A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

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silentwind
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Joined: 2. Jun 2015, 11:23

A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

Post by silentwind »

Hello.

I’d like for this post to also become a short and friendly newbie guide for those that might face the same problems that I do (and I think they are quite many).

The idea is that it’s easier to read all the info in one page, rather than hunt for each issue separately in the whole forum. After my install is done, and the install steps are correctly defined, the essential information here could maybe make it to the Forum’s Tutorial section; then simply updated for each Salix release accordingly.

I don’t intend to take credit for the guide, since I’m still new to these things and I will be the one who is guided after all. :)

I want to dual boot Windows 7 with Salix (salixlive64-xfce-14.2.1). On this PC, I could already dual boot Windows 7 with Xubuntu and even Debian in the past. So the PC itself is fine and I know the basics of dual booting, although I’m very much still beginner level when it comes to Gnu/Linux use and configuration.

Since Salix 14.2.1 is quite a new version and the Startup Guide is from 2015, I wonder if everything in the Startup Guide is up-to-date and works with the new version as well.

So before I install, I’ll try to make a sketch here of the main steps I will use to make the system workable and capable of running the Windows apps I need via Wine/PlayOnLinux. These Windows apps are already known for me to work in Wine/PlayOnLinux on Xubuntu, so their compatibility is not an issue.

I am aware that the process won’t be very easy, but hopefully, with some help from the benevolent experts here, it will still be doable. By being able to properly install Wine/PlayOnLinux on a 64bit Salix I will consider accomplished the mission of installing Salix as a daily use Gnu/Linux distro.

(I am aware that I could just use Windows for those apps, but there are good reasons why I prefer them via Wine in Gnu/Linux, the most important being that I want to learn more about Gnu/Linux and such a set-up would allow me some very useful hands-on experience.)

Below are the steps. I would really appreciate some guidance and correction on any of them when necessary.

1. Hopefully the Salix installer will auto-detect my “Unnalocated space” and its size from the hard drive and offer to auto-partition it. Otherwise, I’ll have to create the main bootable partition plus the swap, as the Startup Guide indicates.

2. After the Salix installs, right after booting into the graphical desktop, the first thing I will do is to update the system. Here I’m not exactly sure how to proceed. Should I add any repositories first or just go with the defaults? Then should I use Gslapt→Update→Mark All Upgrades? Would I use the same update method afterwards to regularly update the system?

3. After updating system, I should install the graphic card drivers; in my case Nvidia. I suppose the information here:
https://docs.salixos.org/wiki/How_to_In ... DIA_driver
is still up-to-date?

4. I will also try to set the login screen resolution to match that of the desktop. From my experience with other distros, the login screen’s resolution does not follow the desktop one. In Xubuntu, I have tweaked something in Nvidia Settings for that, following an online guide, but can’t remember exactly the procedure (I should take notes more often…). Any exact direction here is, again, much appreciated.

5. After the Nvidia drivers are installed, I usually test them by installing SuperTuxKart. How will I install that?

It’s not just for testing purposes though, since SuperTuxKart is intended to remain on my system for as long as the distro stays. That game is just Fun incarnate! :)

6. I also intend to install ‘gufw’ and Clamav/Clamtk (the last is merely personal taste, a very optional step for anyone else)

7. Now comes the hard part. Wine and PlayOnLinux. It seems I have to install ‘multilib’ first in order to use 32 bit libraries on a 64bit system; from my forum search I’ve found the most recent mini-guide on the subject here:
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=7057&p=40715&hilit=multilib#p40715
by djemos.
But there is also:
https://docs.salixos.org/wiki/How_to_install_multilib

Which one should I follow?

8. After multilib is successfully installed, what are the steps required for installing Wine? Should I first install the 64 bit version and then the 32 bit one? Anything else I should know here? I suppose PlayOnLinux will install fine as soon as Wine works well.

9. In order to install any other software not appearing in Gslapt or Sourcery, how should I proceed?

10. Any there any system maintenance procedures, apart from system update, that I should be aware of?
………………………………..

These should do it. Let me know about the best way to make this a proper tutorial.
Thank you for your assistance.
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Papasot
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Location: Patras, Greece

Re: A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

Post by Papasot »

This is not a full answer to your questions, but rather a few remarks:

* Last time I used the installer, it had everything I needed. The graphical version (via SalixLive) has even gparted for that purpose. I am personally ok with the non-graphical install as well. You won't have any issues.

