Slax Guide- by Dustin Wielenga
Table of Contents
Who is this for?
This is written for someone who knows basic computer skills and wishes
to tryout Linux without having to install it. It may take a bit of
work, but Slax makes it really easy.
What is Slax?
Slax is a Linux-live distro which allows you to use Linux without
having to install it. It is under 200 MB and can be burned to a mini-CD
(8 cm). Once you burn it to a CD you can boot off of it and have a
great Linux distro, for free and without commitment! It is also possible to run Slax off a USB Flashdrive, by using a very simple graphical installer.
Why Choose Slax?
Why would you choose Slax? Well, Slax gives you many options in a relatively tiny package.
What sets Slax apart from other distros and specifically other live
distros? Well, for one, most distros must be installed but Slax can be
run from CD. Slax is cooler than other live cds (boot from CD without
install) because it is small but yet has lots of functionality.
Other Live distributions are usually very large (around 700m - filling
a CD) and often include many similar programs on it to satisfy as many
users as possible (10 different people can have 10 different favorite
text editors). Slax offers usually just one application which is
considered as the best one.
Despite its small size, Slax looks very nice. Other small distros can
be too small, and not have room for nice graphics. Slax looks beautiful.
That's especially nice for people on dial-up. It's great for those trying Linux for the first time.
How good a computer must I have?
- i486 processor or better is good, both Pentium and AMD should work
- CD-ROM drive, a USB drive, or a hard drive to boot from. Using a CD drive is best for beginners.
- BIOS capable of booting from CD-ROM or a floppy drive to use Smart Boot Manager.
- To load Slax with just text you need 30 MB of RAM. To run Fluxbox (a
not as nice looking window-manager) takes 64 MB of RAM. If you wish to
run KDE, you need 128 MB of RAM on your computer.
- keyboard
- PS/2 (mouse with a green connector; standard), or a USB mouse will work (These will be auto-detected by Slax)
- if you have a serial (COM mouse) it will not be automatically recognized but it is possible to use it with a bit of work
- no hard disk is required
What can Slax do?
With Slax, you can do many things. You can use Slax without any
operating system installed. You are able to surf the web on it if you
are connected to the internet, or you can watch DVDs. You can play
songs on your hard drive or look at pictures on it. If the operating
system installed on your computer won't boot, you can use Slax to try
recover important data you have on your hard drive. You also can copy
the whole CD to RAM which makes the whole thing go even faster.
How can I get Slax?
Go to the downloads section of the website (www.slax.org/download) and
select the latest version that you see (the special versions below it will be talked about later).
Intro to Linux
A Brief history including different distros
Linux was started by a man named Linus Torvalds in 1991. It is
open-source software which means everybody can see what's in it, and
change it. If you don't like something and you know what you are doing,
you can change it. Windows isn't like that. If you don't like
something, you most likely won't be able to change it. There are many
different versions of Linux. They are called distributions, or distros
for short. Each includes the kernel, and a variety of programs chosen
by the creator. Distros come in many different shapes and sizes. Some
are so small they can fit on a floppy disk. Others are a couple
gigabytes large. Some of the more popular distros are Slackware,
Mandrake, and Red Hat. Slax is based on Slackware.
Some distros, called Live-CDs, can run from a CD, without the need to
be installed to a hard drive. Some of these Live-CDs can also be run
from USB Keys. Linux is very flexible, which is why so many people love
it.
Window Managers
You may have seen a couple different screenshots of Linux and wondered
why some looked so different. That is because different distros use
different window managers. A window manager controls the way things
look. Some are small, and consume few resources. A few examples of
these are Fluxbox, Blackbox, and IceWM. There are a few that are in the
middle. One of these is XFCE. Some are very large, and consume many
resources. These include KDE and Gnome. The large, heavy ones generally
look better, though it is a matter of preference.
Programs and Wine
There have been many programs written for Linux. Programs are created
for just about everything. In the productivity department there are
programs such as OpenOffice.org, and KOffice. Browsers include
Konqueror and Firefox. Multimedia applications include MPlayer, as well
as the popular XMMS. There are many tools for networking and servers.
The area where Linux lacks most is games. Sure, there are many fun
addicting games which you can spend hours on. I do it all the time!
But, there aren't as many first-person shooters, or games like Rome:
Total War or Empire Earth for example. I would think the reason is
because to make games like these requires a lot of talent. And talent
usually doesn't come cheap. But, there are some exceptions of people
who have made great contributions. But, one person can't make a whole
first-person shooter like Call of Duty. For a community spread out all
over the world, it's hard to put together such a game.
