Slackware FAQ, last revised: 5 March 1995
These are questions people ask me quite often. Hopefully now that they're
answered here that won't be the case. :^)
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Q: When I installed Slackware, the system could see my CD-ROM just fine. But,
when I try to boot using LILO or the bootdisk the system doesn't find the
CD-ROM drive anymore! How can I fix this?
A: The problem is probably that you used a bootkernel disk with support for your
CD-ROM drive, but didn't install a kernel with support. If you have a
non-SCSI CD-ROM drive, or a SCSI CD-ROM drive on a controller with alpha
(experimental) support, then you may need to use a kernel from the Q disk
series that contains the proper support.
You can use the same bootkernel disk you installed the system with to get
into your machine. Use a command like this on the LILO prompt, but replace
the root device name with the one you used on your machine:
mount root=/dev/hda1
Once you're logged in, you need to install a new kernel. Use pkgtool or
installpkg to install it:
cd /cdrom/slakware/q4 (or possibly another directory with kernel packages)
installpkg mitsumi.tgz (this one has Mitsumi CD support)
You'll need to install LILO, build a bootdisk, or have Loadlin boot the new
kernel before it will work. See the question below about "I just built a
new kernel..." (The kernel packages install the kernel as /vmlinuz, not
zImage, so use /vmlinuz wherever the answer mentions zImage.)
NOTE: for the best possible results, you need to compile a kernel that only
contains drivers for the hardware you have. If you're ready to tackle that
task, zless /usr/doc/faq/howto/Kernel-HOWTO.gz on your installed system.
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Q: Why isn't my Sony CDU-31/33a detected by Linux anymore? It used to work!
A: From the source code:
+ * WARNING - All autoprobes have been removed from the driver.
+ * You MUST configure the CDU31A via a LILO config
+ * at boot time or in lilo.conf. I have the
+ * following in my lilo.conf:
+ *
+ * append="cdu31a=0x1f88,0,PAS"
+ *
+ * The first number is the I/O base address of the
+ * card. The second is the interrupt (0 means none).
+ * The third should be "PAS" if on a Pro-Audio
+ * spectrum, or nothing if on something else.
You can also use this option with Loadlin:
C:\LOADLIN\LOADLINX C:\LINUX\VMLINUZ root=c: cdu31a=0x1f88,0,PAS
Or, on the bootkernel LILO: prompt. Examples:
LILO: ramdisk cdu31a=0x1f88,0,PAS
LILO: mount root=/dev/sda1 cdu31a=0x1f88,0,PAS ro
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Q: I was able to install fine, but the installed system won't boot!
A: Slackware uses stripped down kernels to do the actual installation -- in
other words, the kernels don't have any more drivers than needed to control
only the device needed to complete the installation. The kernels that are
installed to the system are more full featured, with more ethernet, mouse,
filesystem, and other drivers. Sometimes this can lead to hangs at boot
time when the kernel misidentifies an piece of hardware that's unusual or
at a non-standard port/IRQ.
When this happens, you need to try a different kernel. First, use the
bootdisk that worked during installation to get your system started. To
do this, boot the disk and enter something like this at the LILO prompt:
mount root=/dev/sda2
(if /dev/sda2 is your root Linux partition, otherwise use the appropriate
device name for your system)
Once you've got the system running, install or compile a different kernel.
Try to include only the device drivers you need for your hardware.
Instructions on compiling the kernel can be found in your kernel source
directory (if you installed the kernel source, that is). The kernel
source is usually found in /usr/src/linux.
Briefly, this is the method for building a new kernel:
cd /usr/src/linux
make config (then answer the questions about what you need)
make dep ; make clean ; make zImage
If the zImage is successfully built, see an answer below which explains
how to install it with LILO or Loadlin, or make a new bootdisk from it.
Once you've done that, you might want to clean up /usr/src/linux by cd'ing
into it and doing another 'make clean'.
Good luck! If you can handle this, you're well on your way to becoming a
Linux guru.
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Q: I got a PROBLEM_WITH_INEWS_DOMAIN_FILE!
A: Then set your hostname in /etc/NNTP_INEWS_DOMAIN.
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Q: Why do I get "network unreachable" under Slackware?
A: There are a couple of possibilities. For most users, things work right out
of the box. However, if you're running into this problem here are two
workarounds you can try:
1. Reverse the broadcast and netmask arguments (and their variables)
in the call to ifconfig in /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1. Make sure you are
not trying to route your own IP address - you shouldn't have to.
2. Make sure /etc/networks is properly configured.
3. You may want to try the 'netconfig' script (in the package netcfg.tgz).
It's not perfect, but does a pretty good job.