* After installing, the first thing you should do is updating. i prefer to do so before adding any extra repositories. What I do after that is adding my custom repository, with a few packages I want more updated than the ones in Salix. Gslapt or slapt-get will give priority to your custom repo whenever the same package (with different versions) exists both in Salix repos and your custom one. So once you set up your custom repo you just update as usual.

* The information concerning installing proprietatry Nvidia driver is up-to-date. I don't think the first step (installing xf86-video-nouveau-blacklist) is mandatory anymore. As long kernel-source is installed, nvidia-installer will detect that driver and take care of the possible conflict. it also creates a backup of your original xorg configuration. Worked like a charm on all my computers having a Nvidia card. Note that I run nvidia-installer as root via sudo (or su, if you setup a root account). I didn't even try to run the installer as a normal user.
Also note that the quality of the Nvidia driver is questionable, at least for Nvidia Quadro 2000 and 4000 (minor issues, like delaying a bit if I move a window with OpenGL context, while nouveau driver doesn't do that).

* You don't need to install any game to test the Nvidia driver installation. Just type

Code: Select all

glxinfo | egrep 'vendor|version'
This will tell you everything you need to verify that the driver was indeed installed. Other than that, if you really want to see it in practice, Salix repos have some games based on OpenGL you can install (and even more in SlackBuilds via Sourcery). I would try megaglest; you should realize that the driver works just by watching the intro screen.

* Login screen resolution...Salix uses gdm by default, it has may options, and it makes sense as a gtk display manager, when Xfce is the default window manager/desktop. However, I fail to see why a display manager is needed in the first place. I would recommend to uninstall gdm and set default runlevel to 3 (in /etc/inittab). If you really want a display manager running in the background all the time, just to ask you what's the user name and password in the beginning, its resolution is the same as your Xfce desktop anyway (at least it was last time I saw gdm running), so you don't need to do anything about that.

* Now the hard part... named multilib. Well, personally, I don't like the idea of installing 200+ Mb of 32-bit libraries in a pure 64-bit system just to run Wine. All that in an era when you can't buy a computer with a 32-bit CPU even if you wanted to. I am aware that some developers think it's still 1999, and they release their applications for 32-bit Linux only, I am just ignoring all of them, or install from source, if possible. Yes, some other distros offer multilib as an "easy to install" choice, but no, thank you. I simply don't like and don't trust multilib.
if you really need Wine, it is available in Sourcery/SlackBuilds and last time I tried it was installed from there without issues (it wasn't working though because my system is not multilib). Note that Wine 64-bit is experimental, so be prepared to be a Wine64 beta-tester.
In any case my advise is... don't do it. I would recommend to install Salix 32-bit in a separate partition, and install Wine there; it doesn't need much space, and it will save you the trouble of dodging Wine64's experimental state, even after turning your system to multilib.

If, on the other hand, you want some "useful hands-on experience", GNU/Linux offers a ship load of more productive opportunities than managing to install Wine on a 64-bit machine (playing with the beast called Blender comes in mind, but there are countless of other ideas to roll-up the sleeves).
But then again, you decide what you will do, so feel free to ignore, if multilib is a big thing for your needs.
A pleasant detail in this forum: several people pick a picture of their pet as their avatar. Who am I to do otherwise? ;-)
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gapan
Salix Wizard
Posts: 6238
Joined: 6. Jun 2009, 17:40

Re: A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

Post by gapan »