Some cool games available for Linux are Freeciv, Supertux, Pingus, Frozen Bubble, and KAsteroids.
If there is a Windows program that you will miss a lot by switching to
Linux, it might be possible to run that program using Wine. This
program allows you to run Windows programs in Linux. Not all programs
will work with it however, but it's saved more than a few people. Are
you missing your Windows games? Cedega (formerly WineX) can come to the
rescue. Many Windows games are playable using it. However, this is one
Linux program that you are asked to pay for, but if you search the web
hard enough, you'll be able to find it somewhere for free I'm sure.
(Though it's well worth the price I'm sure.)
How do I get started?
1. Burn the disc
Once you've downloaded Slax, you have to burn it to a CD. The .iso that
you download is a copy of what should be on the disc. You can't just
burn it to a disc as a file, as you normally would. To burn ISO files,
use your favorite burning software and burn the .iso to the CD by using
a special feature in your software. You should be able to find a
"Burn image to CD" option or "Burn CD iso image" option. Check
the programs help files if you can't find the option, and if you're
still stuck, check the Slax forums for help.
2. Set up your BIOS to boot from CD
To enter the BIOS, you need to hit a certain key right away when your
computer starts. This key should be found in your manual. Otherwise,
you can try common ones such as the Delete key, or F1, F2, or a bunch
of other of the Function keys.
Another way of booting from the CD is by using something called Smart
Boot Manager. This goes onto a floppy which boots and allows you to
choose where to boot from. This is probably the easiest way for a
beginner or someone who can't find out how to enter the BIOS. You can
choose the CD through this way. You can download it at
http://slax.linux-live.org/dl/floppy.img.gz (the file floppy.img.gz is
also on the CD, in FLOPPY/ directory, the user don't need to download
it from internet) Once you've downloaded it, extract it and then use
rawrite in Windows/DOS to write to a floppy. (rawrite is also in the
same directory on the CD) In Linux, use the dd command. Insert this
into your computer and restart. Make sure the Slax CD is in your CD
drive and select it from the boot menu.
3. Put the CD in the drive and restart your computer
As your computer starts, (if all goes well), you should have Slax
start. When it begins, you will see a screen that shows the Slax logo
and also words at the bottom that say boot. Here, you can wait and Slax
will load for you, or you can add extra things to change stuff. For
now, since it's your first time just hit enter or wait 5 seconds. After
you wait for awhile, you will see different things on the screen, and
finally it will get to a screen that says login. Type root as the
username and toor as the password. This will get you logged in. At time
you are running full featured operating system directly from the CD!
it's nice, isn't it? And it can be even nicer! You can start Linux
commands from the command line you see on the screen, or you can start
graphical user environment (called KDE) Type 'startx' to get to KDE. If you wish to use Fluxbox (a less nice looking window manager which uses less resources), type 'flux'.
4. Congratulations, you're running Linux!
What about the special versions?
There will be seven versions of Slax in total. They each have unique
features but some of them have overlapping features. Almost all of them
will include KDE except for Slax Frodo and Slax Popcorn. The special
features of each version will be available as modules, so if you want
to have compiling tools in Slax Popcorn, that should be possible.
Slax Standard is Slax with KDE 3.4, kernel 2.6.x, as well as better Wifi detection. Wheel mice will now be found by default.
Slax Kill-Bill includes Wine, to run Windows programs in Slax. It also
includes Qemu, which emulates a computer, and allows you to run other
operating systems while running Slax. Again, not all programs will work
with Wine, but you can certainly give it a try.
Slax Professional has tools for compiling programs. The normal tools
for these take over 40 MB, so they could not be included in the normal
Slax.
Slax Frodo is a tiny version, (under 50M)
which doesn't include X. That means there's only text to look at, and
type with. No graphics here. However, this is good for older computers,
or to set up a server for which you don't need X.
Slax Hacker will include tools for hacking including ethereal, network sniffers, and other security related tools.
Slax Server will contain tools for a server, with DNS, DHCP, SAMBA,
HTTP, FTP, MySQL, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, and SSH all ready to go out of the
box.
Slax Popcorn is a small version around 130MB which doesn't include KDE,
but is a GTK based version of Slax with XFCE, programs for multimedia,
as well as Mozilla software.
How do I...
