Installing the Software

# 4 Installing the Software

Contents of this section

In this section we'll describe how to prepare your system for installing Slackware, and finally how to go about installing it.

## 4.1 Repartitioning

On most systems, the hard drive is already dedicated to partitions for MS-DOS, OS/2, and so on. You need to resize these partitions in order to make space for Linux.

NOTE: If you use one of the `umsds` root diskettes, you can install Slackware TO a directory on your MS-DOS partition. (This is different than installing FROM an MS-DOS partition.) Instead, you use the ``UMSDOS filesystem'', which allows you to treat a directory of your MS-DOS partition as a Linux filesystem. In this way, you don't have to repartition your drive.

I only suggest using this method if your drive has four partitions and repartitioning would be more trouble than it's worth. Or, if you want to try Slackware out before repartitioning, this is a good way to do so. But in most cases you should repartition, as described here. If you do plan to use UMSDOS, you are on your own---it is not documented in detail here. From now on, we assume that you are NOT using UMSDOS, and that you will be repartitioning.

A partition is just a section of the hard drive set aside for a particular operating system to use. If you only have MS-DOS installed, your hard drive probably has just one partition, entirely for MS-DOS. To use Linux, however, you'll need to repartition the drive, so that you have one partition for MS-DOS, and one (or more) for Linux.

Partitions come in three flavors: primary, extended, and logical. Briefly, primary partitions are one of the four main partitions on your drive. However, if you wish to have more than four partitions per drive, you need to create an extended partition, which can contain many logical partitions. You don't store data directly on an extended partition---it is used only as a container for logical partitions. Data is stored only on either primary or logical partitions.

To put this another way, most people use only primary partitions. However, if you need more than four partitions on a drive, you create an extended partition. Logical partitions are then created on top of the extended partition, and there you have it---more than four partitions per drive.

Note that you can easily install Linux on the second drive on your system (known as `D:` to MS-DOS). You simply specify the appropriate device name when creating Linux partitions. This is described in detail below.

Back to repartitioning your drive: The problem with resizing partitions is that there is no way to do it (easily) without deleting the data on those partitions. Therefore, you will need to make a full backup of your system before repartitioning. In order to resize a partition, we simply delete the partition(s), and re-create them with smaller sizes.

NOTE: There is a non-destructive disk repartitioner available for MS-DOS, called FIPS. Look on `sunsite.unc.edu` in the directory `/pub/Linux/system/Install`. With FIPS, a disk optimizer (such as Norton Speed Disk), and a little bit of luck, you should be able to resize MS-DOS partitions without destroying the data on them. It's still suggested that you make a full backup before attempting this.

If you're not using FIPS, however, the classic way to modify partitions is with the program `FDISK`. For example, let's say that you have an 80 meg hard drive, dedicated to MS-DOS. You'd like to split it in half---40 megs for MS-DOS and 40 megs for Linux. In order to do this, you run `FDISK` under MS-DOS, delete the 80 meg MS-DOS partition, and re-create a 40 meg MS-DOS partition in its place. You can then format the new partition and reinstall your MS-DOS software from backups. 40 megabytes of the drive is left empty. Later, you create Linux partitions on the unused portion of the drive.

In short, you should do the following to resize MS-DOS partitions with FDISK:

1. Make a full backup of your system.
2. Create an MS-DOS bootable floppy, using a command such as

   > `FORMAT /S A:`

3. Copy the files `FDISK.EXE` and `FORMAT.COM` to this floppy, as well as any other utilities that you need. (For example, utilities to recover your system from backup.)
4. Boot the MS-DOS system floppy.
5. Run `FDISK`, possibly specifying the drive to modify (such as `C:` or `D:`).
6. Use the `FDISK` menu options to delete the partitions which you wish to resize. This will destroy all data on the affected partitions.
7. Use the `FDISK` menu options to re-create those partitions, with smaller sizes.
8. Exit `FDISK` and re-format the new partitions with the `FORMAT` command.
9. Restore the original files from backup.

