GSB: GNOME SlackBuild
=====================
This is our binary GNOME distribution for Slackware Linux. It encompasses all
needed packages for a fully configurable, customisable and usable GNOME desktop
environment for Slackware.
If you haven't yet, you should read about the GSB project before installing:
Installation methods
--------------------
Before starting an installation, please, PLEASE, *P L E A S E* read this entire
document. There is important information about performing the installation,
and post-installation configuration and problems that may occur. If you do not
read this entire document and have a problem which is covered here you WILL NOT
make any friends on the mailing lists or IRC channel and we will likely not
bother to help you, in the same way as you have not bothered to help yourself.
GSB currently supports three installation methos; a fully automated net based
installer, installation over the net using a manually configured slapt-get, and
installation from a local repository mirror.
The automated net installer, obviously, requires an active internet connection
to perform the installation - packages are downloaded from one of the GSB
mirror sites (randomly selected from our mirrors list) and installed onto the
system automatically. However, with the net installer there is no facility to
select what packages will be installed - the net installer will install all
packages listed in the 'gsb-complete' meta package (see below). This is by
far the best option for users who want a fully functional, fully featured
GNOME desktop.
The second net based install requires manual configuation of slapt-get with the
GSB repository details. slapt-get will also need to be configured with a
Slackware/Slamd64 12.0 mirror so that it can resolve any dependancies the GSB
packages may have on Slackware/Slamd64 packages. Once slapt-get is configured,
any of the GSB meta packages (see below) or individual packages can be
installed - this allows fine grained package selection or installation of
different collections of packages without having to download a full copy of
our repository.
If net installation is not possible or there are many installations to be
performed, GSB can be installed from a local mirror/repository. This procedure
requires a full local copy of the whole GSB binary tree - either on hard disk,
a CDROM or some other portable media, and follows the same general process as
the manual slapt-get net installation, except that slapt-get is configured
to use a local GSB repository rather than a online one.
Each of the procedures for installation is detailed below. Once you have
decided which option is best for you, please refer to the appropriate section
for full instructions.
If you regulaly use slapt-get to keep your packages up to date, or have
multiple repositories in your slapt-getrc, it is important that you read the
section titled 'Problems when using slapt-get' below.
Before installation
-------------------
The installation is best done at runlevel 3 - *without* X11 running. It is not
advisable to do the installation from within an XTerm.
If you have any X11 sessions open which have been started with the 'startx'
command or similar after logging into the console in text mode, you must exit
those sessions to insure the installation goes smoothly. Once those are closed
you will probably be returned to your normal (unprivilged) user account shell
prompt, you should now log out using:
$ logout
You should now be back at the text based 'login:' prompt.
If your system has been put into runlevel 4 (the graphical login runlevel), you
must put the system back into runlevel 3. Firstly, you need get to a text
login console if you are in X11 - hold down the Ctl and Alt keys and press F6.
This will take you to a text based 'login:' prompt, where you should log in as
'root' using your root password. Once logged in, use this command to bring
the system back to runlevel 3:
$ init 3
Wait for the process to finish (it might help to hit Enter a couple of times
after 20-30 seconds). During the process, your active terminal may be changed,
so you may not be returned to the shell prompt. If the active terminal has
changed, it will probably now show another 'login:' prompt. If you are
returned to the shell prompt after hitting Enter a couple of times, you do not
need to log out (and can skip the rest of this section) - you are logged in
as 'root' and can begin installation.
In either of the two cases above, if you have a text based 'login:' prompt on
screen, you must login as 'root' using your own root password.
You should now be logged into your system as the 'root' user, your system
should be at runlevel 3, and there should be no active X11 sessions.
Automated net installation
--------------------------
This is the simplest method of installation and requires very little detailed
explanation - you simply run one command and a full installation of GSB, plus
any of the required Slackware/Slamd64 package dependancies, will be installed.
Depending on whether you have 'wget', 'curl' or 'lynx' available on your
system, you can use one of the following commands to begin installation.
Note: Be sure to use the correct architecture link - GSB supports both IA32 (32
bit Slackware) and x86_64 (64 bit Slamd64).