Booting
Copy to Ram
If you want Slax to load and run faster and have at least 256 MB of RAM
you can use the copy2ram command. As Slax boots, when it says boot:
type: 'slax copy2ram'. It will take a minute or two to copy the whole
disc to run but once this is done, Slax will run much faster. Also, if
you only have one disc drive on your computer and wish to watch a DVD
in Slax or listen to an audio disc you can use 'slax copy2ram' which will copy the disc to RAM and then automatically eject the disc to free up your drive. This is a very handy tool.
Boot Slax from a USB flashdrive
Once you have started Slax, click on the "Home" icon on the KDE desktop. In this folder, start the "Slax-Installer" program. Fill in all the info correctly, and make sure you tell it to install it to your USB drive, not your hard drive.
Boot Slax from your hard drive (installing Slax)
If you want to install Slax on your hard drive, make sure you have a Linux partition which is free. Then go to the "Home" icon on your KDE desktop. Select the "Slax-Install" program, and fill in all the nessacary information. Make sure you select the right hard drive partition, you probably don't want to install Slax over another operating system you have. It installs LILO with it, which means that the install could make Windows, (or other operating systems installed on the drive) unbootable. So you should only do this if you know how to use and edit LILO.
Use and create a swap partition
If your hard drive already contains a Linux swap partition, Slax will
automatically detect it and use it. However, if you don't want to mess
around with your drive and create a swap partition, you can create a
swap file.
However, if you have another partition, here's how to make a swap file.
Type 'fileswap /mnt/hda1/swap.swp 200' for example to make a swap file on the first partition of your first hard drive. The '200' tells it to make a 200MB swap partition. The swap file will not be deleted on a reboot. The fileswap command must be used for each time you boot Slax though. The swap file won't be auto detected.
Note: DO NOT use the fileswap command more than once per boot. Doing so can create major problems.
Productivity/Office
Write a text document
To make a text document in KDE, click on the K button and go to
Office>KWord. Then select the kind of document you wish to make and
click OK. KWord is very similar to most other major word processors and
you should be able to find your way around with ease. If you wish to
save a document, don't save it just anywhere. You need to save it to a
place where a reboot will not affect it. A good place is to a hard
drive, floppy drive, or USB key. You could also send it to someone as
an attachment through email if you have Slax on the internet.
Multimedia
Watch a DVD
If you wish to watch a DVD and you have an unused DVD drive you can
watch DVDs by start Slax, loading KDE or Fluxbox, and starting KPlayer.
Then, choose File>Open URL and type dvd://1 This will load the first
title of the DVD. To change the title, change the number from 1. If you
only have 1 drive which is a DVD drive, to free it up, use the
"copy2ram eject" boot option explained elsewhere.
Burn a CD
If you want to burn a CD using Slax, the best way to do it is by using
K3B. Once you open the program, (you can find it in KDE under
Multimedia on the K-Menu) you will find it is pretty self explanatory
and easy to use. To burn a disc, you will need a free CD-R or CD-RW
drive, so you either need two drives, or you need to use copy2ram eject
to free up you only drive.
Use MPlayer
MPlayer is a very powerful media player which you can use from console.
To use it in console mode, type "mplayer". If you want to use the
graphical version, type "gmplayer". There are many things you can do with
it. To view all the features, and the commands to use them, type man
mplayer If you want to listen to music, you can type mplayer
/root/track1.wma for example.
Console
Play music without starting X
If your computer is old and slow, you can still use it to play music on
the hard drive using the small console program called mpg321. Let's say
you have a song in /mnt/disc0part1 called track1.mp3 To play it type
play /mnt/disc0part1/track1.mp3 You should now hear the song.
If you wish to adjust the volume, type rexima and move the sliders right for louder, and left for softer.
Browsing the internet without X
Slax includes a small console browser call Lynx. If you wish to use it
type lynx http://www.slax.org for example, if you wish to visit the
Slax site.
Use Midnight Commander (filebrowser)
MC or Midnight Commander is a file-browser, and performs the same task
as a program like Konqueror in KDE or Explorer in Windows. However, it
doesn't require you to be in X to start it. It is a console program. To
start it, type mc at the command line. This starts it. You should see
two panels in front of you to work with. One way to switch between the
two is by using your mouse. The mouse can also be used with the menus.
At the bottom of the screen you see familiar words like copy and view.
To perform a function listed on the bottom, hit the F-key corresponding
with the function. For example, to view a file you have selected, hit
F3 on your keyboard. To exit Midnight Commander, hit F10. It will
return to a normal console.
