Slackware Linux on IBM Thinkpad 755 cx
This page gives details about installing Slackware on a TP 755 cx and also links for general Slackware, Thinkpad and Linux information. I've also added a section on getting hold of Linux CD's in the UK.
When I get 'round to fixing my X-windows I'll add a page here about my experiences ...
I just started this page on 10 December 2002. Apologies that it's not looking slick yet. I'm using this as a kickstart to a new fully fledged CSS design for my whole site ... I'm hoping to start looking for IT jobs again soon. :0)>
The computer
An IBM Thinkpad 755cx which I purchased second hand some 3+ years ago. It has a built in Mwave modem (broken?), 540MB hdd, floppy drive and all the usual ports.
The distro
I chose Slackware for no particular reason except that I read on a few discussion boards that it wasn't newbie friendly (I like a challenge) and that someone had used it on a Thinkpad 755. Oh, yeah and I could easily get it on my comp using floppies. Version 8.1 is the latest.
Where can I get Slack (and other Linux distros) in the UK?
Well, funny you asked that! I got my copy from uselinux.co.uk, the proprietor was most helpful and appears to be providing the discs out of love for Linux - as I can't see how he'd make a profit unless he has a huge CD generating capacity already.
Your best source for up to date distributions is the internet site, usually www.your-desired-distro.com. They usually have a list of FTP mirrors that you can spend a few weeks trying to get an ISO off - if like me you have 56K dialup access. You could get a friend to download a copy. Or you could borrow a copy - remember this is open source and most of it is free-as-in-beer (eg GNU GPL) so you can print as many copies as you like - check the license first and if in doubt e-mail the support guys for your distro.
Alternatively, try one of the following sites (none of whom sponsor me), I can only vouch for uselinux.co.uk though.
- uselinux.co.uk Good basic site, limited set of distros, payment by paypal,nochex, postal orders, etc.. Mr Wellstead seems like a nice bloke - any chance of a commission? Knoppix 3.1 comes to £3 with p&p.
- cheeplinux.com - appears to be the most expensive of this pick. Knoppix 3.1 comes to £7.98 with p&p.
- linuxemporium.co.uk - no comments really. Knoppix 3.1 comes to £4.50 with p&p.
Linux application downloads
The following is a brief list of some application download locations that I have found interesting/useful. There's alot of such sites. These are vaguely ordered with my picks first.
- icewalkers.com - ice walker, get it? [penguins!]; anyway, this site has a very nice look, an excellent structure and a pretty good selection of apps. They are sorted by, err, well, application!
Miscellaneous Linux places
I'll try to put the portal pages (ones that hold info about many aspects of Linux) near the top:
- www.slackware.com the main slackware homepage
- www.linuxquestions.org has a slackware forum that I've found quite useful, although it often appears (as with all these things) that it's the blind leading the blind
- www.tldp.org/ - the Linux Documentation Project, it's got all the docs, to my mind it's quite hard to navigate and tedious to find the snippets that you want, but it all seems to be there!
- www.google.com - probably how you found this page?
- www.bristol.lug.org.uk/list.php - the Bristol Linux User Group homepage
- web.mit.edu/tytso/www/linux/ext2intro.html - introduction to the ext2 filing system
- www.ltsp.org/documentation/index.php
- en.tldp.org/HOWTO/DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO.html
- www.geocrawler.com/archives/3/15/1997/2/0/1739526 - a thread entitled: Linux `mv` & Dos `ren`
- hardware.linuxnews.pl/_rids/_laptopdetails/235.html
- www.linuxworld.com/site-stories/2001/0823.xterminal.html - How to create a Linux based network of computers for peanuts @ www.linuxworld - EXCELLENT!
- www.linuxworld.com/site-stories/2001/1017.xterminal5-p2.html
- www.linuxworld.com/site-stories/2001/1030.xterminal6-p7.html
- www.tux.org/pub/distributions/tinylinux/tomsrtbt - Toms Root and Boot disk ... still haven't quite worked this one out; people rave about it though, wrt support.
- www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.2-Manual/ref-guide/s1-init-boot-shutdown-init.html - All about init run levels.
- en.tldp.org/LDP/gs/node4.html
- www.linuxworld.com/site-stories/2002/1204.cappel.html
- www.torque.net/parport/archive/current/0040.html
- rtfm.dyndns.info/tips/2000/10/29/40.shtml
- www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/Battery-Powered/index.html
- ebusiness.gbdirect.co.uk/case_studies/xterminal.html
- rtfm.dyndns.info/php-bin/view_question.php?id=14
- www.itatweb.com/.../Linux/Documentation
- www.linuxfocus.org/English/January2001/article157.shtml - System Administration in Slackware 7.0 - Configuration guide
- www.experts-exchange.com/Operating_Systems/Linux A meeting of minds for solving all your computer problems, not just Linux but everything, I use this quite a lot
- www.torque.net/parport/paride.html Linux and parallel port IDE devices, such as my micro-solutions backpack CDROM
- www.torque.net/parport/bpcd.html as above
- en.tldp.org/LDP/lfs/html/index.html - from the Linux Documentation Project - Linux from Scratch
- www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO hardware compatibility
- www.linuxlots.com/~jam/guide9.html - Linux installation
- www.linuxnetmag.com/en/issue4/m4boot1.html - the boot process @ Linux NetMag
- www.linux.org/info/index.html and from the same site www.linux.org/hardware/laptop.html
- www.ltsp.org - the Linux Terminal Server Project
- librenix.com/?inode=878 Core dump files and what to do about them
- www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/linux-laptop
- www.linuxnewbie.org
- www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reports/4547/1 - "Hot Rodding your slightly dated laptop for fun and profit"! exactly what I'm doing, except mines more than slightly dated
- www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/203/1 - "How do I partition my harddrive for Linux use?". Of course you could use ZipSlack (fits on a 100MB Zip disk) or BigSlack (runs from a windows partition) or ... to try out Linux before you partition.
