Linux distributions + Slackware >

(on Wikipedia)
https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=slax
https://www.slax.org/

• 2018-04-15 - Well, it's been redone to be based on Debian (which has systemd). There goes this distribution. Maybe I'll check it out, but it's more likely I'll stay with Devuan.

---

• 2016-10-14 - The author has been thinking about reviving it.

  • I'm particularly interested in it being rebuilt to use Papyros because of their Wayland and Qt use.
    -- 2019-02-22 - papyros.io is dead.

• 2015-05-17 - I approve. Slax would be My ideal Linux distribution, but the author has apparently abandoned it.

old ∞

A liveboot distribution based on Slackware. Was slackware-live. A decent mini-cd distribution.

• See also slax-mini

• See also persistent

  • Allows one to install Slax, selectively save changes and optionally use swap space to boost performance, all without altering one's partition table.

Installing other software on Slax 7.0.8 x86_64 ∞

• Converting packages to Slax's .sb format
• Packaging compiled programs for Slax

• Official packaging for Slax

Copy .sb packages to /mnt/live/memory/data/slax/modules/ to make them persist and auto-activate between reboot. Tested and works with eCryptfs, LXPanel.

--

• I got eCryptfs working.

• I have notes for LXDE.

  • I got Openbox working.
  • I got LXPanel working.

• I got xfce4-panel working.

Random stuff ∞

• https://web.archive.org/web/20161211145413/http://old.slax.org/ has a bunch of old stuff, including a forum -- which I'm unable to sign up to but others are still posting there.

• https://www.slax.org/en/blog.php

A fundamental philosophy is to gut documentation. This is Wrong. This means that an offline system will not have proper and complete documentation. I doubt that there will be many packages which have optional documentation. The user would be forced to either view and get the documentation online, or get the package from source or, say, Slackware for its complete documentation.

I wonder if documentation-modules could be made.

• Might switch to Papyros as its desktop.

• https://www.slax.org/en/blog/21842-Multiarch-support-for-Slax.html

2015-05-16 - 7.0.8 x86_64 ∞

• Prepping the stick

  • gparted to delete the existing partition and make a new partition table, to remove GPT.
  • cfdisk to make a partition of just the right size to have some left over, so that it's partitions are aligned.
  • Followed the liveUSB stick preparation instructions below.
• Removed/reinserted my USB stick during the reboot.

• Everything worked as expected. No surprises whatsoever.

--

• Firefox should have slax bookmarks
• Firefox is version 19.0.2, but the official website says its 40.0a2

• slax cannot activate multiple packages

2015-05-14 ∞

I was bored, so I poked around some more.

• https://www.slax.org/ has at the bottom that it is commercially supported by pnp-software.com and wisol.ch

• pnp-software.com...

  • Has inactive news.
  • References its design/etc done by www.ivanpik.net but that's a spam website.

• wisol.ch is a German company .. but with a .ch website?

2015-05-08 - 7.0.8 x86_64 ∞

Summary ∞

I generally liked my experiences with it.

I would wish it to have a pre-installed third-party console Slackware package manager that handles dependencies. I guess that's not exactly possible because it uses its own self-contained modules. The user is expected to build each module for each dependency with each dependency-dependency (etc). I don't know if I'm prepared to do that.

I also don't know what I need to build from a slim system. I don't want to have KDE and its dependencies lingering around.

I strongly dislike that there's no way to get my kernel updated. I have to get a whole new Slax release. This to me is a potential security hole.

I'm checking out some other distributions and may come back to this one.

First glance ∞

• Beautiful and simple website.
• Localized to a shitload of languages.
• KDE4 .. eww.

• Explicit Btrfs support. I think this includes making the boot/root btrfs.

Getting it on a USB stick ∞

• The USB stick installation notes are Windows-only.

• Nuked a USB stick.

  • On a later revisit of Slax, I had a GPT partition table on this USB stick, which I deleted with gparted.
• Made one partition.

• Format the partition.

