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SARPi Project - Slacking on a Raspberry Pi
Selecting Slackware Linux source media
This next section is about telling the installer where the Slackware Linux source is located. This can be on a USB stick, or FTP/HTTP server, or on the network.
Quick links
• Install from USB stick
• Install from pre-mounted directory
• Install from FTP/HTTP server
• Slackware Linux package selection
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Slackware Linux source media - Install from USB stick
The easiest option here is to 'Install from a Slackware USB stick". Your USB memory stick should already be plugged in, mounted or not. So, just move the highlighter to option 2 and press the key.
Press enter on the next screen to scan for USB storage devices.
Your USB memory stick should be detected. If the scan fails to find any device(s), try the 'Install from pre-mounted directory' method.
If your USB memory stick containing the Slackware Linux source was detected ok, you can now skip to Slackware Linux package selection.
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Slackware Linux source media - Install from pre-mounted directory
If you have mounted your USB stick earlier and made a note that the device is /dev/sda1 (or /dev/sdb1, etc.), you'll remember you mounted that partition to the /mnt/tmp directory. So, all you have to do is tell the system it's in a pre-mounted directory. It doesn't have to be '/mnt/tmp' and can be mounted anywhere you choose.
Select the bottom option 'from a pre-mounted directory' and press the key.
In this next step it's important that the PATH to the location where your USB memory stick containing the Slackware source media is correct. If you've chosen a PATH other than the one shown in this guide then use that, and not the one shown here.
The version of Slackware Linux you're installing will dictate the PATH you need to enter in the text field.
• If you're installing Slackware ARM then type '/mnt/tmp/slackwarearm-15.0/slackware' and press the key.
• If you're installing Slackware AArch64 then type '/mnt/tmp/slackwareaarch64-current/slackware' and press the key.
For example:
NB: If you've copied your Slackware Linux source media to a directory other than the one shown here, specify the path to those files (i.e. the /slackware directory).
If your USB memory stick containing the Slackware Linux source was detected ok, you can now skip to Slackware Linux package selection.
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Slackware Linux source media - Install from FTP/HTTP server
It's also possible to install Slackware Linux from a FTP/HTTP server. This might be preferable for those who do not have a USB stick handy, or one of a large enough capacity on which to store the Slackware Linux source. This next section will show you how to achieve it.
NB: You should have already configured your network connection before trying to install from a FTP or HTTP server!
Select the 'Install from FTP/HTTP server' option and press the key.
Enter the URL of your chosen FTP/HTTP server. We have selected 'http://slackware.uk/' as our server in the example below. You can, of course, use your own server address here. Even a local network IP address or localhost will suffice if your setup supports it.
You may want to check out the list of current and available Slackware Linux FTP and HTTP servers at the bottom of this page: http://www.slackware.com/getslack/
Now select the source directory. Here we will enter 'slackwarearm/slackwareaarch64-current/slackware' into the Select Source Directory text box and press the key. That's because we are installing Slackware AArch64 current version.
If you are installing Slackware ARM 15.0 then you would enter 'slackwarearm/slackwarearm-15.0/slackware' into the Select Source Directory text box.
Next, you will see the following screen which informs you that the PACKAGES.TXT file will be downloaded. Press the key to continue.
When the PACKAGES.TXT file has been found you should select '< No >' and press enter to continue.
Now you will see the following screen telling you how many available packages are being processed, with a progress bar.
Once all the packages have been downloaded, it takes a moment for the package tree to initialise...
Once the package tree has been initialised the setup process will continue to the Slackware Linux package selection screen.
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Slackware Linux package selection
The next section deals with packages that will be installed on your Slackware Linux system. You can choose specifically which packages to include or omit. If you're going for a full install you can pretty much select everything in the package list. In the example below, we are not going to be be installing packages E, KDEI, T, or Y. You may decide differently on which packages you want installed on your system.
Use the cursor keys to move up and down the list and the space bar to select/deselect the highlighted package. Unless you have a reason not to, or you're already familiar with Slackware package management, select 'full - Install everything' and press the key. If you do not want the full installation of packages, or have customised which packages you want installed, you should select the 'menu' option here in order to individually select packages to include, or omit. When you have finished selecting your packages select < OK > at the bottom and press the key.
The packages you have selected will now be installed.
Sit back and relax for a while (depending on your Raspberry Pi version, speed of microSD card, size of swap file, etc.) while Slackware Linux is installing, watch A history of Slackware development on youtube, or read the latest developments from the Slackware Linux Project, while your Raspberry Pi is otherwise occupied... installing packages.
When all the packages have been installed you will see the screen below.
It took approx. 20 minutes on a Raspberry Pi 5 [8GB RAM] to complete the Slackware AArch64 installation process with the packages which we'd previously selected. Don't forget that we had our PCIe NVME SSD /swap partition configured to assist us and that will have greatly expediated the installation process. The time it takes for your installation to complete will depend on your own choice of packages, and several other factors.
Continue to the next section of this tutorial... Final steps of installation
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