Install Slax on a Hard Drive

Install on a Hard Drive

copy from URL:http://gr8idea.info/os/tutorials/slax/install.html

 

Download the Slax iso file. Get the latest version.

Slax may be downloaded from http://www.slax.org/get_slax.php, or ftp://ftp.slax.org/.

Write it to a CD.

Verify Checksum

You can check if your download has been corrupted by verifying the MD5 checksum. To find out what is should be, go tohttp://www.slax.org/get_slax.php. Click on "md5," and this will take you to the checksum page. The checksum must be exactly the same. If it is different, the download is corrupted, and it needs to be downloaded again.

Partition the Hard Drive

Use a live CD to partition the hard drive before installing Slax.

Make an Ext3 (or another Linux filesystem) partition and a swap partition for Slax.

You may also make other partitions for other operating systems. For more information see Partitioning.

Run Slax from Live CD

Run Slax from the Live CD. The following is done running Slax from the live CD. You will be automatically logged in as root.

Copy and Paste boot and slax to the Partition

Using the root file manager, copy and paste the two directories, "boot" and "slax," from the CD, to the partition on the hard drive.

Set Up the Bootloader

You may use either the Lilo or Grub bootloader.

If you are not familiar with them, Lilo may be easier if Slax is the only operating system on the computer, and Grub may be easier if there is more than one operating system on the computer.

Option 1: Set Up the Lilo Bootloader

Recommended but Optional

Open the file /mnt/(partition)/boot/liloinst.sh (the one on the hard drive) with a root text editor.

Edit the line:

append = "ramdisk_size=6666 changes=slaxchanges"

To this:

append = "ramdisk_size=6666 autoexec=xconf;telinit~4 changes=slaxchanges"

If you view this on a screen with a low resolution, the end of the line may return and be on the next line. If you enter it that way, it will not work. It must be on one line.

Save the file.

If you don't make this change, you will need to type the username, password and the start command, such as startx, each time Slax is started.

If you plan to install Slax using this method often, you can edit liloinst.sh and make a Make a Modified Live CD.

For changes to take effect, you must run liloinst.sh after making changes.

Open the root terminal, and type:

bash /mnt/(partition)/boot/liloinst.sh

Insert the appropriate partition where it says "(partition)." It will be something like "sda1."

Option 2: Set Up the Grub Bootloader

If you have another Linux distribution on the computer, it should have Grub, and you can add the Slax start commands.

If you don't already have Grub

If you don't have another Linux distribution on the computer, you won't have Grub, for example, if you have only Slax and Windows.

If you have another Linux distribution installed on another computer, you can copy Grub from it.

Another option is to download the Super Grub Disk.

Using the root file manager, copy the directory "grub," and all of the files in it, and paste it to the directory "boot" in Slax.

You need to set up the Master Boot Record. This can be done using most Linux live CDs.

If you have the Super Grub Disk you can set up the master boot record by making the appropriate selections from the menu.

For more information, see Grub and Master Boot Record

Edit the Grub Menu

Open "/boot/grub/menu.lst," on the partition containing Grub, with a root text editor.

You will see the start commands for the other operating systems. Insert the start commands for Slax, which are as follows.

title Slax
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;telinit~4 changes=slaxchanges
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

If you view this on a screen with a low resolution, the end of the line may return and be on the next line. If you enter it in Grub that way, it will not work. There are four lines, starting with "title," "root," "kernel" and "initrd."

Change "(hd0,0)" to whatever partition Slax is in. For more information, see Grub.

For Windows start commands, see Grub.

You can now restart the computer and select Slax from the menu.

Prompt for User Name and Password

When first installed, you will automatically be logged in as root each time Slax is started.

You may leave it like this, or change it so you will be prompted for your user name and password.

To change it, from the menu, click "Control Center."

You will see a new window. Click "System Adminstration," then "Login Manager."

Click the tab "Convenience."

Click to uncheck the squares preceeding "Enable Auto-Login," and "Enable Password-Less Logins."

Click "Apply."

After changing this, you will be prompted for your user name and password each time Slax is started.

When first installed, the user is "slax," and the password is "toor." It is a good idea to change the root password and add your user name and password.