These are questions people ask me quite often. Hopefully now that they're answered here that won't be the case. :^) ----- 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. These suggestions should fix even the most stubborn systems. ----- Q: Why the $%#@! isn't my UltraStor SCSI detected? It works under DOS! A: Set the I/O address to 0x340 instead to 0x330. ----- 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 /etc for future use. You can also add software to your machine using the boot/install disk, if you really want to. If you're adding software via NFS, you should use the bootdisk (for now). ----- 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. You're welcome to send in any affected machines if you want me to get to the bottom of the problem. Here's a workaround you can use to install anyway: 1. Boot the bootdisk. 2. Make and format partitions for Linux. 3. Mount the target partitions under /root. 4. Type "setup -target_mounted" 5. Follow the rest of the instructions to install. 6. Type "vi /root/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. ----- Q: Emacs dumps core, or complains of a missing library! Why? A: Emacs uses one of the X libraries to detect the terminal screen size. Either install the X windows series, or just libX11.so.3.0.1 in /lib. You'll also need to make a link in /lib: ln -sf /lib/libX11.so.3.0.1 /lib/libX11.so.3 ----- Q: How can I change (or get rid of) the color ls? A: There are two ls binaries in Slackware, /bin/ls and /usr/bin/ls. /usr/bin is usually ahead of /bin in the path. The ls in /usr/bin has color on by default, and colorizes files by extension (such as .gz). The one in /bin behaves in a more conventional manner, but can still do color by request. It has different default colors than the /usr/bin/ls, but you can change these. See the man page for details. ----- 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. Also, you cannot switch virtual consoles when using the XS3-0.4.4 server. ----- Q: Why can't I use the new ghostscript with X? A: Make sure you have gs_x11.tgz from disk X 9 installed. ----- 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 and get rid of any daemons you don't use, like crond, lpd, or selection. ----- Q: Why won't the kernel compile? I get an error about an incompatible redeclaration (kernel.h and sched.h, having to do with 'panic') A: 0.99pl13 won't compile under GCC 2.5.2 out-of-the-box. If you don't know how to fix the source, use GCC 2.4.5 instead and you should be ok. ----- Q: I get "bad directory components" when I use "mput *" in ftp. How can this be fixed? A: A workaround for this problem is to use "mput ./*" instead. Hopefully this bug will be fixed in the next versions of the networking programs. ----- Also - at ftp.gwdg.de:/pub/linux/install-mount/slack-info are some more networking hints.