Slackware 10.2 Tips and Tricks

Want to Install the 2.6.13 Kernel is Slack but don’t know how? Ask and ye shall receive!

First, mount the CDROM…in my case, it is /dev/hdb

mount -t auto /dev/hdb /mnt/cdrom

or

mount -t auto /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

Next, let’s install that Kernel! Insert Slackware Disc 2…then issue the commands below.

installpkg /mnt/cdrom/linux-2.6.13/kernel-source-2.6.13-noarch-1.tgz

 

installpkg /mnt/cdrom/linux-2.6.13/kernel-modules-2.6.13-i486-1.tgz

 

installpkg /mnt/cdrom/linux-2.6.13/kernel-headers-2.6.13-i386-1.tgz

 

installpkg /mnt/cdrom/linux-2.6.13/kernel-generic-2.6.13-i486-1.tgz

 

installpkg /mnt/cdrom/linux-2.6.13/alsa-driver-1.0.9b_2.6.13-i486.1.tgz

Ok, we’re almost there. Next, do the following:

umount /dev/cdrom

Insert Disk 1, we’ll need initrd from there if you use any filesystem other than ext2…so if you use ext2, you’re done. Otherwise, keep going:

mount -t auto /dev/hdb /mnt/cdrom

or

mount -t auto /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

Now that the 1st disc is in and mounted, let’s get mkinitrd installed so we can use it:

installpkg /mnt/cdrom/slackware/a/mkinitrd-1.0.1-i486-3.tgz

Now let’s make it for our filesystem…see[url=ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-10.2/testing/packages/linux-2.6.13/README.initrd] This How-To[/url] for specifics to your filesystem. For me, I use reiserfs…so my command would be as follows…you may use a different filesystem…so please refer to that linked document above for filesystem specifics:

mkinitrd -c -k 2.6.13 -m reiserfs

Now that you generated an initrd…let’s update lilo, the bootloader for it…here’s my /etc/lilo.conf settings for the new kernel. Please note that I did not change any of the global lilo.conf settings such as framebuffer settings and timeouts, etc.:
image = /boot/vmlinuz-generic-2.6.13
root = /dev/hda2
initrd=/boot/initrd.gz
label =”Slaq-10.2″
read-only
Notice the initrd.gz line above is in the /boot directory. I hopped over to that directory to make sure I was referencing the right thing by listing the contents (ls -al) and ensuring that I was pointing to the right image initrd.gz. I’ve seen other how-to’s reference different files…hence, why I’m clarifying this.
Next, update the MBR with the lilo.conf info by executing

lilo

Now reboot, and hopefully things will have gone well for you. If you have any questions, drop a comment. I’ll try to answer any that you may have. Have fun with Slackware! It was my first and favorite and still is! (NOTE: this article was previously published in the forum tips and tricks area. The forum has been absolved and the article moved here)