See below; replies interspersed. Glad you got everyhing working.
At 12:13 PM 11/13/99 -0500, David R. Bernhardt wrote [in part]:
>(Note: one
>interesting thing that did happen when the X files & applications were
>loading was the monitor screen would blank out. For some reason, cntl/alt
>would bring it back on, strange.)
This is just the console screensaver kinking in. Any console activity
restores the screen ... the usual method is to press the SHIFT key, but the
one you discovered works equally well.
>
>Another interesting item that threw me off was when I logged in and asked
>for "ls", I just got a couple of files! I found out that I need to do a "cd
>/" to get the expected listing of files/directories. I still need to
>configure X, but at least the basic O/S seems to be up and running.
Just as is DOS or Windows, when you ask for a directory, you get one
relative to the directory you are in -- when you log in as root, you are in
root's home directory (usually /root). If your prompt isn't showing you your
current directory, you can check it with the "pwd" command. You can also
modify your prompt to show your pwd. If I remember Slackware 96 right (it's
been awhile since I actually ran it), you'd make the change in the file
./.profile (in the home directory) for an individual user, and in
/etc/profile to affect all users. Just add
PS1='\h:\w$'
export PS1
to get a more useful prompt.
>Now, regarding the Panasonic CD-ROM.
[portion omitted]
> I find I have to have a CD in the
>CD-ROM when starting Linux and I cannot get the CD to come out while the O/S
>is up, but at least the system is reading the CD's now. Progress.
Linux doesn't detect media changes autromatically. You have to use the
"mount" and "umount" commands to add and remove filesystems. If the device
(for the CD drive, the physical device is usually aliased via the symlink
/dev/cdrom) is listed in the file /etc/fstab, all you have to do (as root)
is enter
mount /cdrom
If it isn't listed in fstab, you need to use a more detailed command
mount /dev/cdrom /cdrom
I can't recall what Slackware 96 does about fstab; you'll need to look for
yourself.
Now, a general comment to close ... you probably want to get familiar with
the on-line manual (assuming you installed it; in Slackware 96, it's part of
the AP series). Type "man man" to get started; in general, "man
commandname", replacing "commandname" with the actual command you want to
know about, will get you someinformation about the command. If you installed
the F series, you also got the HowTos, some FAQs, and other reference
material; look in (I think) /usr/doc for this. You may also have the GNU
"info" system insatlled; type "info" to see.
Or you can consult this stuff online at the Linux Documentation Project, URL
http://www.linuxdoc.org .
------------------------------------"Never tell me the odds!"---
Ray Olszewski -- Han Solo
Palo Alto, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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