No Network with Basic XFCE Live CD Install

[dcwbis]

I downloaded and did a basic install from the Salix Xfce Live 13.1.2 CD ISO. Everything seemed to go smoothly until I attempted to use the GSLAPT Package Manager. When I clicked the Update button, it said that all of the soures were unavailable. I then tried to open Firefox and no web pages could be found. I noticed that I did not have indication of a network connection (everything was fine when using the Live CD - I had an ethernet cable connected to my router and I could browse with no problem).

To get around the problem I reinstalled with a Full installation and this solved the problem. It's just that now I have some software that I will have to remove. I am wondering if this is standard with a Basic installation or am I missing something "basic"? I admit that I did read the description of Basic installation where it says that it is for Advanced users and I really do not qualify for that classification - but I wanted to play around a bit.

This is my first shot at using Salix. I installed it on an 8 year old HP ze5730 notebook, 40 GB HD 1GB RAM. If memory serves me correct it is a Celeron processor so there is not a lot of pep in this machine. I am impressed with the responsiveness that I am getting out of this installation. After getting some sleep I will need to see about performing the upgrade from 13.1 to 13.37, deleting some packages and adding a few others.

[Z0K4]

I am wondering if this is standard with a Basic installation or am I missing something "basic"?

I think there is no network manager installed with "basic"! In salix, network manager is wicd. I had the same problem when I installed salix for the first time
If you are new to salix, maybe it is better for you to stay where you are (full installation) and just remove unwanted software! If you are new to Linux you should know: removing software in Linux completely removes software, unlike the windowz, where you have file and/or registry leftovers

[mimosa]

Unless storage space is very short (and you do say you have 40GB) the extra apps won't do any harm - they just take up a gigabyte or two on the hard disk.

However, it's very easy to connect to wired internet from console. You could then install wicd, reboot, and add whatever else you want using gslapt. You need to be root:

Code: Select all

$su   #enter root password
#ifconfig -a   #this lists available network interfaces; the one you want is probably something like 'eth0'
#ifconfig eth0 up
#dhcpcd

and that should do it.

Then install wicd:

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#slapt-get  -u #update package info
#slapt-get -i wicd
#service start wicd

or of course you can just use Gslapt. Wicd has a good few megabytes of dependencies, which may be why it isn't included in Basic.

[laprjns]

If you want to connect via a wired interface then all you need to do is to run "netconfig" in a terminal as root to setup your network.

[mimosa]

@laprnjs
But wouldn't you then have to undo that configuration if you wanted to use wicd (which many people find more user-friendly, and has a rather pretty tray icon)? At least, I vaguely remember reading something to that effect ...

[laprjns]

@laprnjs

oops

But wouldn't you then have to undo that configuration if you wanted to use wicd (which many people find more user-friendly, and has a rather pretty tray icon)? At least, I vaguely remember reading something to that effect ...

Yes you do. However if you do a basic install, then you don't have wicd and you will need to use the internet connection to install it.. I realize that you could install wicd off the livecd (or installation cd), but the developers must have a reason for not including wicd as part of the basic install. The following seems to be a good guide on how to setup your network without wicd and it mention at the end what you have to do if you if you install want to wicd after.
http://alien.slackbook.org/dokuwiki/dok ... re:network

[mimosa]

oops

My suggestion was to connect without configuring, as a one-off, and use that connection to install wicd. Reboot and you should be in business. I hope.

EDIT

In fact I've actually done this, and it worked (I hope I'm remembering the steps correctly), although I didn't keep the installation for very long.
I think wicd probably isn't included on the basis that if you are installing Basic, you will want to choose your network manager yourself - and you probably know how to set up the network manually.

[dcwbis]

I thank you all for your replies. I am going to reinstall with a Basic installation and try to manually configure my network setup. It should prove interesting.

I especially appreciate the info regarding the wiki guide for networking. It was interesting reading and I bookmarked it for further review. The links from there to the Slackware Linux Essentials and Slackware Linux Basics look like they will be very helpful to a fairly new linux user. I have been using Ubuntu and Linux Mint for about 9 months. This is my first venture into an OS that seems to require a bit more CLI activity. I plan to use this on my backup notebook to see if it will provide more stability than Mint (I used it to replace Ubuntu - too many problems with unity).

Thanks again for all of the good information & I will be lingering around these forums to get some more knowledge.