slientwind wrote:Since Salix 14.2.1 is quite a new version and the Startup Guide is from 2015, I wonder if everything in the Startup Guide is up-to-date and works with the new version as well.
It is up to date.
slientwind wrote:1. Hopefully the Salix installer will auto-detect my “Unnalocated space” and its size from the hard drive and offer to auto-partition it. Otherwise, I’ll have to create the main bootable partition plus the swap, as the Startup Guide indicates.
Are you talking about the standard installation iso or the live one?
slientwind wrote:2. After the Salix installs, right after booting into the graphical desktop, the first thing I will do is to update the system. Here I’m not exactly sure how to proceed. Should I add any repositories first or just go with the defaults? Then should I use Gslapt→Update→Mark All Upgrades? Would I use the same update method afterwards to regularly update the system?
There is an update notifier, so whenever new updates are up, you'll get it. You should not add any other repositories. This applies: https://docs.salixos.org/wiki/Can_I_use ... itories%3F
slientwind wrote:3. After updating system, I should install the graphic card drivers; in my case Nvidia. I suppose the information here:
https://docs.salixos.org/wiki/How_to_In ... DIA_driver
is still up-to-date?
It is.
slientwind wrote:4. I will also try to set the login screen resolution to match that of the desktop. From my experience with other distros, the login screen’s resolution does not follow the desktop one. In Xubuntu, I have tweaked something in Nvidia Settings for that, following an online guide, but can’t remember exactly the procedure (I should take notes more often…). Any exact direction here is, again, much appreciated.
That should happen without you needing to do anything at all.
slientwind wrote:5. After the Nvidia drivers are installed, I usually test them by installing SuperTuxKart. How will I install that?
Using the package management tools. Read the startup guide.
slientwind wrote:6. I also intend to install ‘gufw’ and Clamav/Clamtk (the last is merely personal taste, a very optional step for anyone else)
I would advise you against carrying habits from windows to linux. You don't really need any of that and most people have been brainwashed by using windows for too long that they do. But whatever.
slientwind wrote:7. Now comes the hard part. Wine and PlayOnLinux. It seems I have to install ‘multilib’ first in order to use 32 bit libraries on a 64bit system; from my forum search I’ve found the most recent mini-guide on the subject here:
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=7057&p=40715&hilit=multilib#p40715
by djemos.
But there is also:
https://docs.salixos.org/wiki/How_to_install_multilib

Which one should I follow?
Both should work equally well. They do exactly the same thing anyway.
slientwind wrote:8. After multilib is successfully installed, what are the steps required for installing Wine? Should I first install the 64 bit version and then the 32 bit one? Anything else I should know here? I suppose PlayOnLinux will install fine as soon as Wine works well.
I have no use for wine or playonlinux, but you can get wine packages from alienbob:
http://slackware.uk/people/alien/slackbuilds/wine/

Playonlinux is available through sourcery/spi/slapt-src.
slientwind wrote:9. In order to install any other software not appearing in Gslapt or Sourcery, how should I proceed?
What software?
slientwind wrote:10. Any there any system maintenance procedures, apart from system update, that I should be aware of?
Read the startup guide and

Code: Select all

man salix
for a start.

However, I would never install multilib myself. I'd rather have a 32bit chroot. Think of it as a separate 32bit installation within your system. We have a tool for that: salix-chroot-install. Instructions here: https://sourceforge.net/p/salix/mailman ... /33182843/
It's really a lot cleaner this way compared to the multilib mess.
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silentwind
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Joined: 2. Jun 2015, 11:23

Re: A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

Post by silentwind »

I have a problem. I've put the Salix .iso file to usb, by using the 'dd' command. But when trying to boot from the live USB, the following error appears:
"Unknown keyword in configuration file"

I've web searched this problem and have found this article:
http://alexsleat.co.uk/2010/11/27/how-t ... -usb-boot/

However, none of the 2 listed solutions works. In my "syslinux.cfg" file, there only appears this gibberish:
"CéT+¥Òñ”®‹’M6£ô'ô`!jï<Ù,_÷ã"

I've used 'dd' in the past with other live distros and everything worked fine.
gapan wrote:
slientwind wrote:1. Hopefully the Salix installer will auto-detect my “Unnalocated space” and its size from the hard drive and offer to auto-partition it. Otherwise, I’ll have to create the main bootable partition plus the swap, as the Startup Guide indicates.
Are you talking about the standard installation iso or the live one?
The live one. Is there a difference between standard and live regarding auto-partitioning?
gapan wrote:
slientwind wrote:8. After multilib is successfully installed, what are the steps required for installing Wine? Should I first install the 64 bit version and then the 32 bit one? Anything else I should know here? I suppose PlayOnLinux will install fine as soon as Wine works well.
I have no use for wine or playonlinux, but you can get wine packages from alienbob:
http://slackware.uk/people/alien/slackbuilds/wine/
Ok, but after multilib is installed, does it matter how I install Wine? Can I just install from Gslapt? Do I need both Wine 64 and Wine 32? Are there any other libraries that need installed?
gapan wrote:
slientwind wrote:9. In order to install any other software not appearing in Gslapt or Sourcery, how should I proceed?
What software?
I mean any software that might not appear in Gslapt or Sourcery. FLOSS only, of course. For non-FLOSS I use Wine. One example would be 'gnome-subtitles'. I'm not sure if it is present in Sourcery.

