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SARPi Project - Slacking on a Raspberry Pi
Download Slackware Linux source media
NB: Downloading the Slackware Linux source tree to a USB stick is not essential because you can use a FTP/HTTP server as the location of your source media instead. However, you will need to configure your network and Internet connection if you want to install by this method. Instructions on how to achieve this are featured later in this guide.
If you're intending to use a FTP/HTTP server, or the network, as the location of your Slackware source media then you can skip this page and continue to the Notes for Pre-installation section.
In this section of the SARPi installation guide, you'll download the official Slackware Linux source media and store it on a USB memory stick. You can choose to install Slackware ARM 15.0, or Slackware AArch64 current. The main difference between Slackware ARM and AArch64 version is that Slackware ARM is for 32-bit architecture and Slackware AArch64 is for 64-bit architecture. If you're installing Slackware Linux on a Raspberry Pi 2 then you only have the option of installing and running Slackware ARM 15.0. A Raspberry Pi 3 and more recent versions feature a 64-bit capable CPU on which you can install Slackware ARM 15.0 or Slackware AArch64 current. With AArch64 being the in vogue architecture it's advisable to install a Slackware 64-bit operating system where possible, rather than its 32-bit ancestor, because there are many gains and benefits from doing so. However, sometimes users prefer, or even require, a 32-bit operating system for personal reasons so the decision is entirely up to those who will be using it to suit their specific needs and purposes.
Important: The architectures Slackware ARM and Slackware AArch64 are designed to run on are not comparable or interchangable. DO NOT install Slackware ARM packages on a Slackware AArch64 operating system (and vice versa) or you will encounter serious problems. The application binary interface (ABI) uses different flags and, as such, are incompatible with each other. The only exceptions are packages that are identified as 'noarch' (e.g. name-of-package-1.2.3-noarch-1.tgz) and these may be installed on either 32-bit or 64-bit architectures and will run just as well on both. Otherwise, only install and run software for the operating system architecture it was created for and nothing else. Always make sure you are downloading and installing the correct software packages.
NB: Be aware that Slackware AArch64 has a minimum requirement of ARMv8-a architecture and cannot be installed on a Raspberry Pi (1) because these devices have an ARMv6 CPU which uses a 32-bit instruction set. Nor can it be installed on a Raspberry Pi 2 or Raspberry Pi Zero [W], which have an ARMv7 CPU that uses a 32-bit instruction set.
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Windows and macOS users: Download Slackware ARM 15.0 or Slackware AArch64 current from slackware.uk or mirrors.slackware.com via https, http, ftp, or rsync.
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Linux users: Download Slackware ARM 15.0 or Slackware AArch64 current from slackware.uk or mirrors.slackware.com via https, http, ftp or, rsync. Use BINARY mode to download the files and not ASCII! Once downloaded, transfer the Slackware Linux source tree files (retaining their original directory structure) onto the root of your USB memory stick. If not in the root, a directory where you will remember the location.
For the purpose of this guide, we have given the hostname 'iana' to our Linux system. We're actually running Slackware AArch64 current but you can just about use any flavour of Linux to do this. We are using a 16GB USB memory stick. Approx. 4GB of free space is needed to download and store Slackware ARM 15.0 and approx. 5GB of free space is needed to download and store Slackware AArch64 current. It's prudent to ensure there's more than ample free space on your USB stick, just to be safe.
At the SARPi Project, we like working in '/tmp' and have changed directory to that location beforehand.
Plug the USB memory stick into your Linux system. Now, as 'root' user, type the following on the command line in a terminal:
You should see something similar to the following output:
74 heads, 10 sectors/track, 42244 cylinders, total 31260672 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xc3072e18
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 8064 31260671 15626304 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
root@iana:/tmp#
Our Slackware Linux system is showing us that the device name of the FAT32 partition on our USB memory stick (16Gb) is /dev/sdc1 which is exactly the information we're looking for. Remember, yours might be different on your own Linux system. (e.g. /dev/sda1, /dev/sdb1, etc.)
Next, you're going to create a directory and mount the USB memory pen into it so you can download the Slackware Linux files directly. You can name this directory however you like and put it wherever you like, as it's just temporary. Our mount directory will be '/tmp/slackarm'. So, if you're following this guide and doing the same then type the following at the command prompt:
root@iana:/tmp# mount /dev/sdc1 /tmp/slackarm
root@iana:/tmp# cd slackarm
You should now have successfully mounted your USB memory stick and changed to the /slackarm directory ready to download the Slackware Linux source media.
For the purpose of this guide, we will be using 'rsync' to download the 64-bit Slackware AArch64 current source media. However, it's just as easy to download the 32-bit Slackware ARM 15.0 source tree files. Just remember, between Slackware ARM and AArch64, the instructions and results may differ slighty in this guide from your own experiences and results.
DON'T forget the period "." at the end of the rsync command or it won't work!
* 'rsync' may be a package that you need to install on your Linux system if you don't already have access to this command.
To download Slackware AArch64 current, type the following at the command prompt:
To download Slackware ARM 15.0, type the following at the command prompt:
Depending on the speed of your Internet, this could take a while.
Once the download has completed you should check that the source files are all present and correct. What you should have is either a 'slackwareaarch64-current' or 'slackwarearm-15.0' directory containing the Slackware Linux source tree files. For example:
Now you need to unmount your USB memory stick. Do this by typing the following command:
root@iana:/# umount /tmp/slackarm
To delete the temporary slackarm directory, after you've finished with it, type:
Now you can remove the USB memory stick from your Linux system.
Continue to the next section of this guide... Notes for Pre-installation
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