Hardware
Use a serial (COM) mouse
These mice are not automatically setup. To setup, use this command: 'ln -sf /dev/tts/0 /dev/mouse' Use /dev/tts/0 for COM1, /dev/tts/1 for COM2, etc.
Mount a USB flashdrive
Mounting a USB Flashdrive is now much easier than previously. To do it, make sure Slax is started, and then plug in your device. Open a terminal window, and type 'fstab-create' This will make fstab entries as well as a folder in /mnt. Go to "System" on the KDE desktop, and click on "Storage Deveces" and you should see your USB Flashdrive there.
Development (Linux-live scripts, modules)
Install Linux Live scripts
If you want to use the uselivemod, uselivemod, or other scripts like that in a distro other than Slax, you need to install the Linux-Live scripts created by Tomas Matejicek. To do this, you need to have the latest Linux-Live scripts which can be picked up at www.linux-live.org Then, you will have to extract the scripts. To do this, open a command window and type, tar -xf This should extract the scripts, either to their current directory, or to root or your home directory. Look in these locations for the extracted folder. Copy this folder to /tmp. Now go 'cd /tmp/linux-live-x.x.x' with the x's being the version number of the scripts. Now type './install' You now have the Linux-Live scripts
installed and ready to use.
Use a module
One of the greatest features of Slax is the fact that it is modular.
That means if it doesn't have something you want, you can easily add
it. These additions are called modules. A module is a something you can
create or download which has a .mo extension. For example, you can add
OpenOffice.org or a variety of games which weren't included in Slax for
size reasons. Many different modules can be found at
www.slax.org/modules There are two ways to use a module:
Editiso
The editiso command allows you to insert and remove modules from the
.iso. However, for a beginner, a great guy named Martijn Starrenburg
created MySLAX Creator. Download it at http://www.myslax.bonsonno.home It allows you to modify you Slax CD in Windows with a wizard-based approach. It is very simple and guides you through all the steps.
Uselivemod
To use a module without burning a new CD, use this command. Uselivemod
command expects one argument: a full path to the image file you wish to
insert to live file system. It doesn't mater where the module is, you
can download it while running SLAX to /root (root's home directory),
/mnt/disc0part1 (primary partition of your first hard drive), etc.
Now, to load the module, open a console, (click the black icon on the
bottom KDE) and type uselivemod /root/modname.mo or uselivemod
/mnt/hda1/modulename.mo If all goes well, the computer will pause
for a second and display no error. To use the program, check the
K-menu. If it's not in here, go to the console and use a command to
start it (for example, Firefox module is started by executing
/usr/share/Firefox/Firefox command). If you don't know the command you
should use, explore the content of /mnt/livecd/imgro/modulename.mo.
It's a directory which shows only files from your module.
Make modules
Making modules is really quite easy. However, it can take up some of
your valuable time. Sometimes, if you're lucky, there will already be a
Slackware package for the program you want. (Slackware packages end in
.tgz) If you find the one you want, download it, and use the command
tgz2mo /directory/file.tgz /directory/file.mo You now have an module
that can be used with the uselivemod command, or by inserting the
module into the .iso. To use the tgz2mo command takes even a slow typer
under 2 minutes.
Sometimes, however, you won't be so lucky. There are not Slackware
packages for every program out there. For this, you must compile the
program first and install it. This can't be done from within the
ordinary Slax. You need Slax Professional for this, or a standard
distro installed to the hard drive (like Slackware, Mandrake, or Red
Hat). Then, make a folder with the name of the module. In here, you
will place an exact replication of the files and folders created by the
program. For example, in Slax, check /var/log/packages, and select a
file from the list. Open it with KWrite or whatever. All the files and
directories listed there would need to be copied to the new folder. It
may take a really long time, but it's still pretty easy. Now, once you
have everything in there, type dir2mo /root/directory/ /root/file.mo
You now have a module. This could take a couple hours. (Or a few
minutes if your dealing with a small program with few files.)
If you wish to convert an old Slax module with a *.img extension, use the img2mo command.
If you make a good working module, which you think others might benefit
from (they probably will) please upload it to the modules section on
the Slax website.
Emulation
Use Wine
Wine allows you to run certain Windows programs in Linux. It is
included in Slax Kill-Bill, but if you don't have that, you can
download it as a separate module from the module section of the
website. If you use the module, first you have to load it using the
'uselivemod' command. Once this is done, it is really quite simple. All you
have to do is double-click on the icon of the file in KDE. The
program might work, but then again, it might not. Games generally won't
work. (Unless they're old games like Chip's Challenge.) If you want to
try games in Slax, you should try Cedega, which is a customized version
of Wine.