Using wget:
For IA32:
$ wget -q -O- http://gnomeslackbuild.org/net-install | bash
For x86_64:
$ wget -q -O- http://gnomeslackbuild.org/net-install/64 | bash
Using curl:
For IA32:
$ curl http://gnomeslackbuild.org/net-install | bash
For x86_64:
$ curl http://gnomeslackbuild.org/net-install/64 | bash
Using lynx:
For IA32:
$ lynx --source http://gnomeslackbuild.org/net-install | bash
For x86_64:
$ lynx --source http://gnomeslackbuild.org/net-install/64 | bash
Manual slapt-get net installation
---------------------------------
The first thing to do for a manual slapt-get installation is to download and
install slapt-get. If you already have slapt-get installed there is no reason
to replace your current installed version with ours in order to start the
installation process, but your current slapt-get package will be updated to
our package during GSB installation.
Depending on whether you have 'wget', 'curl' or 'lynx' available on your
system, you can use the following commands to download and install slapt-get.
Note: Be sure to use the correct architecture link - GSB supports both IA32 (32
bit Slackware) and x86_64 (64 bit Slamd64).
Using wget:
For IA32:
$ wget -q ftp://ftp.slackware.org.uk/gsb/gsb-stable/packages/tools/slapt-get-0.9.12c-i586-3gsb.tgz
$ upgradepkg --install-new slapt-get-0.9.12c-i586-3gsb.tgz
For x86_64:
$ wget -q ftp://ftp.slackware.org.uk/gsb64/gsb64-stable/packages/tools/slapt-get-0.9.12c-x86_64-3gsb.tgz
$ upgradepkg --install-new slapt-get-0.9.12c-x86_64-3gsb.tgz
Using curl:
For IA32:
$ curl -O ftp://ftp.slackware.org.uk/gsb/gsb-stable/packages/tools/slapt-get-0.9.12c-i586-3gsb.tgz
$ upgradepkg --install-new slapt-get-0.9.12c-i586-3gsb.tgz
For x86_64:
$ curl -O ftp://ftp.slackware.org.uk/gsb64/gsb64-stable/packages/tools/slapt-get-0.9.12c-x86_64-3gsb.tgz
$ upgradepkg --install-new slapt-get-0.9.12c-x86_64-3gsb.tgz
Using lynx:
Note:
When using lynx you will need to manually agree to download the file (using
the 'd' key when prompted), selecting "Save to disk" and confirming the
filename when prompted. Use 'q' to quit lynx once the file is saved.
For IA32:
$ lynx ftp://ftp.slackware.org.uk/gsb/gsb-stable/packages/tools/slapt-get-0.9.12c-i586-3gsb.tgz
$ upgradepkg --install-new slapt-get-0.9.12c-i586-3gsb.tgz
For x86_64:
$ lynx ftp://ftp.slackware.org.uk/gsb64/gsb64-stable/packages/tools/slapt-get-0.9.12c-x86_64-3gsb.tgz
$ upgradepkg --install-new slapt-get-0.9.12c-x86_64-3gsb.tgz
Once slapt-get is installed, a basic configuration file must be created for the
installation. We do not recommend editing your current slapt-get configuration
unless you know what you are doing. These instructions will create a new, GSB
specific, slapt-getrc file which can be used just for installation.
Before the slapt-getrc file can be created, you must select the GSB and
Slackware/Slamd64 mirrors to be used for the installation. Appendix A and
Appendix B, towards the end of this document, list the available mirrors
for GSB and Slackware/Slamd64 respectivly. Please check those mirror lists now
and select a mirror for GSB and Slackware/Slamd64 which will be added to the
slapt-getrc file here.
To create the slapt-getrc, open a text editor (we recommend 'nano') with the
following filename:
$ nano /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb
Add the following lines exactly as shown (copy and paste is your friend):
WORKINGDIR=/var/slapt-get
EXCLUDE=^kernel-.*,^alsa-.*,^glibc.*,.*-[0-9]+dl$,^devs$,^udev$,aaa_elflibs
In addition to the above, you will need to add two SOURCE= lines to the file,
one SOURCE for GSB and one SOURCE for Slackware/Slamd64:
SOURCE=
SOURCE=
Once all 4 of the above lines have been added to the file, save it and exit the
text editor. Configuration of slapt-get is now complete.
You will now need to update the slapt-get cache files:
$ slapt-get -c /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb --update
If the above update process ran without errors, you are now ready to begin
installation by selecting which of the GSB software 'sets' you would like to
install.
Appendix C, towards the end of this document, details the available 'sets' of
packages which can be installed. We highly recommend installation of the
'gsb-complete' set unless you are sure you know what you are doing. Once you
have selected the set to be installed you can begin the install process with:
$ slapt-get -c /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb -y --retry 10 --upgrade
$ slapt-get -c /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb -y --retry 10 \
--install
(Note: the second command has been spanned over two lines for readability)
For clarity, to install the 'gsb-complete' set (highly recommended) use the
following commands:
$ slapt-get -c /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb -y --retry 10 --upgrade
$ slapt-get -c /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb -y --retry 10 --install gsb-complete
With any luck, the installation process will finish without any errors or
problems and GSB will now be installed on your system. Please read the section
'After installation' (and the sections which follow it) below.
