Is it possible to install Slackware 9.0 on WMware 4?
 

I'm wondering if anyone has had any success installing Slackware 9.0 (Guest) on VMWare 4.0.2 running on Windows XP Pro (Host)?

Thanks!

As a follow-up to this question, I was able to install SW9.0 on VMWare 4.0.2; however, I was not able to boot off the VM --initially. I had to boot off the SW9.0 install CD and at 'boot:' type the following:

scsi.s root=/dev/sda2 noinitrd ro

After that, everything boots up and I can go about my business. Being new to Linux, I don't know where to begin... anyone?

Well, I don't know where to begin to tell you where to begin. :) Broad generic answer is read a lot of documentation and come to undersand your basic helps and filesystem and tools. If you had some more specific question, like 'how do I...' maybe we could help more. And maybe your background - if you know DOS or are used to working with a DOS box, the Linux CLI will be a lot easier for you than if not. If you're a Windows guru, understanding certain basic stuff will be applicable or easily translated from one system to the next. And if you don't know anything, you won't have to unlearn anything. Advantages to both. But we can't tell you much without maybe insulting you or flying over your head without more knowledge. :)

Safest answer is type 'mc' at the command line since it's an easy way to flip around through the directory structure just get an overview of what's on your system, maybe combined with reading about the filesystem hierarchy so that you know what you're looking at.

The big problem with installing Slackware, or any Linux for that matter, on VMWare is that, by default, VMWare sets the VM up to use SCSI drives by default when you select "Linux" as the guest OS. Some Linux' handle this alright because their installation kernels are set up to detect SCSI cards and drives and will install just fine but as Slack doesn't have SCSI support built into it's kernel by default (it uses the scsi.s kernel for that as jbrashear pointed out) it can get problematic.

It is possible to install Slackware on a VMWare default Linux VM just use the scsi kernel to install it and when you get to the step where Slack prompts you to install a kernel make absolutely sure the scsi kernel gets copied to the hard disk (From memory you need to select "use the installation boot disks kernel" and then select the scsi one) otherwise your system won't boot properly.

An easier method by far is to tell VMWare that you're installing a Windows of some sort (so that it'll put IDE drives in the VM) and then just install Slackware anyway. That way you'll be able to use the default bare.i kernel and won't have any of the weird module behaviour that can come from using a different kernel.

I type the command scsi.s root=/dev/sda2 noinitrd ro
Then This came out at the end
VFS:Cannot open root device "sda2" or 8:02
Please append a correct "root="boot option
Kernel panic : Unable to mount root fs on 8:02

Cross thread chaos! :)

Like I say, you might try sda1 for root, since I think that's what it actually is. But LSD and jbrashear seem to know what's going on, so maybe they know better.

This is very good, I have been around but couldn't see a trick like LSD's thanks man and keep up the good work. :)

LSD - "(From memory you need to select "use the installation boot disks kernel" and then select the scsi one) otherwise your system won't boot properly."

This may do the trick -- I selected the scsi kernal from the install CD.

I may have spoken too soon -- I don't see, "From memory you need to select 'use the installation boot disks kernel'". I get to "INSTALL LINUX KERNEL" and I have these choices:

bootdisk, cdrom, floppy, skip (use the default /boot/vmlinuz)

Any ideas? Again, I am using SW9.0...

Is there any reason why my "boot file" (sorry don't know the details of Linux boot mechanism or terminology) could be looking at /dev/sda1 instead of /dev/sda2? My first partition is the swap...

When I boot from the VM, it just sits there with a black screen and does nothing.

When I boot from the installCD and put, "scsi.s root=/dev/sda2 noinitrd ro", I am explicitly putting "sda2". it boot without any issues..?

Okay, everyone is probably sick of me replying to my own question, but need to think out loud on this one.

What file contains the device/partition to look for the 'root' filesystem when booting in Linux. I am going to go look through the documentatio, but just curious. Is this LILO or whatever I selected?

Obviously, my memory wasn't as good as I thought it was :p

Anyway, checking my Slackware VM, you need to pick cdrom and then, from the list, pick the scsi.s kernel. That should get you up and running.

Hmmm.. did that and no luck. That is what brought me to booting from the installCD and then explicitly telling it where to boot on the VM. Oh well.. I will keep looking.

Thanks!

Well I finally got this to work -- major user error. I didn't mark the main partition as bootable - DUH! Anyways, SW9.0 seems to work fine on VMWare 4.x.

Sounds like you got the install worked out. But for those that want to use the bare.i kernel, I have found that if you change the scsi drive to an ide drive it works wonderfully. That way there is no problem with picking the wrong kernel at install time or at least it minimizes problems (I think :D )

Good luck