Slackware 10.2 on a laptop: ACPI and even the Alps Touchpad. Part 1
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
By cwwilson721 at 2006-04-02 21:53
The Hardware:
Built in:
Gateway Solo 1450LS Laptop
1.3G Mobile Celeron
256MB 133Mhz SDRAM
20 GB IDE HDD
CDROM/DVD-ROM
3.5" Floppy
2 USB 1.1 ports
AC '97 Intel Modem
Intel Chipset
Allegro 2 Sound
15" 1024x768 LCD + external monitor port
Intel i830m AGP Graphics
Synaptics Touchpad
Intel PRO 10/100 Ethernet
External:
USB Wireless Mouse
D-Link DWL-650P1 Wireless B PCMCIA card (Prism2 Chipset)
USB Flashcard Reader (512MB)
Background
I bought this laptop new from Gateway to use on the road (I was driving an over-the-road
truck at the time, and needed it for email and movie watching).
It came with XP Professional and Office XP. After 3 years of abuse, the motherboard
power died. I got the motherboard replaced, and thought that I may as well dump XP
and run Slackware 10.2. I downloaded the first 2 CD's from slackware.com, and started the install.
The Install
I booted CD1 and pressed 'F3' to get the kernel choices. I chose 'bareacpi.i', because I needed
the ACPI functions for the laptop battery and fan.
I chose the default ketboard layout, then looged in as 'root'. I then ran 'cfdisk' and partioned
my HDD as follows:
1GB as swap
5GB as /root
5GB as /home
9GB as /
I then saved/wrote the partition table, and to be safe, rebooted. I chose the same options as before.
At the command prompt, I typed 'setup', and chose 'Install from CD'
I chose 'Automatic Full Install'. I chose this because I had the space, and will be compiling some
other programs, plus I like KDE. I chose all the package series except 'KDEI'
After the install, the 'Configure' options start. I installed the 'bareacpi.i' kernel, made a floppy bootdisk,
chose ttys0 for my modem, and 'Yes' to hotplug,
Then comes lilo. I always use 'Expert mode' and install to the MBR, remembering to start with a new header, 1024x768
screen resolution, 5 second prompt (will be needed later), and added the '/' partition (/dev/hda) in the Linux section.
In the 'mouseconfig', I selected 'USB Mouse' and to install gpm at boot.
I next configured the network. I used 'toaster' as hostname, and 'mshome.net' as domain name.
(Use whatever you want. I used 'mshome' because I have three other Windows computers in my workgroup, and confusing them is too easy!)
I chose DHCP (My router acts as a DHCP server).
In the next section, I wanted the following to run at bootup:
Code:
rc.atalk no I have no Apple/Macs on my network
rc.bind no No need for a DNS server
rc.cups no No printer attached yet.
rc.dnsmasq no DNS/DHCP server. Already have one (My wireless router)
rc.httpd yes Apache webserver
rc.inetd yes Needed for any type of networking
rc.ip_forward no Not using the laptop as a router
rc.mysqld no MySQL Database. Can be enabled later
rc.pcmcia yes Needed for PCMCIA cards
rc.portmap yes Needed for NFS mounts
rc.samba yes Samba Server (File/printer sharing for Windows)
rc.sasloauthd yes Authetication Deamon
rc.sendmail no Mail Server (Not needed. Have a mail server on my network already)
rc.syslog yes System Log
rc.sshd yes ssh shell (remote logins)
After that, I chose 'No' for custom screenfonts, and 'Local' for the time. (Choose what you wish)
I then chose 'KDE' as my default windows manager.
Then I set a password for 'root', and then rebooted after the setup completed.
The First Boot
At the lilo prompt, I chose my Slackware install, and waited. The first boot takes awhile,
because it needs to setup RSA keys, and all the hardware.
I logged in as 'root', and moved the mouse to make sure it worked.
I then typed 'adduser' and created a regular user account, accpting all the defaults.
I then typed 'xorgsetup' to get XWindows setup. Then ran 'alsaconf', 'alsamixer', and 'alsactl store'
to setup my soundcard.
I can then logout, login as a user, and run 'startx'
That concludes the basic install and setup. Next parts will deal with my specific hardware configuration,
kernel compiling,and getting eveything to work properly.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.