Installing from a local copy
----------------------------
Installing from a local copy of GSB and/or Slackware/Slamd64 is a very similar
process to the manual slapt-get net installation detailed above - it is
recommended that you read that section in addition to this one, in order to
understand the slapt-get installtion process. Only brief instructions are
given here.
For the following instructions, referrs to the local filesystem
location for the GSB mirror, and referrs to the local
filesystem location to the Slackware/Slamd64 mirror. Both of these should,
obviously, be replaced with the full correct paths to each mirror.
As with the manual slapt-get net installation, a slapt-getrc file must be
created - however, the two SOURCE entries in the slapt-getrc for this install
method will be local filesystem paths, not URLs.
Create the slapt-getrc:
$ nano /etc/slapt-getrc.gsb
Add the required configuration:
WORKINGDIR=/var/slapt-get
EXCLUDE=^kernel-.*,^alsa-.*,^glibc.*,.*-[0-9]+dl$,^devs$,^udev$,aaa_elflibs
Finally, add the two SOURCE entries:
SOURCE=
SOURCE=
Save the file and exit the text editor. Use these commands to update the
slapt-get cache files:
$ slapt-get -c /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb --update
Finally, as with the manual slapt-get net installation, you must choose which
'set' to install. Details of the sets are in Appendix C below, but we highly
recommend that you install 'gsb-complete'.
To start the installation, use:
$ slapt-get -c /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb -y --retry 10 --upgrade
$ slapt-get -c /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb -y --retry 10 \
--install
(Note: the second command has been spanned over two lines for readability)
For clarity, to install the 'gsb-complete' set (highly recommended) use the
following commands:
$ slapt-get -c /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb -y --retry 10 --upgrade
$ slapt-get -c /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc.gsb -y --retry 10 --install gsb-complete
With any luck, the installation process will finish without any errors or
problems and GSB will now be installed on your system. Please read the section
'After installation' (and the sections which follow it) below.
After installation
------------------
It is highly recommended that you reboot your system after installation in
order to insure that all services/daemons required by GNOME have been started.
You can start the daemons manually and avoid the need to reboot, but there are
a number of services that need to be started - it's just easier to reboot!
If your system is configured to start at run level 4 (the X11 graphical login),
your usual display manager should now have been replaced with GDM - the GNOME
Display Manager. You should be able to log in with your usual username and
password in the same way as you did before - but be sure to check that GNOME
(or Compiz GNOME) is selected in the Sessions list.
If you usually log into your system at run level 3 (text based login) and then
use 'startx' or similar you should log in as your usual (not root!) user and
run:
$ xwmconfig
and select the GNOME (or Compiz GNOME) option from the menu.
You can also repeat the above as root to set the default for the whole system,
but using root as your every day login user is a *really* *stupid* *idea*.
You can then use 'startx' to start GSB as usual.
If you have any problems starting GSB or logging in, please see below for
support links and mailing lists.
Uninstalling GNOME SlackBuild
-----------------------------
Firstly, why do you want to?
Seriously, I mean, what are your alternatives?
KDE? No thanks, might as well use Windows.
Dropline GNOME? I'd rather not have PAM bastardising my system :)
So, really, don't uninstall GSB :)
So you still want to? You will need to remove all GNOME SlackBuild packages,
and then re-install any Slackware/Slamd64 provided packages that may have been
replaced by GSB ones.
To remove all the GSB packages, run (as root):
$ removepkg /var/log/packages/*gsb | tee /tmp/gsb-uninstall.log
You should probably check the uninstall log at /tmp/gsb-uninstall.log to see if
any files installed by GSB packages got left behind - it's up to you how much
housekeeping you want to do on those files :)
Once all the GSB packages are removed and you've done any housekeeping, you
will need to re-install any Slackware/Slamd64 packages which were replaced by
the GSB provided ones. A complete list of standard Slackware/Slamd64 packages
GSB replaces can be found here:
From the above list of packages, re-install any which may be required for your
system to operate correctly.
If you are using slapt-get to re-install the packages, you will need to comment
out the SOURCE= line for GSB in your /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc file. Then be
sure to run:
$ slapt-get --update
Once that is finished, you can re-install the standard Slackware packages by
running:
$ slapt-get --install
where the is those obtained from the replaced_packages list.
