Slackware Linux 12.1
From MSI WInd User wiki
Contents |
Overview
Slackware Linux 12.1 works well on Wind after upgrading the kernel and install wifi driver.
Official website: http://www.slackware.com
Install Slackware Linux 12.1
Installing Slackware Linux on MSI Wind is easy.
If you have an external CD/DVD drive, nothing new, you can connect it to usb port and follow the traditional procedure, using a Slackware 12.1 DVD and settign your wind for booting from usb drive.
If you haven't an external CD/DVD drive, as I think, you can follow the instructions for installing Linux from usb storage drive and learn something more about it.
In this case you need two usb devices. An usb pen drive to make it bootable and allow you to have a linux prompt in order to launch setup program; A usb drive sufficently large to contain all slackware packages to install.
Installation
Assuming you have a Slackware 12.1 Linux dvd, at first use the small usb drive to create your Slackware Installer. Plug in your pen drive and go into usb-and-pxe-installers directory in the Slackware dvd. Then, assuming your pen drive is /dev/sda, type at the prompt:
dd if=usbboot.img of=/dev/sda bs=512
Note that all usb data will be erased!!
So you just make Slackware boot installer.
Now you will create the packages directory to install, using the large usb drive. Plug in the usb device and copy within of it the slackware directory of the Slackware dvd. Assuming your dvd is mounted at /mnt/cdrom and your usb drive is mounted at /mnt/sda1, at prompt type:
cp /mnt/cdrom/slackware /mnt/sda1 -r
Now you have all you need to install Slackware Linux without a cdrom/dvd drive.
Now set the Wind Bios to boot from usb device, then reboot with your Slackware installer pen drive (the first we make) plugged in.
Then you can proceed like a normal Slackware installation, making attention to set the target partition on the packages directory of the second usb device we make before.
Now wait the installation ends.
Another way: upgrading from Slackware Linux 12.0
There are great references about upgrading:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-12.1/UPGRADE.TXT/ ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-12.1/CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/howto-upgrade-slackware-12.0-to-12.1-640473/
After Installation
Upgrade Kernel
A workable .config file
I think this is an acceptable tiny config.
Recentely I worked to fix brightness, including cifs support (samba successor) and bringing up iptables settings.
It inlcudes too:
- Sata support
- Card reader support
- Base wifi config (you have to compile driver too)
- Fat/ntfs/iso9660/udf filesystem supports
- ACPI Support
Make wifi card works
1.Download the driver here
2.Extract the file into /usr/src then, assuming you have kernel source,
# cd /usr/src/rtl8187se_linux_26.1016.0716.2008 # ./makedrv
and if it shows error message:
scripts/Makefile.build:46: *** CFLAGS was changed in "/usr/src/rtl8187se_linux_26.1012.0331.2008/ieee80211/Makefile". Fix it to use EXTRA_CFLAGS. Stop.
make sure your kernel version is 2.6.26.
If anything goes right, copy ieee80211/ieee*.ko and rtl8185/r8180.ko into /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ then give depmod -a command
# cp ieee80211/ieee*.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/net/wireless # cp rtl8185/r8180.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ # depmod -a
Webcam
Maybe you don't need to do anything about webcam. But if it doesn't work with the kernel config above, probably you need to update its firmware or you can try to compile a new uvcvudeo module as described following.
New uvcvideo procedure
A way to make webcam work is to checkout newer uvcvideo driver using subversion protocol.
Assuming you are into /usr/src directory, you can obtain uvcvideo driver typing:
svn checkout svn://svn.berlios.de/linux-uvc/linux-uvc/trunk linux-uvc
Then you can check if it's the right driver version for your hardware. You may looking for your webcam id product inside uvc_driver.c file. If you see lines like lsusb output you can compile drivers.
For example: if your webcam lsusb output is something like "... ID 5986:0141..." you may looking for "0141" into uvc_driver.c just downloaded.
To compile it, assuming you are into linux-uvc directory, type make
Now make a backup of original uvcvideo module:
cp /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/media/video/uvc/uvcvideo.ko \ /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/media/video/uvc/uvcvideo.ko.backup
Then copy the new uvcvideo.ko into uvc module directory:
cp uvcvideo.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/media/video/uvc/
Load, then, the new uvcvideo module typing:
modprobe uvcvideo
and run a camera software to see your face :)
Hibernate and Suspend
Pre-setup
To make Suspend and hibernate work you might need to download and install the pm-utils packages from http://www.rlworkman.net/pkgs/12.1/
- Type the following into a terminal:
cat /sys/power/state
You should get:
standby mem disk
- If you got at least mem and disk from the above, you're in good shape.
Suspend
Suspending is really simple; as root do:
pm-suspend
or, if you didn't want to install pm-suspend, you can do it manually by switching to a virtual terminal, (ctrl+alt+F3). You should be given a login shell, log in and type in the following, (you might need to be root)
sync #makes sure any info that needs to be on the disk is on disk. echo -n mem > /sys/power/state
Hibernate
Hibernate is a bit more involved, for basic support, follow this example: Suppose you have a PC, your slackware's root filesystem is on /dev/sda3. Your swap is /dev/sda8. Your lilo.conf should look like this:
image = /boot/vmlinuz root = /dev/sda3 label = Slackware append = "resume=/dev/sda8" initrd=/boot/initrd.gz
The append line is what is important here. Add it. You will also need the initrd line. Then, make a file /etc/mkinitrd.conf
MODULE_LIST="jfs" ROOTDEV="/dev/sda3" ROOTFS="jfs" RESUMEDEV="/dev/sda8"
You will want to switch jfs with whatever filesystem you are using as your root filesystem. e.g. ext3, xfs, etc. Resumedev should be the same like as what you put in the append line for lilo. Then do the following as root:
mkinitrd -c -k 2.6.27-smp -F lilo
2.6.27-smp should be replaced with the name of the kernel you are using from /lib/modules.
You should now be able to hibernate with pm-hibernate.
Synaptics Touchpad
If you know for sure you have the Synaptics touchpad, and are having problems with it working, try the following;
- Step 1: Download the xf86-input-synaptics package. Either compile this from SlackBuilds.org, download it from Slackey.eu, or compile it from source.
- Step 2: If the touchpad doesn't work at all, try the following:
- Look in the /proc/bus/input/devices files; if you don't see a Synaptics touchpad listed, you should see a line that says "H: Handlers=mouse# event#" run "cat /dev/input/mouse# or /dev/input/event#" and move your touchpad, if you get garbled output; edit your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. Find the section for your mouse and the part were it says "/dev/input/mice" or mouse[x] or event[x], change it to the file that gave you the output and restart the X-server. Your mouse should be active now.
- Run "cat /dev/psaux" as root, move around on your touchpad, if it gives garbled output:
edit your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. Find the section for your mouse and the part were it says "/dev/input/mice" or mouse[x] or event[x], change it to "/dev/psaux" and restart the X-server. Your mouse should be active now.
- Try modifying your /etc/modprobe.d/psmouse file, commenting out the line there.
- Step 3: View the /usr/share/docs/xf86-input-synaptics-<version>/INSTALL file for information on setting up the Xorg file.
Appendix
Powertop
Here You can download powetop utility for monitoring cpu load and battery status. It gives to you some suggestion in order to improve charge saving.
