[JerkasaurusRex]

Ok, i installed slackware 9.0 today because i wanted to try something other than Mandrake since mandrake is so newbish ( i still am a newb). Well i installed it all fine but when i rebooted after isntallation and booted into linux form the slack LILO it brought me to a terminal that looks liek a dos screen
all i had was like [root@localmachine etc] $. It was only a command promt! How do i boot into an X windows system, preferably GNOME?

[Titan386]

The command to start X windows is startx . However, that will only work if you have X installed and properly configured for your system. To configure X, run xf86config . You should also create a regular user to use, running as root isn't a good idea, and you shouldn't ever need to run X as root (check out the useradd command).

BTW, all the more "advanced" distros like Slack, Debian, Gentoo, and others don't assume that you want X, and therefore, don't load it by default. It's not uncommon to be dumped at a command prompt after finishing the installation.

[JerkasaurusRex]

Oh, ok, thanks Tita, your always a great help but i still got some more questions. I did the xf86config cause i knew that command. I was trying to figure out the command to create a new user but i couldnt get it. I tryed startX and nothing happened. I will try again later to make a user and try startX with that user.

[Titan386]

If you are having trouble using a command, its often helpful to check its manual page. You do this by typing man, followed by the name of the command. For example:
man useradd
will bring up the manual page for useradd.

The command to start X Windows is startx, not startX. Names are case sensitive

If you get an error message, please post it here so we can help you fix the problem.

[JerkasaurusRex]

Ok thanks you for being such a great help to me. I greatly appreciate it. I will post more questions or errors if i get any. Thank you.

[JerkasaurusRex]

Ok, i dont know how to use useradd command. Whener i type useradd all i get is some weird list i dont know how to use. When i type startx i get an IO error or something like that. What can be done to fix this. BTW i am using Slackware 9.0

[JerkasaurusRex]

ok, i figured out what problem was, i need to update my video carrd driver. Their was problem during installation though. First it told me that it couldnt find a pre-compiled kernal. IT offered to download one but i count cause i had no internet conenction. That it said it couldnt find kernal headers. How do i fix this?

[Titan386]

Like most Linux programs, useradd expects certain arguments to be passed to it. When it does not get the arguments it's expecting, it prints a list of recognized arguments, and exits. That's whats happening to you. Try reading the man page in detail, and then try again.

In regards to the kernel header issue, you have to get a kernel source tree from www.kernel.org , compile it, and install it. Usually, one puts the source in /usr/src/, and then symlinks the resultsing /usr/src/kernel_version_here directory to /usr/src/linux. That symlink probably already exists, so you'll have to remove it first.

After that, you'll need to compile the kernel. This can be a difficult process for some, but IMO, the most important thing is that you know your hardware well. This how-to explains the process very well.

You may also be able to install the kernel headers from your installation media, in which case, likely no recompile will be necessary. The package you want may be called something like "kernel source" or "kernel dev".

[Cowboy Shane]

While you are trying to figure out the whole linux thing, you can just use the generic Nvidia driver for your card (assuming that it's and nvidia card in your computer after reading your sig and problems installing a driver.)

Just type pico -w /etc/X11/XF86Config from the command line. That will bring up the configuration file for your video card. Scroll down till you find the video section, and set your driver to nv. You won't have any 3D acceleration that way, but you should be able to get a working GUI.

[JerkasaurusRex]

Ok, thanks guys. I will read the man useradd and make a new user after i finish compiling my new kernal but i got some questions about that. I am gonna use this nvidia kernal. http://kastor.org.ar/dl/nvidia/4349/

Will that make a diffrence for anything or should i use another kernal. Also how do i untar the kernal so i can install it. Dont most kernals come in .tar format?

[Cowboy Shane]

Due to space constraints, the kernel sources are not included with the Slackware 9 ISO. You can get the package here (you may want to try a mirror as the main Slack ftp site can get pretty slow). You can then install the source files using Slack's rudimentary package tools.