If you don't use slapt-get to maintain your Slackware/Slamd64 packages, you can
use 'installpkg' (or whatever your preferred package management front-end is)
to simply re-install any required packages.
It would also be a good idea to select an alternative window manager (as
detailed in the 'After installation' section), and reboot your system to insure
all GSB daemon/services have been stopped.
Questions, Comments and Support
-------------------------------
Do one of the following (in this order):
* Check the FAQs and other helpfull resources on the website:
* For bug reports and feature requests, please check our issue tracker for
previous reports of the same problem and possible solutions. If your bug
or feature is not solved or listed, add it:
* Join the GSB User Discussion Mailing List:
Firstly, check the archive to see if anyone else has had a similar problem
which has already been solved. You will not get any points for requesting
help with a problem that has already been addressed.
The mailing list is the easiest and preferred method of contact for support
type issues - it allows us to keep an archive of questions and answers.
Note: You must be subscribed to the mailing list in order to post messages.
* Join the #gsb IRC channel on irc.freenode.net and ask questions - without
whinging, bitching, repeatidly asking the same question, repeatidly asking
'is anyone here?' or being a general idiot. We are a friendly bunch
(well, mostly anyway) and willing to help IF YOU GIVE US RESPECT.
On IRC, we may appear to be always online, but we are frequently away from
the console and you may not receive an answer for a while. But stick
around since we'll try to give a reply, eventually :)
Appendix A - GSB repositories/mirrors
-------------------------------------
The following is a list of mirrors from which to download GSB. Any of the
mirrors can be used in slapt-get and each is synced with the master server at
least once per day.
For the IA32 (i586, i686 et al) version of GSB for Slackware 12.0:
For the x86_64 (opteron, athlon64, et al) version of GSB for Slamd64 12.0:
Appendix B - Slackware/Slamd64 repositories/mirrors
---------------------------------------------------
The follwoing is a non-exhaustive list of Slackware/Slamd64 mirrors which can
be used to resolve dependancies during the GSB installation. These mirrors
have been manually checked to insure they are alive and up to date, but we
cannot guarantee how often they update or how long they will be available.
You can, of course, use your own favourite Slackware/Slamd64 mirror instead.
Slackware 12.0 mirrors:
Slamd64 12.0 mirrors:
Appendix C - Meta packages and sets
-----------------------------------
GSB has been divided into package sets which can be selectivly installed to
suit the need of the user. The packages which will be installed by each set
are listed in meta packages which slapt-get knows how to process and install.
The following meta packages (or sets) can be used with slapt-get once it has
been configured with a GSB repository - a detailed description of each set is
also provided:
* gsb-complete
This set includes the entire GSB distribution - every package. It
contains all the multimedia, development, office, desktop, compiz,
library and accessibility packages available from GSB. It is a huge
download and a huge install, but provides everything a user could want
in a GNOME desktop. It is *highly* recommended that a full installation
be performed using this set.
* gsb-desktop
This is the basic, yet fully functional GNOME Desktop Environment
provided by GSB. It contains all the packages required for a working
GNOME Desktop, including Epiphany, Evolution, the GNOME Display Manager
(GDM), NetworkManager, Gslapt for package management and some basic
themes and desktop utilities.
* gsb-accessibility
This set is for all the accessibility applications and utilities for the
GNOME Desktop, such as Orca and GNOME Magnifier.
* gsb-administration
This set is all the administration applications and utilities for the
the GNOME Desktop, such as Pessulus and Sabayon.
* gsb-multimedia
The full multimedia suite for GNOME SlackBuild. It includes various
music players, like Banshee, Rhythmbox, Totem, as well as MPlayer, and a
full assortment of codec libraries.
* gsb-office
This is a full Office Suite, with software for all aspects of the office,
like Glom for database, Goffice, Gnumeric, Abiword, as well as Dia for a
Visio-like charting program and of course, Open Office.
* gsb-development
This set contains a full Development Environment, including packages such
such as Anjuta, Glade3, and C++ bindings for most GNOME packages.
* gsb-themes
This set provides a few extra themes for GSB, as well as a few of the
more popular GTK engines in use by a wide variety of GNOME themes.
* gsb-compiz
This set installs the 3D window manager: Compiz. Its configuration
utilities as well as Compiz GNOME Integration.
* gsb-mono
This set provides the Mono/C# development tools, including a working
Mono C# compiler, GNOME bindings, and a MonoDevelop IDE.