Note that MS-DOS `FDISK` will give you an option to create a ``logical DOS drive''. A logical DOS drive is just a logical partition on your hard drive. You can install Linux on a logical partition, but you don't want to create that logical partition with MS-DOS fdisk. So, if you're currently using a logical DOS drive, and want to install Linux in its place, you should delete the logical drive with MS-DOS `FDISK`, and (later) create a logical partition for Linux in its place.

The mechanism used to repartition for OS/2 and other operating systems is similar. See the documentation for those operating systems for details.

## 4.2 Creating partitions for Linux

After repartitioning your drive, you need to create partitions for Linux. Before describing how to do that, we'll talk about partitions and filesystems under Linux.

### Filesystems and swap space

Linux requires at least one partition, for the root filesystem, which will hold the Linux software itself.

You can think of a filesystem as a partition formatted for Linux. Filesystems are used to hold files. Every system must have a root filesystem, at least. However, many users prefer to use multiple filesystems---one for each major part of the directory tree. For example, you may wish to create a separate filesystem to hold all files under the `/usr` directory. (Note that on UNIX systems, forward slashes are used to delimit directories, not backslashes as with MS-DOS.) In this case you have both a root filesystem, and a `/usr` filesystem.

Each filesystem requires its own partition. Therefore, if you're using both root and `/usr` filesystems, you'll need to create two Linux partitions.

In addition, most users create a swap partition, which is used for virtual RAM. If you have, say, 4 megabytes of memory on your machine, and a 10-megabyte swap partition, as far as Linux is concerned you have 14 megabytes of virtual memory.

When using swap space, Linux moves unused pages of memory out to disk, allowing you to run more applications at once on your system. However, because swapping is often slow, it's no replacement for real physical RAM. But applications that require a great deal of memory (such as the X Window System) often rely on swap space if you don't have enough physical RAM.

Nearly all Linux users employ a swap partition. If you have 4 megabytes of RAM or less, a swap partition is required to install the software. It is strongly recommended that you have a swap partition anyway, unless you have a great amount of physical RAM.

The size of your swap partition depends on how much virtual memory you need. It's often suggested that you have at least 16 megabytes of virtual memory total. Therefore, if you have 8 megs of physical RAM, you might want to create an 8-megabyte swap partition. Note that swap partitions can be no larger than 128 megabytes in size. Therefore, if you need more than 128 megs of swap, you must create multiple swap partitions. You may have up to 16 swap partitions in all.

### Booting the installation disk

### Specifying hardware parameters

The first step is to boot the Slackware bootdisk. After the system boots, you will see the message:

> `

>     Welcome to the Slackware Linux 2.0.0 Bootkernel disk!

> `

Here, you are given the opportunity to specify various hardware parameters, such as your SCSI controller IRQ and address, or drive geometry, before booting the Linux kernel. This is necessary in case Linux does not detect your SCSI controller or hard drive geometry, for example.

In particular, many BIOS-less SCSI controllers require you to specify the port address and IRQ at boot time. Likewise, IBM PS/1, ThinkPad, and ValuePoint machines do not store drive geometry in the CMOS, and you must specify it at boot time.

To try booting the kernel without any special parameters, just press `enter` at the boot prompt.

Watch the messages as the system boots. If you have a SCSI controller, you should see a listing of the SCSI hosts detected. If you see the message

> `

>     SCSI: 0 hosts

> `

Then your SCSI controller was not detected, and you will have to use the following procedure.

Also, the system will display information on the drive partitions and devices detected. If any of this information is incorrect or missing, you will have to force hardware detection.

On the other hand, if all goes well and you hardware seems to be detected, you can skip to the following section, ``Loading the root disk.''

To force hardware detection, you must enter the appropriate parameters at the boot prompt, using the following syntax:

> `

>     ramdisk <parameters...>

> `

There are a number of such parameters available; here are some of the most common.

