PartitionMagic can't resize partitions. =p

[Sidoh]

Booting It can.

[Newby]

Booting It can.

Haha. I meant cfdisk. Whoops @ partitionmagic comment.

[deadly7]

Notice, I'm obviously going to have to reinstall WinXP and I'll tweak the partitions then.  For some reason, the hard-drive has ZERO partitions on it. heh.

[iago]

Install Linux first.  Boot off Slackware 1.  When you get a prompt, type:

$ cfdisk

That'll let you partition your drive.  You need 3 partitions:
- Linux (5gb or more)
- Linux Swap [you have to change the type to 82 in cfdisk] (1gb or so)
- Windows (5gb or more)

Then "write" the partition table to the disk.  After that, I would recommend rebooting and installing Windows XP. 

Once that's complete, install Slackware by booting off the disk and typing:
$ setup
Choose "Add swap", then follow the instructions. 

And if you need any help at all, ask Ergot.  He's the best at helping!

(and it's "a iago", not "an iago", if you're saying "an" then you're pronouncing "iago" wrong )

[Ergot]

I was debating with myself... it begins with a vowel T_T!!
I usually install Windows then put on Linux... I don't even know why.

[Blaze]

I was debating with myself... it begins with a vowel T_T!!
I usually install Windows then put on Linux... I don't even know why.

I do it that way since I find windows gets more errors when installing, and its easier to clear it all and try it again.

[deadly7]

Install Linux first. Boot off Slackware 1. When you get a prompt, type:

$ cfdisk

That'll let you partition your drive. You need 3 partitions:
- Linux (5gb or more)
- Linux Swap [you have to change the type to 82 in cfdisk] (1gb or so)
- Windows (5gb or more)

Then "write" the partition table to the disk. After that, I would recommend rebooting and installing Windows XP.

Once that's complete, install Slackware by booting off the disk and typing:
$ setup
Choose "Add swap", then follow the instructions.

And if you need any help at all, ask Ergot. He's the best at helping!

(and it's "a iago", not "an iago", if you're saying "an" then you're pronouncing "iago" wrong )

Uh, my hard drive is 9gb big. !

[Sidoh]

iago = 12 iagi

[Warrior]

I can help with Slack installations, iago helped me once and I've done it many times (including today)

[drka]

there's a flash video that shows how to install Slackware

http://www.slackstuff.net/include/slackmov101/start.htm

[Newby]

wow.

[Ergot]

Horrible... You have to sit through waiting it format and install... but I guess it's a start... many people have custom cases though.

[Armin]

(and it's "a iago", not "an iago", if you're saying "an" then you're pronouncing "iago" wrong )

How do you pronounce it?

[Ergot]

Yah-go

[deadly7]

"yahgo".. we went over this before, if i remember right.

EDIT: Damn you ergot. Troll!!!!

[Armin]

Ewww, I don't like iago anymore.

[Krazed]

iago, I heard that swap isn't really used that much in linux, as compared to BSD. Is this true? I've also heard you only need about the same swap space as amount of memory. True?

[Ergot]

IIRC, Swap isn't used until you run out of RAM. I almost never use swap, but it does come in handy if you're using a lot of apps and stuff. I think that iago said something about it being more efficient than Windows in that RAM is faster anyways.

[Armin]

You can change a boolean in I think the system.inf file to make it so it only uses swap after RAM is used up.

[iago]

I was debating with myself... it begins with a vowel T_T!!
I usually install Windows then put on Linux... I don't even know why.

It begins with a vowel, but it is pronounced like a "y", and you don't say "an Yiddish man".

I do Windows first because it overwrites the MBR without asking, which is a little annoying.

iago, I heard that swap isn't really used that much in linux, as compared to BSD. Is this true? I've also heard you only need about the same swap space as amount of memory. True?

*shrug* I assume it's used as needed. 

Uh, my hard drive is 9gb big. !

Then be creative.  I just wouldn't install Windows, but that's just me

[Ergot]

But Yiddish doesn't begin with a vowel...