_drive=/dev/sdb1
\sudo  \mkfs  -t vfat  $_drive
# It got auto-mounted by my system.  Un-mounted it.
\sudo  \umount  $_drive
\mkdir  ./working/
\sudo  \mount  $_drive  working
\cd  ./working/
\sudo  \unzip  ../slax-English-US-7.0.8-x86_64.zip
\cd  ./slax/boot/
\sudo  ./bootinst.sh
\cd  ../../../
\sudo  \umount  ./working/
\rmdir  ./working/

• bootinst.sh seems to work as expected.

  • It concerns me that it doesn't give feedback as to what it's working on. I always worry such actions could overwrite my hard drive.

Booting into it ∞

Everything needs testing via a HDD install.

• Copy to ram

  1. At the menu, press escape before booting into it.
  2. Cursor down to copy to ram.
  3. Press enter.
  4. Cursor back up and press enter to boot into it.
• A quick bootup.
• Coloured stuff.
• Proper text mode.
• Autoboots into X.
• Took quite some time to get me to a desktop.

• Nice desktop "welcome" sound.

Using it ∞

• The software center has no facility to view all "modules" (packages?), so how do I install more?

• The menu is kinda awkward.

  1. Pick a thingy at the bottom
  2. Pick a thingy at the top (a category?)
  3. hover a thingy at the bottom
  4. hover to the original thingy at the bottom
  • The top is still at step 2, but I expect it to be reset to its original view from step 1.
  • This is an upstream problem, not a Slax problem.

• Oh god, what is it with distributions having an unconfigured Bash?

  • Having rm default to rm --force is fucking dangerous, even more so for a distribution which auto-logs in as root!
  • Cannot C-left/right to skip words. This is bloody obnoxious.

• /mnt/ has the USB stick mounted.

  • This is inconvenient, since i make subdirectories under it to mount various things.
  • Strangely, this mounting does not appear in mount.
• My USB stick was formatted with some windows filesystem, and persistency was set up automatically, and works automagically. Well done.

Installing Slax repository software ∞

• Their "modules" concept is fucking awesome.

\slax  activate  leafpad
\slax  activate  nano
\slax  activate  sudo
\slax  activate  zsh
\slax  activate  geany

Basic usage:

\slax  search   modulename
# or
\slax  search   "keyword1 keyword2 keyword3"
# get information on a particular module (before the colon)
\slax  info     modulename
\slax  download modulename  directory
# Either activate something on the disk, or it will download and activate it.
\slax  activate modulename

2010-11-10 - 6.1.2 (installation disk) ∞

• Couldn't boot into it. I gave up pretty easily.

Cannot read module data.  Corrupted download?

Ok screw that then.

2010-11-10 - 6.1.2 (USB) ∞

Part of the 2010-11-10 Linux testing nightmare.

• It's bootup has F1 for DOS. Dur, what?
• The image says it has a KDE boot, but I downloaded the LXDE version.
• I can't boot from USB (SD card). I tried in my monitor directly, via an adaptor and into my motherboard's usb port, and also into another adaptor connected internally. No luck. It fails because I can't rearrange my devices in the way it's expecting. This is solvable, but fucked if I'm going to bother dealing with this right now.

• I can't use the installer - once it fails - as a live system to mount/copy the data.

2009-04-15 - 6.1.1 ∞

• KDE boots into a black screen and my monitor turns off.

• I see it accessing my HDD periodically. I don't trust it. FAIL.

2009-04-15 - Tiny rescue CD ∞

• Beautiful bootloader. Items have some description.
• It can use a CDRW and remember changes!
• Simple bootup, very fast copy2ram, but there is no kdm, gdm or XDM -> no runlevel 4 so I cannot proceed.

• Forced to boot into text mode. Well it is a rescue cd.

Old notes ∞

• A liveboot distribution based on Slackware. Was slackware-live. A decent mini-cd distribution.
• Kindof cool. Would need to be rebuildable.
• Doesn't autodetect my audio, not that I expected it.
• Video is wonky.
• Networking fails.. it detects, but isn't bright enough to get info by DHCP properly.. or something else is wrong.

• LiveCD

Last updated 2024-07-07 at 12:02:36