- `hd=cylinders,heads,sectors` Specify the drive geometry. Required for systems such as the IBM PS/1, ValuePoint, and ThinkPad. For example, if your drive has 683 cylinders, 16 heads, and 32 sectors per track, enter

  > `

  >     ramdisk hd=683,16,32

  > `

- `tmc8xx=memaddr,irq` Specify address and IRQ for BIOS-less Future Domain TMC-8xx SCSI controller. For example,

  > `

  >     ramdisk tmc8xx=0xca000,5

  > `

  Note that the `0x` prefix must be used for all values given in hex. This is true for all of the following options.
- `st0x=memaddr,irq` Specify address and IRQ for BIOS-less Seagate ST02 controller.
- `t128=memaddr,irq` Specify address and IRQ for BIOS-less Trantor T128B controller.
- `ncr5380=port,irq,dma` Specify port, IRQ, and DMA channel for generic NCR5380 controller.
- `aha152x=port,irq,scsi_id,1` Specify port, IRQ, and SCSI ID for BIOS-less AIC-6260 controllers. This includes Adaptec 1510, 152x, and Soundblaster-SCSI controllers.

For each of these, you must enter ``ramdisk`' followed by the parameter that you wish to use.

If you have questions about these boot-time options, please read the Linux SCSI HOWTO, which should be available on any Linux FTP archive site (or from wherever you obtained this document). The SCSI HOWTO explains Linux SCSI compatibility in much more detail.

### Loading the rootdisk

After booting the kernel, you will be prompted to enter the Slackware root disk:

> `

>     Please remove the boot kernel disk from your floppy drive,
>     insert a disk to be loaded into the ramdisk, and press
>     [enter] to continue.

> `

At this point you should remove the bootdisk from the drive and insert the rootdisk. Then press `enter` to go on.

The rootdisk will be loaded into memory, and you should be presented with a login prompt. Login as ```root`''.

> `

>     slackware login: root
>     #

> `

### Using `fdisk`

To create Linux partitions, we'll use the Linux version of the `fdisk` program. After logging in as root, run the command

> `fdisk drive`

where drive is the name of the drive that you wish to create Linux partitions on. Hard drive device names are:

- `/dev/hda` First IDE drive
- `/dev/hdb` Second IDE drive
- `/dev/sda` First SCSI drive
- `/dev/sdb` Second SCSI drive

For example, to create Linux partitions on the first SCSI drive in your system, use the command

> `fdisk /dev/sda`

If you use `fdisk` without an argument, it will assume `/dev/hda`.

To create Linux partitions on the second drive on your system, simply specify either `/dev/hdb` (for IDE drives) or `/dev/sdb` (for SCSI drives) when running `fdisk`.

Your Linux partitions don't all have to be on the same drive. You might want to create your root filesystem partition on `/dev/hda` and your swap partition on `/dev/hdb`, for example. In order to do so just run `fdisk` once for each drive.

Use of `fdisk` is simple. The command ```p`'' displays your current partition table. ```n`'' creates a new partition, and ```d`'' deletes a partition.

To Linux, partitions are given a name based on the drive which they belong to. For example, the first partition on the drive `/dev/hda` is `/dev/hda1`, the second is `/dev/hda2`, and so on. If you have any logical partitions, they are numbered starting with `/dev/hda5`, `/dev/hda6` and so on up.

NOTE: You should not create or delete partitions for operating systems other than Linux with Linux `fdisk`. That is, don't create or delete MS-DOS partitions with this version of `fdisk`; use MS-DOS's version of `FDISK` instead. If you try to create MS-DOS partitions with Linux `fdisk`, chances are MS-DOS will not recognize the partition and not boot correctly.

Here's an example of using `fdisk`. Here, we have a single MS-DOS partition using 61693 blocks on the drive, and the rest of the drive is free for Linux. (Under Linux, one block is 1024 bytes. Therefore, 61693 blocks is about 61 megabytes.) We will create two Linux partitions: one for swap, and one for the root filesystem.