I have issues with silent letters... like... a herb or an herb?

[deadly7]

hokay, what games does slackware have in the Solitaire/Freecell department? My dad said I can install whatever OS I want, as long as it has his games, the internet (which brings me to another point: slackware does read routers and stuff properly, right?), and I show him how to work it.

[Ergot]

[deadly7]

HOHHOOHO yes

[iago]

You don't "read" routers.  You choose an ip on the network (or have it chosen for you with dhcp; that works too), set up a DNS, set your default gateway, and you're home free.  Every OS that counts can do that. 

Here's some handy commands you might need, though, to get network working:

$ dmesg | grep eth
--> eth0, eth1, etc. are the name of your network cards.  If nothing is returned, then your ethernet card wasn't recognized (Google to find out how to get drivers; dlink, linksys, and most other major brands work out of the box).  If something IS returned, it's likely your video card.  eth0 is the most common. 

ron@tank:~$ dmesg | grep eth
eth0: Station identity 001f:0009:0001:0004
eth0: Looks like an Intersil firmware version 1.4.9
eth0: Ad-hoc demo mode supported
eth0: IEEE standard IBSS ad-hoc mode supported
eth0: WEP supported, 104-bit key
eth0: MAC address 00:50:F2:7A:C7:FD
eth0: Station name "Prism  I"
eth0: ready
eth0: index 0x01: Vcc 5.0, irq 3, io 0x0140-0x017f

To configure eth0 automatically, run netconfig:
$ netconfig
And follow the steps. 

To configure your network cards manually, edit the file /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf:
$ pico /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf
Then reboot

If you need to grab a dynamic ip, use dhcpcd:
$ dhcpcd -d eth0 -t 10
(replacing eth0 with whatever ip you need). It should say your mac address, then an ip.  If it times out without getting an ip, then your ethernet cable probably isn't plugged in. 

If you want to see what your ip and stuff is, just run ifconfig
$ifconfig -a

If you need to grab a static ip, you use ifconfig and route:
$ifconfig eth0 [ip] netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast [broadcast]
For example:
$ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.2 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.1.255
[broadcast will usually be your ip with .255 at the end]
That will only use that ip until you reboot. 

I know I'm making this look a little complicated, but it really isn't.  Generally, run netconfig, reboot, and that's it. 

[Warrior]

In other words, just type net config.

If it doesn't detect your driver mount your windows partition and (I think) it will attempt to use the windows .INF file.

Installing slack is a breeze. You can even pick which packages you want and alternatively switch to another console while the install is running.

[Armin]

Just made up a really corny slogan:
Installing Slackware is like having sex; you don't know what the hell you're doing the first time around.

[iago]

Just made up a really corny slogan:
Installing Slackware is like having sex; you don't know what the hell you're doing the first time around.

You never know what you're doing the first time you do anything, that's what learning is all about. 

[Armin]

Did I mention it was a really corny slogan?

[deadly7]

I talked to mi padre and he said that I can go ahead and install slack. So... *downloads new cd's..*
Will I still have to PartitionMagic my hard-drive?

[Ergot]

Or just partition it with cfdisk or fdisk

[deadly7]

Note
I'm going to be installing JUST Slackware now. Forget what my brother says, he's not even home.

[Joe]

Stick in disk 1.

cfdisk
Linux: ext3, disk space - 1GB
Linux Swap: 1GB

Write, exit.

setup
Self explanitory. If you need help, call me.

[MyndFyre]

So to review, Joe, you want him to use 2 gb and leave 7gb of his 9gb hard drive empty?

[iago]

Stick in disk 1.

cfdisk
Linux: ext3, disk space - 1GB
Linux Swap: 1GB

Write, exit.

setup
Self explanitory. If you need help, call me.

