Learning Slackware

I just installed slackware 8.1 and i have some problums

1. i cant get LILO to work, i have been trying for a day or two now, what other programs can i use to give me a choice at startup, (Linux or WiN2K).

2.I started using KDE, how do i program in C++ wiht this, i cant find any programs that run C++ code. i know their in thier, but where?

3.whats the best way i can learn this new linux, a recomended book or PDF would help alot.

4.my sound card dosent work, i boot wiht bare.i, how can i troubleshoot this?

5.this is how i boot and run my linux, tell me if u find anthying wrong with how i do it or if their are more simple ways.....
i put my bootable linux cd in my disk drive.
i turn on my computer
then i arive at the cds prompt and i tell it where to find the kernal
it boots the kernal and i arive at Darkstar login.
i log in and type "startx"
it starts KDE (v3.0).

To shutdown:
i logout of KDE
logout of my user account
return back to darkstar login
manually restart my computer (pressing restart on case)

i want to be able to program C++, not have to boot form the cd, and learn linux, learn it very well.

eventilly i want to use it everyday, instead of wndows

any tips on linux will help me alot, u have to understand that im new to linux, i jsut installed it yeasterday.

Not to be in anyway hateful, hopefully helpful, in fact.

1. Couple of different ways to load linux, you can use the windows bootloader or stick w/ LILO, I think you should search -> www.google.com

2. Linux Programming Reference by, uhhh, I forgot and don't have the book handy, but anything w/ that in the title will get you started. . .not in C++, of course, but in learning how to program gtk, gnome, kde apps, etc..

3. Get in and get dirty, read all the man pages, read all the KDE help files. . .then you can pick a book up at your local bookstore on Slackware. . .browse through them for useful info. . .I bought a Linux for Dummies book quite a few years back that included a slackware version. ~edit~Or just try to do something you want to with it, like try using gnome instead of KDE, and them try enlightenment w/ a theme you downloaded, etc.~edit~

4. Depends on the card. . .LINT is your friend. . .and so is MR. www.google.com. You might have to get comfortable building your own custom kernel <<- not hard at all, just sounds fancy.

I know, not the most informative but I hope I helped a little.

good points by bludgeon. As for you c++ programming needs you can use kate or emacs, whichever you prefer to write the code, and g++ filename from the shell (command prompt) to compile them.

Hi Welcome to the linux community.
Be sure to register on the linux counter :) (can't remember link)

You mean slack 9.1?

1. Your booting from cd and you want to get the lilo boot menu to work, right?

a. You use lilo

The file you want to alter is /etc/lilo.conf.
There are some great tutorials on the web about lilo but I can explain my setup, which is similar to your predicament.


boot="/dev/hda"
#This means that lilo is going to install in the mbr (Yes that means it will take over)
prompt
#(above:- Yours probaly says something like "/dev/hda2") This means "I want a choice"
timeout="100"
#Time to display "This be ten secounds"
other=/dev/hda1
label="XP"
#table=/dev/hda

image="/boot/bzImage"
# This is your kernel image( what do ya mean kernal image, It's usually
# /boot/vmlinuz on slack"
root="/dev/hda7"
# The partition linux lives on (Root partition)
label="Linux"
# Note:- Don't use spaces on this one
read-only
# It's probaly not UMSDOS so lets mount it read-only

Once you've manipulate /etc/lilo.conf as root. Don't foget to run /sbin/lilo! It's need everytime you change something in this file.

b. You use Win2K boot menu (so much more complex, google for NT boot Linux)

2. By run C++ i think you mean to compile it first.
Guess what it's a CLI gcc being the installed one, if your trying to install something these general commands will (mostly work).
Hint:- Bring up a shell!

./configure (not always there)
make
make install

3. It's not new! I have no help for this!

4. You need to recompile the kerenal to support your sound card. Bare.I is a boot disk which loads linux with the bare minimum to run (usually avoiding modules [or drivers in windows] from loading). Note:- Run lilo again after compiling if used.