First, we use the ```p`'' command to display the current partition table. As you can see, `/dev/hda1` (the first partition on `/dev/hda`) is a DOS partition of 61693 blocks.

    Command (m for help):   p
    Disk /dev/hda: 16 heads, 38 sectors, 683 cylinders
    Units = cylinders of 608 * 512 bytes

         Device Boot  Begin   Start     End  Blocks   Id  System
      /dev/hda1   *       1       1     203   61693    6  DOS 16-bit >=32M

    Command (m for help):

Next, we use the ```n`'' command to create a new partition. The Linux root partition will be 80 megs in size.

    Command (m for help):  n
    Command action
        e   extended
        p   primary partition (1-4)
    p

Here we're being asked if we want to create an extended or primary partition. In most cases you want to use primary partitions, unless you need more than four partitions on a drive. See the section ``Repartitioning'', above, for more information.

    Partition number (1-4): 2
    First cylinder (204-683):  204
    Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (204-683): +80M

The first cylinder should be the cylinder AFTER where the last partition left off. In this case, `/dev/hda1` ended on cylinder 203, so we start the new partition at cylinder 204.

As you can see, if we use the notation ```+80M`'', it specifies a partition of 80 megs in size. Likewise, the notation ```+80K`'' would specify an 80 kilobyte partition, and ```+80`'' would specify just an 80 byte partition.

    Warning: Linux cannot currently use 33090 sectors of this partition

If you see this warning, you can ignore it. It is left over from an old restriction that Linux filesystems could only be 64 megs in size. However, with newer filesystem types, that is no longer the case... partitions can now be up to 4 terabytes in size.

Next, we create our 10 megabyte swap partition, `/dev/hda3`.

    Command (m for help): n
    Command action
        e   extended
        p   primary partition (1-4)
    p

    Partition number (1-4): 3
    First cylinder (474-683):  474
    Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (474-683):  +10M

Again, we display the contents of the partition table. Be sure to write down the information here, especially the size of each partition in blocks. You need this information later.

    Command (m for help): p
    Disk /dev/hda: 16 heads, 38 sectors, 683 cylinders
    Units = cylinders of 608 * 512 bytes

         Device Boot  Begin   Start     End  Blocks   Id  System
      /dev/hda1   *       1       1     203   61693    6  DOS 16-bit >=32M
      /dev/hda2         204     204     473   82080   83  Linux native
      /dev/hda3         474     474     507   10336   83  Linux native

Note that the Linux swap partition (here, `/dev/hda3`) has type ``Linux native''. We need to change the type of the swap partition to ``Linux swap'' so that the installation program will recognize it as such. In order to do this, use the `fdisk` ```t`'' command:

    Command (m for help): t
    Partition number (1-4): 3
    Hex code (type L to list codes): 82

If you use ```L`'' to list the type codes, you'll find that 82 is the type corresponding to Linux swap.

To quit `fdisk` and save the changes to the partition table, use the ```w`'' command. To quit `fdisk` WITHOUT saving changes, use the ```q`'' command.

After quitting `fdisk`, the system may tell you to reboot to make sure that the changes took effect. In general there is no reason to reboot after using `fdisk`---the version of `fdisk` on the Slackware distribution is smart enough to update the partitions without rebooting.

## 4.3 Preparing the swap space

If you have 4 megabytes of RAM (or less) in your machine, you need to create a swap partition (using `fdisk`) and enable it for use before installing the software. Here, we describe how to format and enable your swap partition(s).

If you have more than 4 megs of RAM, you need only create your partition(s)---it's not necessary to format and enable them before installing the software. In this case you can skip down to the section ``Installing the Software''.

If you get any ```out of memory`'' errors during the installation procedure you should create a swap partition and enable it as described here.

To prepare the swap space for use, we use the `mkswap` command. It takes the form:

> `mkswap -c partition size`

where partition is the partition name, such as `/dev/hda3`, and size is the size of the partition in blocks.