4. Make sure the kernel you're using supports your hardware. Most of the
kernels provided with Slackware include a /boot/config.in file where you
can look up the compilation options.
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Q: Why the $%#@! isn't my UltraStor SCSI detected? It works under DOS!
A: Set the I/O address to 0x340 instead to 0x330.
For any hardware that doesn't work, a good rule is to try playing around
with the IRQ and I/O settings on it to see what happens. If your system
is up and running and you're having problems with a CD-ROM or tape or
something like this, you can always look around for the driver source in
/usr/src/linux/drivers... really, it won't bite! Often, the source
contains important documentation, such as the default IRQ settings for
that type of device, and the major number for the entry in /dev. Also,
try other bootkernels and see if that helps.
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Q: My large (> 1/2 gig) IDE drive reports more than 16 heads, and as a
result Linux won't install on it. What can I do?
A: See the file EIDE.TXT for instructions on how to make it work. (Thanks to
Bob DiMarco for forwarding this to me, and Patrick LoPresti for compiling
the information in the first place)
Note that newer kernels (> 1.1.40) will do this translation for you
automatically, and thus make the workaround unnecessary. Once these new
kernels make it into the Q series, you should probably use one of them if
you have an EIDE drive and want to avoid the whole problem.
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Q: How do I make a Slackware bootkernel disk with this new kernel I made?
A: OK, well you grab an existing one like the "bare.gz", put it on a floppy,
and do this:
mount /dev/fd0 /mnt (this mounts it)
cat zImage > /mnt/vmlinuz (put the new kernel in place)
rdev -R /mnt/vmlinuz 0 (mount read-write)
rdev /mnt/vmlinuz /dev/fd0H1440 (use that drive, or /dev/fd0h1200)
rdev -r /mnt/vmlinuz 1440 (set the ramdisk size, or use 1200 with 1.2 meg)
lilo -r /mnt (reinstall lilo)
umount /mnt (that's it! you're done! :^)
If you want it to stop and give the message to switch disks, you'll need the
ramdisk.c patch in /pub/linux/slackware/kernels on ftp.cdrom.com. I have no
idea if this will still patch into the newest kernels. Otherwise, you don't
really need it if you're brave enough to just switch the new disk in as soon
as you see the "Uncompressing Linux..." message. It's always worked for me.
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Q: My backspace is acting strangely under X? How can I fix it?
A: Well, I've never noticed a real problem, but I occasionally hear
about this. You might want to try adding this to your .Xmodmap in
/usr/X11/lib/X11/xinit or $HOME:
keycode 22 = BackSpace
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Q: I just built a new kernel. Now how to I go about replacing my existing
kernel with this new zImage file?
A: First, you must prepare the new kernel. If you're using UMSDOS, you'll want
your system to boot read-write. Otherwise, you'll want it to boot read-only
so your filesystems can be safely checked. So, do this:
For UMSDOS:
rdev -R zImage 0
For any other filesystem type:
rdev -R zImage 1
Then, you'll need to set the root partition. For example, if your root
Linux partition is /dev/hda2, you'd do this:
rdev zImage /dev/hda2
Then, you can set a video mode if you like. As an example, this sets normal
80x25 console mode:
rdev -v zImage -1
Other modes include: -3 = Prompt, -2 = Extended VGA. You might need to
remove a line in your /etc/lilo.conf that forces normal video if you use
LILO and wish to try an extended video mode.
Next, you need to install the kernel. If you boot from a floppy disk, you
can simply stick a formatted floppy into your drive and write the zImage
to it like this:
cat zImage > /dev/fd0
If you use lilo, you should copy the zImage to where your lilo.conf expects
it to be and then reinstall lilo. This should work if you used Slackware's
liloconfig script to set up LILO. (this is the script setup uses)
cp zImage /vmlinuz ; lilo
You may wish to back up your existing /vmlinuz first.
If you use Loadlin, copy the kernel to your DOS partition where Loadlin can
see it (if you use UMSDOS, you won't need to do this). Then, start Linux
from DOS like this:
c:\loadlin\loadlin.exe c:\linux\vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2
That should do it.
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Q: Why can't I cut and paste from elvis (vi) in an xterm?
A: Later versions of elvis use the mouse for cursor positioning instead. If
you want to cut and paste, hold the left shift key down while you use the
mouse.
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Q: Why doesn't my bus mouse work? The kernel, selection, the
X server and test-mouse all say "no such device."