Just to be a little more helpful than Myndfyre, the sensible way to do it would be:
Linux Swap: 1GB
Linux: ext3, disk space - Everything else

[deadly7]

iago, are you going to have a day off or something this week[end] where I can set it up?  You, Newby, or Warrior are the only ones that've offered.. or at least been helpful enough with the commands.

[Eric]

The only reason why people think *nix is difficult is because nothing is as simple as a point and click, but if you actually take a minute or two to go through a few man's, then you'll be fine.  The installations usally assume that you have prior experience with computers, but in no way do they make it so that you have to have a degree in computer science to understand it.  You should be fine.

[iago]

iago, are you going to have a day off or something this week[end] where I can set it up?  You, Newby, or Warrior are the only ones that've offered.. or at least been helpful enough with the commands.

You may have noticed that I haven't been on AIM lately.  I've been spending almost all my time doing homework.  And the rest of it attending to real life issues.  And the last of it playing Neverwinter Nights.  I don't know when I'll be around, but next week is no better than this week. 

[Sidoh]

You may have noticed that I haven't been on AIM lately.  I've been spending almost all my time doing homework.  And the rest of it attending to real life issues.  And the last of it playing Neverwinter Nights.  I don't know when I'll be around, but next week is no better than this week. 

Just say that your network ate your homework?

[deadly7]

The only reason why people think *nix is difficult is because nothing is as simple as a point and click, but if you actually take a minute or two to go through a few man's, then you'll be fine. The installations usally assume that you have prior experience with computers, but in no way do they make it so that you have to have a degree in computer science to understand it. You should be fine.

Yeah, I've read the manual before. And it's kind of confusing.. it lists a load of stuff which I'm not sure pertains to me or not.. and do I really have to make a boot disk for slackware install?

[Ergot]

No. I made one, but never used it. Disc 2 acts like a boot disk, I guess..

[deadly7]

hohoho yes. I can skip that part of the manual!

[Quik]

There's a very complex manual, including steps that you probably won't want to take, and some things that you'll want to do differently, but it includes pictures and instruction and I suggest reading over it before your first install. It's more of a learning experiance than a stick-to-the-book guide.

http://www.bitbenderforums.com/vb22/showthread.php?postid=311808

[deadly7]

Jesus, that thing's like a book.

[iago]

LoRD is referring to "man pages", which is a manual for each command.  "man ls", "man mount", "man man", "man filesystem", etc.  There's a manpage for just about everything. 

If your computer will boot off of a cd, you don't need a bootdisk. 

[deadly7]

Oh, on the subject of Windows for a sec:

What would you recommend I use to scrub my drive to remove Windows?
edit: keep in mind my computer doesn't boot past the BIOS.

[iago]

Can you boot Linux? 

for i in 1 2 3; do
      cat /dev/urandom > /dev/hda;
done;

[deadly7]

Yeah, I can boot Linux just fine.. My slackware 10 cd's boot just fine.

[Warrior]

If you can boot into slack, run cfdisk, and if that fails run "fdisk /dev/hda" (Assuming that's your HD)
Once in there simple type m for a list of commands and you'll see the command to delete a partiton, delete 1-howevermanyyouhave and type I think "W" to write then "Q" to exit.

Once that's done go into cfdisk and it should work now and make the partitions you want (Remember makesure one type is Linux and another type is Linux Swap (Swap is type 82))

Now once that is done go to write and write to the partition table then exit.

You may now (unless setup tells you to restart), run slackware installation.

Start at the screen to setup swap and everything else is for the most part automated.
When you come to the screen to format your HD choose ext2 (or if you want, ext3). I've had some bad history with ReiserFS so I wouldn't recommend it (IMHO). Now after your drive is formatted it should try to automount (hopefully it will work, if not run the steps again and choose manually mount it).

NOW, you are at the package screen. All of Linux and it's programs are availible in packages. You're going to want a lot of them, probably all of them.

Once you are done selection you can hit Expert, or any of the other options to choose which PROGRAMS inside the package you want (nifty eh?). After that you should have a full install.