For example, if you created the swap partition `/dev/hda3` of size 10336 blocks, use the command

> `mkswap -c /dev/hda3 10336`

The `-c` option tells mkswap to check for bad blocks on the partition when preparing the swap space. If you see any ```read_intr`'' error messages during the mkswap operation, this means that bad blocks were found (and flagged). So you can ignore these errors.

To enable swapping on the new device, use the command

> `swapon partition`

For example, for our swap space on `/dev/hda3`, we use

> `swapon /dev/hda3`

We're now swapping with about 10 megabytes more virtual memory.

You should execute `mkswap` and `swapon` for each swap partition that you created.

## 4.4 Installing the software

Installing the Slackware release is very simple; it's almost automatic. You use the `setup` command, which guides you through a series of menus which allow you to specify the means of installation, the partitions to use, and so forth. Almost everything is automatic.

Here, we're not going to document many of the specifics of using `setup`, because it changes from time to time. `setup` is very self-explanatory; it contains its own documentation. Just to give you an idea of what it's like, however, we'll describe what most installations are like using `setup`.

Before you begin, be sure that you have a high-density MS-DOS formatted floppy on hand. You will use this floppy to create a Linux boot diskette.

After running `fdisk` (and, perhaps, `mkswap` and `swapon` as described above), issue the command

> `# setup`

This will present you with a colourful menu with various options such as ``Addswap'' (to set up your swap space), ``Source'' (to specify the source of the software to install, such as floppy or hard drive), ``Target'' (to specify where to install the software), and so on.

In general, you should go through the menu commands in the following order:

1. Addswap. If you created a swap partition (using `fdisk`), use the `addswap` menu option to tell the system about it. This option will present you with a list of possible swap partitions; just type in the name of the swap partition(s) that you wish to use (such as `/dev/hda3`). The system will then ask you if you want to format the swap partition, which you should do unless you already ran `mkswap` and `swapon` on it. That is, you should format the swap partition unless you already formatted and enabled it by hand as described in the previous section.
2. Source. This menu option lets you specify the source for the software to install. You can select several means of installation, such as from floppy or from hard drive. If you are installing from floppies, the system will ask you which floppy drive to use. If you are installing from hard drive, the system will ask you what partition the files are stored on, and what directory they are in. For example, if you are installing from an MS-DOS partition on your hard drive, and the Slackware files are under the directory `C:\SLACKWAR`, you should enter the name of the MS-DOS partition (such as `/dev/hda1`) and the name of the directory (such as `/slackwar`). Note that you should use forward slashes (`/`), not backslashes (`\`), in the directory name. There are other means of installation, such as CD-ROM. These should be self-explanatory as well.
3. Target. This menu item lets you specify what partition(s) to install the software on. The system will display a list of possible partitions. First you will be asked to enter the name of the root partition, such as `/dev/hda2`. You will be asked if you want to format the partition; unless you are installing on a partition previously formatted for Linux you should do so. You should use the Second Extended Filesystem (`ext2fs`) type for the partition. You will also be given a chance to use additional partitions for different parts of the directory tree. For example, if you created a separate partition for the `/usr` filesystem, you should enter the name of that partition and the directory that it corresponds to (`/usr`) when asked.
4. Disksets. This option allows you to specify the disksets you wish to install. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the list; pressing the spacebar selects or deselects a set. Press `return` when you're done selecting disk sets. You may wish to only install a minimal system at this time. That's fine. Only the `A` diskset is required. After you have installed the software you may run `setup` to install other disksets.
5. Install. After setting up all of the parameters above, you're ready to install the software. First the system will ask you what type of prompting to use; you should use the ``normal'' prompting method (unless you're an expert and have modified the installation tagfiles in some way). The system will simply go through each disk set and install the software. For each software package, a dialog box will be displayed describing the software. Software packages that are required will be installed automatically. For optional software packages you will be given the option of either installing or not installing the package. (If you don't wish to install a certain package now, you can always use `setup` on your system to install it later). While the software is installing, watch out for error messages that may be displayed. The most common error that you're likely to run into is ```device full`'', which means that you have run out of space on your Linux partitions. Unfortunately, the Slackware installation procedure is not quite smart enough to detect this, and will attempt to continue installing the software regardless. If you get any kind of error messages during the installation procedure, you may wish to break out of the installation program (using `Ctrl-C`) to record them. The only solution for the ```device full`'' problem is to re-create your Linux partitions with different sizes, or attempt to reinstall the software without several of the optional software packages.