A: The kernels distributed with Slackware don't have the drivers for
busmice compiled in. Last time I tried to include all of them there
were horrible driver conflicts -- better to leave them out if they
can't coexist. Obviously, it's not feasible for me to provide
versions of every precompiled kernel for each type of busmouse. I
only have a 386. ;^)
The solution is to get the kernel sources, configure the kernel to
support the your type of mouse and no other mouse devices, and rebuild
it. Documentation on how to do this is included in the kernel
source, i.e. the kernel.tgz package found in the D series. You will
also need at least the gcc.tgz, include.tgz, libc.tgz, and binutils.tgz
packages from the D series to rebuild the kernel.
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Q: I see my SoundBlaster/Panasonic CD-ROM detected at boot, but I can't
install from it or mount it. What's going on?
A. Try setting to drive's ID to 0. This is expected by the install disks.
There should be a jumper on the back of the drive that selects this --
just move it to the leftmost position.
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Q: I'm using UMSDOS and would like to use the same swapspace under Windows
and Linux. Can this be done?
A: If you want to share a Linux-UMSDOS swapfile with MS-Windows, you can
do the following:
1. Create PERMANENT(!) swap file in MS-Windows with size NNNN kbytes.
2. In /etc/rc.d/rc.local add the following lines:
rm -f /DOS/windows/spart.par <--- Needed in order to suppress
Windows complain on next start!
mkswap /DOS/386spart.par NNNN
sync
swapon /DOS/386spart.par
3.In /etc/rc.d/rc.0 add "swapoff" for this file.
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Q: What's the password for root on the install disk?
A: There isn't one. If you're asked for one, it usually means that you
don't have enough memory to install.
To help work around this, look in your CMOS settings and make sure you don't
have any ROM shadowing enabled. ROM shadowing wastes memory and won't
improve the performance of Linux. Also, make sure you're using the smallest
bootkernel disk you can. For example, you don't need to use "scsinet" if
you're not installing to a SCSI drive via NFS. Use something small -- the
"bare" disk if you can get away with it. Some people mistakenly think they
need to use a bootkernel disk with network drivers if they plan to use
networking after installation. Not so! The drivers on the bootkernel disk
have no impact on what you can use *after* installation -- in almost all
cases you won't be running the same kernel on your installed system as
you used to install it.
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Q: How can I install and remove software now that the Slackware Linux
distribution is installed on my machine?
A: To remove packages, type "pkgtool" and follow the prompts. Pkgtool will
also allow you to add packages that are in the current directory.
The preferred way to install software is with the "setup" script.
When you do your initial installation, setup puts a copy of itself in your
/sbin for future use. You can also add software to your machine using the
boot/install disk, if you really want to.
When adding software to a running system via NFS, it is preferable to
mount the partition yourself and then use the 'install from a mounted
directory' feature of setup.
There are also command line utilities that allow you to create, install,
and remove packages. For these, you should refer to the manpages:
installpkg(8), removepkg(8), makepkg(8), explodepkg(8). A simple example
of how you would install a package with installpkg:
installpkg package.tgz
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Q. How do I know what files setup/pkgtool/installpkg is putting where ?
A. Look around in /var/adm/packages.
Similarly, you can find installation scripts for each package in
/var/adm/scripts.
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Q: I set my partitions to "Linux native" but Slackware still won't detect
them! What can I do?
A: This problem is rare and I still don't know what causes it.
[ Note that this is not the same problem that usually affects the IBM PS/1,
Thinkpad, and similar machines that do not detect the harddrive. If you've
got one of these machines, and fdisk is giving you problems, your answer is
still ahead :^) ]
Here's a workaround you can use to install anyway:
1. Start tty12 or tty144 using one of the bootkernel disks.
2. Make and format partitions for Linux.
3. Mount the target partitions under /mnt.
4. Type "setup -target_mounted"
5. Follow the rest of the instructions to install.
6. Type "vi /mnt/etc/fstab" and enter an appropriate fstab.
As an example, here's what mine contains:
/dev/hdb2 swap swap defaults
/dev/hda2 / ext2 defaults
/dev/hda3 /usr xiafs defaults
/dev/hda1 /dos msdos defaults
/dev/hdb1 /os2 msdos defaults
none /proc proc defaults
To give you some more info about this file, the first field is the
partition to be mounted, the second is where it should be mounted, the
third is the filesystem type, and the last field is the options to use.
Unless you're a Linux wizard, just set this to "defaults".
Other things to remember about this file:
- Make sure that you list the root partition before any other partitions
that are mounted beneath it.
- Add the /proc line, or "ps", "w", etc, won't work.
- It's a good idea to put a blank line at the end of the file, as I've
had reports that partitions listed on the last line might not be
mounted.