Use Qemu
Qemu is included in Slax Kill-Bill. It allows you to run other
operating systems while running Slax. To use it, open a console and
type "qemu -cdrom /mnt/disc0part1/slaxpro.iso" to start Slax
Professional while running Kill-Bill. Of course, you need to have Slax
Professional downloaded and called slaxpro.iso and on the first
partition of your primary drive for this particular command to work.
Miscellaneous
Save your configuration to the web
One of the greatest new features of Slax 5 is the ability to save your
Slax configuration to the internet. This allows you to take your
configuration everywhere without needing a separate floppy or
something. All you need is a Slax disc. To use this feature, type slax
webconfig=password with password being your password. By using this,
everything will happen automatically. All changes found in /etc, /root,
/home, and /var (except for /var/log) will be saved to the Slax server.
This command can be used to restore and save your configuration, no
other commands needed.
The password you chose must be over 10 characters long. Please make it long and complex, yet easy for you to remember.
To use this, you need to have Slax 5.0.0 or newer, and also a working network card, configured by DHCP.
Appendix A- Glossary of Terms
Fluxbox- lightweight window manager included in Slax
KDE- the K Desktop Environment which is included in Slax
KOffice- an office suite created for KDE
Linux- an operating system created by Linus Torvalds
Linux LiveCD- a bootable CD which allows you to run Linux without installing it
MC- Midnight Commander, a file browser for console
Qemu- Operating system emulator, included in Slax Popcorn
Slax- Linux LiveCD created by Tomas M
Slax Frodo- Slax minus just about everything, but is tiny
Slax Hacker- a version of Slax which contains tools for hacking
Slax Kill-Bill- Slax plus Wine, which allows you to run some Windows
programs, as well as Qemu to emulate a whole computer, so you can run
other operating systems in Slax
Slax Professional- Slax plus tools for compiling
Slax Server- will include ready to use DNS, DHCP, SAMBA, HTTP, FTP, MySQL, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, SSH
Wine- a program included in Slax Kill-Bill, which allows you to run Windows programs
XFCE- a window manager which is included in Slax Popcorn
Appendix B- Commands
Commands followed by an asterisk are only for Slax. Others should work with any Linux distro.
cd- Change directory. This can be used to change the directory you are
working in. For example you can use "cd /root" to work in the /root
directory.
dir2mo*- converts a directory to a module To change /root/vba to a module use "dir2mo /root/vba /root/vba.mo"
fileswap*- creates a 250MB swap file on the largest writable partition found
flux- starts Fluxbox while using Slax
mc- opens the console-based Midnight Commander file browser
mkdir- this makes a new directory For example to create a folder called Office in /root, type "mkdir /root/office"
startx- starts KDE in Slax
tgz2mo*- converts a .tgz package to a module For example to change a
Freeciv package to a module try "tgz2mo /root/freeciv.tgz
/root/freeciv.mo"
uselivemod*- allows you to use a module without having to add it to
your .iso For example to use the Supertux module try "uselivemod
/root/supertux.mo"
Appendix C- Links
Here are a couple links to various places:
www.slax.org The Slax website
www.linux-live.org The website for the Linux-Live scripts
www.slackware.org Slax is based on Slackware, created by Patrick Volkerding
www.linuxpackages.net A place to find many .tgz which can be converted to modules
www.linuxquestions.org A great place to ask general Linux questions
www.kernel.org The home of the Linux kernel
www.geocities.com/slaxfansite The latest version of this guide
Appendix D- Thanks
I'll try keep this short and sweet, I won't include my great-aunt's dog, don't worry.
First of all, Tomas Matejicek, for making Slax, and the Linux-Live
Scripts. Without him, there would be no Live-CD to make a guide for.
Second, I'd like to thank Endymion (and Tomas) and the other people who
have helped me through the Slax forum. Third, I want to thank Pastor Ed
from the Vector Linux forums for teaching me a bunch about Slackware
based distros and Linux in general. Also, those who work on the kernel,
and Patrick Volkerding for creating Slackware, which Slax is based on.
And lastly Ben Davis for cleaning up the horrible HTML Frontpage gave me,
and also for hosting this site.
Appendix E- Contact
Dustin Wielenga dustin32@gmail.com - Writer of this guide, please contact for problems with this guide, or suggestions.
Tomas Matejicek website - Creator of Slax and Linux-Live scripts.