## 4.5 After installation

After installation is complete, and if all goes well, you will be given the option of creating a ``standard boot disk'', which you can use to boot your newly-installed Linux system. For this you will need a blank, high-density MS-DOS formatted diskette of the type that you boot with on your system. Simply insert the disk when prompted and a boot diskette will be created.

You will also be given the chance to install LILO on your hard drive. LILO (which stands for LInux LOader) is a program that will allow you to boot Linux (as well as other operating systems, such as MS-DOS) from your hard drive. If you wish to do this, just select the appropriate menu option and follow the prompts.

If you are using OS/2's Boot Manager, the menu will include an option for configuring LILO for use with the Boot Manager, so that you can boot Linux from it.

Note that this automated LILO installation procedure is not foolproof; there are situations in which this can fail. Be sure that you have a way to boot MS-DOS, Linux, and other operating systems from floppy before you attempt to install LILO. If the LILO installation fails you will be able to boot your system from floppy and correct the problem.

More information on configuring LILO is given below.

The postinstallation procedure will also take you through several menu items allowing you to configure your system. This includes specifying your modem and mouse device, as well as your time zone. Just follow the menu options.

## 4.6 Booting your new system

If everything went as planned, you should be able to boot your Linux boot floppy (not the Slackware installation floppy, but the floppy created after installing the software). Or, if you installed LILO, you should be able to boot from the hard drive. After booting, login as `root`. Congratulations! You have your very own Linux system.

If you are booting using LILO, try holding down `shift` or `control` during boot. This will present you with a boot prompt; press `tab` to see a list of options. In this way you can boot Linux, MS-DOS, or whatever directly from LILO.

After booting your system and logging in as root, one of the first things you should do is create an account for yourself. The `adduser` command may be used for this purpose. For example,

> `

>     # adduser
>     Login to add (^C to quit): ebersol
>     Full Name: Norbert Ebersol
>     GID [100]: 100
>     UID [501]: 501
>     Home Directory [/home/ebersol]: /home/ebersol
>     Shell [/bin/bash]: /bin/bash
>     Password [ebersol]: new.password

>     Information for new user [ebersol]:
>     Home directory: [/home/ebersol]  Shell: [/bin/bash]
>     Password: [new.password]  UID: [502] GID:[100]
>     Is this correct? [y/n]: y

> `

`adduser` will prompt you for various parameters, such as the username, full name, GID (group ID), UID (user ID), and so on. For the most part you can use the defaults. If you're unfamiliar with creating users on a UNIX system, I strongly suggest getting a book on UNIX systems administration. It will help you greatly in setting up and using your new system.

You can now login as the new user. You can use the keys `Alt-F1` through `Alt-F8` to switch between virtual consoles, which will allow you to login multiple times from the console. The `passwd` command can be used to set the passwords on your new accounts; you should set a password for `root` and any new users that you create.

Also, the hostname of your machine is set at boot time in the file `/etc/rc.d/rc.M`. You should edit this file (as `root`) to change the hostname of the machine. You should edit the lines in this file which run the commands `hostname` or `hostname_notcp`. (The default hostname is `slackware`.) You may also wish to edit the `domainname` commands in this file, if you are on a TCP/IP network.

Obviously, there are many more things to setup and configure. A good book on UNIX systems administration should help. (I suggest Essential Systems Administration from O'Reilly and Associates.) You will pick these things up as time goes by. You should read various other Linux HOWTOs, such as the NET-2-HOWTO and Printing-HOWTO, for information on other configuration tasks.

After that, the system is all yours... have fun!

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