For user management, I'd suggest you read the user management page from Slackware.com.

With regard to Nvidia drivers, I would get the 4496 version straight from Nvidia themselves. You can then just run their installation program, adjust your XF86Config file, and you should be good to go. Just make sure you read the readme file (it really is important for these drivers).

Hope some of this helps, and that you don't feel like you've jumped in too deep yet.

[JerkasaurusRex]

So slack did not come with a kernal? No wonder. What about that nvidia kernal i downloaded? Can i use that or should i use the kernal you linked to? I already have the nvidia drivers straight from nvidia.

[Cowboy Shane]

Slack came with a binary version of the kernel, but it did not come with the source files. The Nvidia drivers need some of the header files from the source code for the linux kernel to compile properly themselves (the parts that need compiling as the driver is mostly binary). Once you install the linux kernel package I linked to you should be able to install the Nvidia drivers.

[JerkasaurusRex]

Thanks cowboy. I will try and compile the kernal you linked to me. Do you have a link to a howto on how to instll it cause the one titan sent is for updating a kernal or isntalling a another kernal when u already have a kernal. I do not have a kernal at all so how do i install it?

[Cowboy Shane]

You won't have to compile the kernel with the sources I linked. What you want to do is download the .tgz kernel file, and then run installpkg kernel-2.4<whatever>.tgz. That will install the source files for the kernel you are already running. If you want to recompile it, you could then do so, but there is no real need.

[JerkasaurusRex]

How do i run the install? Do i have to be in the directory i downloaded it to? Right now its in my C:\My Documents folder. Do i have to cd into that folder than run it or can i run it from anywere. Also what is the command to run the isntaller.

[Cowboy Shane]

Are you running Windows 9x or an NT version, and if it's NT, is your Windows filesytem formatted with NTFS? Do you have network access from within Slackware? If so, it may be easier for you to type ftp ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-9.0/slackware/k/ from the command line. You can then get the kernel source file into your home directory in linux.

Is your Windows partition mounted? Better yet, do you have cd burner and a throw away cd? If so, just copy the file to the cd, and then mount the cd under linux (mount /mnt/cdrom should work, but you may need to be root depending on how your system is configured). Then it's just a matter of typing cp /mnt/cdrom/kernel-2.4.xx.tgz kernel-2.4.xx.tgz(not sure of filename). Once you have the tgz file in a directory in Slack, all you have to do is type installpkg kernelxxx.tgz from the same directory while running as root. Just substitute the proper filename where I've put x's in above.

Slackware is not too bad, but it assumes you can set everything up manually. You should try getting the default nv driver to work before trying the official Nvidia drivers so that you can at least get a GUI to work in. The command line doesn't bother me, but then I started on MSDOS, so linux seems super to me.

[JerkasaurusRex]

I am running win 98 SE with a fat 32 partition. My windows partion is mounted and i can access it. I do not have my network setup because i am using the onboard Lan on my nforce2 board which sometimes gives trouble. I dont mind the commandline either cause i started on DOS too but i wanan run a MODERN desktop so i need a GUI.

[JerkasaurusRex]

Also i downloaded the kernal into My Documents on my windows partition. Should i move it somewere onto the linux drive first?

[Cowboy Shane]

If you downloaded the full kernel from kernel.org, then you should copy it to /usr/src. From there, you just untar it using tar -xfzv kernel.tar.gz. You will then want to update your symlink to make /usr/src/linux a symbolic link pointing to your kernel sources, cd into the linux directory, and run make menuconfig. After you finish that, you will want to run make clean && make bzImage modules modules_install. If that completes, then copy /usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot/bzImage to your /boot directory and update your grub or lilo configuration.

If you downloaded the source package, then just cd into the same directory and type installpkg sourcename.tgz where sourcename is the actual name of the file. You should not need to recompile the kernel if you get the sources that are for your version of Slack.