- www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/4241/2 - "Taking up the Slack(ware)" some guys first impressions of Slackware 8.1
- www.micro-solutions.com/software_library/linux/index.html - these guys are the makers of my parport drive, which I, incidentally, mount using mount /dev/pcd0 /cdrom -t iso9660 or rather it's equivalent in the /etc/fstab file with parameters ro,noauto,...
- speech.linux-speakup.org/pipermail/speakup/2000-March/000207.html speakup is a boot installation for those with screen readers.
- leb.net/blinux/list-archive/blinux-list/1997/msg00078.html - a message concerning adduser - adduser was missing under my initial install, it turned out I hadn't installed all of the required 'a' packages. If you come up with spurious messages that look like you've got an application missing - I suggest that you use the manifest.gz file (eg from ftp://ftp.mirror.ac.uk) to determine which package that app is in and then use pkgtool or installpkg to install the package, eg from floppy.
- www.linuxgazette.com/issue41/smyth.html - windows 95 to linux direct cable connect (DCC), have tried this and had it working with Slackware 8 <-> WinME, can't remember what app I used from the Slackware side, but I do remember it was a standard one
- www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/203/2/
- us1.samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-HOWTO-Collection.html#SAMBA-PDC - samba is a networking protocol allowing connection of Linux and Windows machines ??? I think?
- www.linuxprofessionalsolutions.com/pavlicek/tv.html
- www.mythtv.org/docs - sounds very interesting, a sort of TiVo (RTM) for the Linux, this is also a sourceforge project
- www.hackorama.com/network/ - details about how to set up your home network using Linux (kernel 2.4) as a gateway server ... I may well use this for a community computing project I'm planning on the gaer.
- www.linuxathome.net/sharing.php - more details about internet connection sharing using linux, particularly setting up the server; gives commands to input.
- home.ubalt.edu/abento/linux/apache/index.shtml configuring an apache 6/7 server (one of these is included in most Linux distros
- www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/4241/3/
- www.redhat.com/docs/.../ref-guide/s1-init-boot-shutdown-init.html about runlevel and init, booting and shutting down.
General Slackware places
These should get you up and Slacking. Note that, I don't think this is obvious, the link on the main Slackware page to "book" is a link to the sites documentation.
- carroll.aset.psu.edu/.../slackware-8.1/BOOTING.TXT
- www.volny.cz/basiclinux/lowmem.html Installing slackware with only 4 MB of RAM
- jetblackz.freeservers.com/ConfiguringSlackware81.html - well duh?
- linuxtipps.sourceforge.net/index.php - the SlackFAQ, gives general info about Linux too, in multiple languages!
Linux on Thinkpad places
I've used all the following at some stage during the 2 week process of getting my Thinkpad up and running; most of these are for the older TP systems:
- dmoz.org/.../Thinkpad/ the internets number one directory [possibly] used by all sorts of search engines to aid there page ranking ... this is what it says, pages about Linux on Thinkpads
- http://mailman.linux-thinkpad.org/pipermail/linux-thinkpad/2002-March/007165.html
- mailman.linux-thinkpad.org/pipermail/linux-thinkpad/2002-March/007166.html
- www.cs.laurentian.ca/sczapor/misc/addr-TPLinux
- www.adamcon.org/~dmwick/thinkpad
- panopticon.csustan.edu/thood/tp600lnx.htm
- garson.org/~gnea/thinkpad750.howto.html - like it says a HOWTO for the Thinkpad 750
- www.geocities.com/renomero/linux-tp/installation.html - duplicate link? - info on a range of (older) thinkpads
- www2.wvsc.edu/~anderson/linux.html linux on the Thinkpad 755 CSE
- www.linux-laptop.net - has an IBM section
- peipa.essex.ac.uk/tp-linux - has specific details about the following: ThinkPad 340, Ps/Note E35, ThinkPad 360, ThinkPad 370, ThinkPad 500, ThinkPad 700, ThinkPad 701, ThinkPad 720, ThinkPad 750 and ThinkPad 755 contributed from a number of different users. The pages author also gives an example XF86Config file and gives details about enabling APM support and a few other tricks.
- www.angelfire.com/nt/sucks Thinkpad 755cx
- www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/9111/ibmtp760/index.html Thinkpad 760
- www.dummzeuch.de/thinkpad.html Thinkpad 701
- www.e-oasis.com/linux-tp.html
- www.tplinux.com
- www.adamcon.org/~dmwick/thinkpad/
General Thinkpad places
General information about the Thinkpad, not necessarily Linux stuff:
- zurich.ai.mit.edu/hypermail/thinkpad/1995-12/0242.html - Thinkpad mailing list archive
- www5.pc.ibm.com - Thinkpad 755cx detailed technical info. (copy here)
Others
General information about the Thinkpad, not necessarily Linux stuff:
- www.debian.org - another Linux distro?
- www.linux.org/info/penguin.html - Why Linus chose a penguin!">
- gargoyles.monochromatic.net/pipermail/netmd-dev/2002-June/000212.html - information about the NetMD minidisc player from Sony.
- particleadventure.org - I don't think this is a linux one, about particle Physics?
- scitoys.com/ - I don't think this is a linux one, about making scientific toys?
Again, apologies, but you can see I'm working on it, lunch has finished, back tomorrow ...