Now, after the install is done it should automaticly run the things like searching for a modem, setting screen fonts, setting up network, etc.. which may be different issues we can fix here but nothing should go wrong. You will I think in the end get a LILO (LInux LOader) screen. This is what boots Linux. LILO (iirc) follows the Multiboot standard (also used by GNU GRUB) which means that after you install Windows, you can run "liloconfig" again and reinstall Lilo with Windows installed.

Now, LILO may fail on install and if it does, install it on the MBR (I don't think this is bad since afaik if you ever decide to install Windows alone and it (or it may be the linux partitions not being present) uninstalls LILO)

After that a simple "reboot" will reboot your system. Popout the CD and hope to hell it boots into LILO (red screen

(Note: I did not explain using the second CD to grab KDE, Gnome, and other things).

Happy to help,
Nelson

PS: Any corrections or improvements are welcome.

[deadly7]

I'm not installing Windows anymore.
But thanks, I'll try it out.. And hopefully I don't kill my hard drive.

[deadly7]

Ok, "cfdisk" is just to delete partitions, right?
"fdisk" is to write partitions, right?

I did research these commands, just didn't get themt oo much.

[iago]

They can both do both. 

cfdisk stands for "fdisk with curses".  "Curses" is a console-based user interface that you see.  You can partition your harddrive with either, but cfdisk is by far easier. 

And if all else fails, as always, "man cfdisk" and "man fdisk" should help

[deadly7]

I still don't get how to use CFDISK, really.
Would I use "bootable" or "write" to make a new partition?

[iago]

Try using "Create new partition". 

Delete one or more of the current ones.  I suggest all of them.  Then move the selection over the "Free Space", and choose "Create new partition".  Once you're done creating them, hit "Write", then "Exit".  Bootable is meaningless if you're using Linux's boot loader,which I assume you are. 

[RoMi]

What about the swap space iago?

[iago]

I talked about that somewhere else in this thread. 

[deadly7]

Ugh, my brother said he still wants Windows on there. -.-
So would my partitions look like this?

/dev/hda1  5gb (Linux)
/dev/hda2 1gb (swap)
/dev/hda3  4gb (Windows)

Slackware says my hard-drive is 10gb big, Windows reads it as 9gb.

[iago]

Ugh, my brother said he still wants Windows on there. -.-
So would my partitions look like this?

/dev/hda1  5gb (Linux)
/dev/hda2 1gb (swap)
/dev/hda3  4gb (Windows)

Slackware says my hard-drive is 10gb big, Windows reads it as 9gb.

4gb for Windows is painful.  Of course, 9gb for Windows is also painful, so....

Yeah, that'll work.  You can lower swap to 500mb, if you want.. the rule of thumb is 3xRAM

[deadly7]

Eh, going off of that I would need slightly more than a gig of swap.. I'm still trying to debate with my brother that 4gb is ridiculously low for Windows, but hell this computer has a 4gb hard-drive as C:\.. so eh.  His only arguments seem to be "well why do you need slackware?" and "it's always good to have windows, just in case."

[rabbit]

Yes, it's always good to have Windows just in case you want to get some viruses.  Smack him and tell him to sit down.

[iago]

Is this your only computer? Or a spare one?

It's good to have at least one Windows computer in the house, just in case somebody *needs* a program that only runs on Windows.  I even kept Windows on my laptop (until just recently), just in case. 

[deadly7]

Is this your only computer? Or a spare one?

It's good to have at least one Windows computer in the house, just in case somebody *needs* a program that only runs on Windows. I even kept Windows on my laptop (until just recently), just in case.

I have two computers, and a laptop that's my brother's in this house.  This computer that I'm posting on right now is the one with the 4gb as C:\, and all of my music/programs/movies are on this computer because it has a couple 120's and a 50 in here, as well.

So I guess this would be the one Windows computer.  I wasn't going to format this anyways, pfft.  Too much work, and I'd lose X-men Legends II cause I don't think you can WINE the DLL's and whatnot.