7. Once you've made and saved this file you can reboot with ctrl-alt-delete.
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Q: I have a (PS/1 || Valuepoint || Thinkpad), and can't install because fdisk
can't see my hard drive. How can I get around this?
A: You'll need to enter your drive parameters at the bootkernel prompt. You
can even specify the geometry for your second IDE drive by supplying a
second hd= parameter right after the first one.
When you boot the bootkernel disk, you'll see more information about the
format used to pass your drive parameters to the kernel at the LILO prompt
and allow your drive to be recognized.
You'll have to edit your lilo.conf file to add a similar hd= flag if you
want LILO to work. Add this as the TOP line in the file:
append="hd=cyl,hds,secs"
Where "cyl", "hds", and "secs" are the number of cylinders, sectors,
and heads on the drive.
If you have two IDE drives, specify both drives (like this):
append="hd=967,13,31 hd=944,14,40"
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Q: Why do my /etc/issue and /etc/motd keep resetting themselves at boot time?
A: The /etc/rc.d/rc.S resets them out every time you boot after figuring out
which kernel you're running -- otherwise the kernel version printed at login
might not stay current.
If you want to write your own /etc/issue and /etc/motd, you need to comment
out that part of /etc/rc.d/rc.S.
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Q: Emacs dumps core, complains of a missing library, or lacks X11 support! Why?
A: The GNU Emacs series includes your choice of a version with X11 support, or
one without. Make sure you have the right binary for your machine.
The binary supporting X11 is installed as part of a package on the first
disk that you'll need to install whether you want X11 support or not. If
you DO NOT want X11 support, install the package 'emac_nox.tgz' on the last
disk of the Emacs series.
If you just install all of the disks, you don't get X11 support. It had to
be one way or the other, so if you're not paying attention when you install
at least this way it will run no matter what.
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Q: Why do my compiles sometimes die with 'signal 11: internal compiler error'?
A: This indicates a hardware problem in about 99% of the cases. It can usually
be fixed by increasing the number of wait states in the CMOS settings. It
can almost always be fixed by turning off the RAM cache, but this should be
your last resort since it will cause a noticeable slowdown.
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Q: How can I change (or get rid of) the color ls?
A: Read the man page, and check out the file /etc/DIR_COLORS. You can
configure the colors any way you like, or shut them off entirely. Also, you
can copy /etc/DIR_COLORS into your home directory as '.dir_colors' to
override the global defaults on a user by user basis.
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Q: I start X with "openwin" and it works OK, but I can't switch virtual
consoles. Why?
A: On a Linux text screen, you switch virtual consoles with Alt-F1 through
Alt-F8. Under XFree-86, you must use Ctrl-Alt-F1 through Ctrl-Alt-F8.
Another useful 'secret' key combination is RightShift-PgUp/PgDown for
scrollback. (a random amount ranging from none to a few pages, depending
on the state of your video text buffer memory)
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Q: Why can't I use the new ghostscript with X?
A: Make sure you have gs_x11.tgz from disk XAP1 installed.
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Q: I can't get anything to work at all! What's the deal?
A: If you seem to suffer catastrophic failure (!), then check the file FILE_LIST
on ftp.cdrom.com in /pub/linux/slackware against the contents of your disks
and make sure you're not missing any files.
Also, I've noticed that most of the reports of kernel panics and system
hangs have come from people with 4MB. If you're running into these types
of problems I'd suggest forking over the $$$ for 4 more meg. I have 8 MB of
RAM and never have crashes. (well, only when I really push my luck)
If you don't want to do that, then go through your /etc/rc.d/rc.* files and
get rid of any daemons you don't use, like crond, lpd, or selection.
If you've got 4 MB and you're getting 'virtual memory exceeded in new'
warnings, make sure you set up and activate a swap partition before running
setup. If you're really hard up on memory, you can boot a rootdisk using
'editroot' instead of one of the usual boot kernels. This will mount the
floppy in the root drive, and you'll have to install from the other drive
or from the hard drive. You will also not be able to create any kind of boot
disk, so you'll have to install LILO and take your chances. I only suggest
using this approach if a swapfile will not work.
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Q: How do I make a bootkernel disk that uses a custom kernel?
A: Look in the ./kernels subdirectory. You'll find complete instructions
on how to make them in there.
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Also - at ftp.gwdg.de:/pub/linux/install-mount/slack-info are some more
networking hints.
In addition, the LDP people have put out an excellent set of manuals that I
may include in a future Slackware release. These are available on
sunsite.unc.edu in /pub/Linux/docs/LDP.
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Patrick Volkerding
[email protected]
[email protected]