5. "CTRL-ALT-DEL" will work to reboot when your not in X and CTRL-ALT-Backspace will instantly kill X
Typing in "/sbin/shutdown -h now" into a shell or the CLI (dos prompty thing!) will either give you a permission problem or it will tell you the system is going down.

If you get a permission problem then one way to get arround is to "SU" into root and then type the command in.

nope its slack 8.1.01, and what do u mean by "SU" into root, thanks for the shortcut keys, and yes bludgeon, you were helpful. i think i will try to use GNOME instead of KDE? which one do u use?

well i dont know much but i would recomend switching to slackware 9.1 seeing how it is pretty much the same size.

this helped me learn http://www.slackware.org/book/

Quote:

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Originally posted here by Xine895
nope its slack 8.1.01, and what do u mean by "SU" into root, thanks for the shortcut keys, and yes bludgeon, you were helpful. i think i will try to use GNOME instead of KDE? which one do u use?

---

SU - It's a command which will allow you to login as a super-user for a tempory ammount of time. You type the command at the command prompt and it will prompt for a password, this will typically ask for the root password if you don't specify a user. After your password is entered correctly you should be able to type in a command and those commands will be able to access all that root (or the user you su 'd to) can.

E.g. You could erase all the files on the box if you gave the right command!

Using su is much easier than logging in to root everytime you want to change a tiny thing like permissions.

When you've finished being root (or the user you su 'd to) then typing 'exit' will bring you back to the user you were previously logged in as.

I use blackbox. . .unless I want to impress someone w/ a pretty desktop, then I use gnome w/ elightenment and a theme by flea.

if i do update to 9.1 what will change? i dont have internet yet on that box but i will soon, so will it update security, and what else, i dont want to spend $10 if i dont have to.

9.1 has all the uptodate packages and should have all the latest bug fixes.

Weird question this but did you install all the packages or did you choose?
If you installed all the packages many servers will be running that don't need to be i.e. sendmail, finger, apache this might be a way in to your machine and disabling them / removing their packages is recommended if you use them also regularly checking for updates is recommended.

(tries to remember) I don't think slackware provides any type of firewall protection when it is first setup, learning about iptables would be usefull here.

i dont think i'll buy 9.1, i wont be on the net wiht that box for a little while. i installed all the packages, i have 10gigs so i have enough space. i tryed GNOME and its cool, but i like KDE i think because its the first one i used and i know how to use it better, i tryed all the other types of GUI's that were listed, but i jsut like KDE better.

To be honest, I don't think that anyone properly explained the part about c++ to you. If you want to compile a c++ file that you have written ( e.g. test.cpp ) you would type:

g++ test.cpp -o test ( i.e. the basic format is: "g++ [source] -o [output file]" )

For a c file, you use the same format, but substitute gcc for g++.

You would only use ./configure, make and make install (or something like that) if you were building a utility from source (e.g. if you wanted wget, the download program, and you downloaded the source)

Also note, you don't need to type these in separately, you can use && or ; to separate multiple commands e.g. "./configure && make && make install". The difference between && and ; is that ; will perform all the commands regardless, but && will not perform a command if the last one produced an error.

Note on su: Because of the fact that it's not a good idea to get into the habit of running things as root, if you are just wanting to run one command as root, you can use the -c switch.

e.g.

su -c 'make install'
su -c 'shutdown -r now'

You will be prompted for your root password, just like when you login.

Don't drag on gnome until you run elightenment over it!!!! There are some really talented people making themes that run on enlightenment.

I would think that 9.1 is going to increase your chances of having newer hardware recognized by hotplug. Ditto for the newer version of X.

As to configuring lilo. You can use liloconfig also to assist in setting up lilo with the choices you want available.

thanks gothic_type for telling me how do compile c++, everyone else did over look that. i found out how to do the shutdown, i jsut press ctrl-alt-del once i log out of x. (a tip from jnet :) )