Thank you.
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mimosa
Salix Warrior
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Re: A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

Post by mimosa »

Regarding "other software", your best bet is to stick with what is in the repositories, supplemented by SBo (sourcery). You may not find a given application, but you probably will find another that does the job.
Exceptions should be made judiciously. One example is AlienBob's Wine package, mentioned above. Alien is a Slackware developer (Slack being Salix's parent distribution) so you are probably on safe ground there. Another common one is vlc (available from the same source).

Failing that, you can explore building your own packages. But there is a bit of a learning curve. I would suggest leaving that for a bit later.
It shouldn't really make any difference whether you install from Live. But you may prefer not to use cfdisk for partitioning. Most live linuxes have Gparted for this, and you can use any one, it doesn't have to be Salix. Then when you come to install, just skip the partitioning step.
silentwind
Posts: 24
Joined: 2. Jun 2015, 11:23

Re: A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

Post by silentwind »

I was able to boot Salix live after reformatting the usb to a different file format (ext4) and dd-ing the .iso again. Now I have a problem with Nvidia driver and I will make a new post about that. I’ll continue here after solving that.
westms
Posts: 298
Joined: 17. Mar 2013, 18:51

Re: A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

Post by westms »

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Last edited by westms on 23. Sep 2017, 13:35, edited 1 time in total.
silentwind
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Joined: 2. Jun 2015, 11:23

Re: A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

Post by silentwind »

westms wrote:
slientwind wrote:I was able to boot Salix live after reformatting the usb to a different file format (ext4) and dd-ing the .iso again. Now I have a problem with Nvidia driver and I will make a new post about that. I’ll continue here after solving that.
The problem described must have a different cause. If an ext4 filesystem is placed on a USB stick and then an ISO image is written to the stick using dd, then the ext filesystem is overwritten by the ISO-9660 filesystem contained in the ISO image. Rather, the cause is a defective USB memory stick or disturbed main memory or a power supply as well as a voltage regulator on the mainboard, that has reached its end of life and thus provides an unclean electrical voltage. The faulty data state on the USB memory stick can also have been caused by an external disturbance from the electrical grid or by radio signal interpolation.
Hey, westms, thank you for answering.

I'm still new to computing in general, so I don't understand much yet. To think of it I even want to learn programming lol

The Gnu/Linux "education" I got so far I obtained by putting together crumbs of information from here and there on the Internet. It seems nowhere exists a unified consensus on how procedures should be carried out etc.

When making a new bootable live usb, I usually do the following steps:

1. Format the existing usb with Gparted as FAT32

2. With the usb unmounted, I dd the iso to usb, as these instructions say:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/US ... a#Using_dd
(I like this because it also shows status progress)

3. Remove usb, wait 10 seconds and connect it again. Then restart and use live iso
....

I am not sure some of the above steps are really necessary or if any is done in the best manner possible. It just worked well so far, I guess.

As for the hardware problem: the usb stick is quite new and never had problems with it so far. The PC motherboard is kinda 10 years old though and chances are it must be the main culprit.
DidierSpaier
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Joined: 20. Jun 2016, 20:15

Re: A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

Post by DidierSpaier »

That's good silentwind, but the first step is useless and the dd command will wipe out the FAT32 file system that you just wrote anyway, as well as the partition table of the device. So you can just begin at step 2.

PS
PS Actually you can reboot as son as dd outputs its report. No need to wait as the sync command will have flushed the write buffer, nor to disconnect then reconnect.
silentwind
Posts: 24
Joined: 2. Jun 2015, 11:23

Re: A newbie guide to installing Salix 64bit plus Wine?

Post by silentwind »

DidierSpaier wrote:That's good silentwind, but the first step is useless and the dd command will wipe out the FAT32 file system that you just wrote anyway, as well as the partition table of the device. So you can just begin at step 2.
I was having thoughts that formatting the usb before dd is not really necessary, but I wasn't completely sure. So it's not needed even if the contents of the usb in question consist of another live iso previously written with dd? Doesn't the practice of "dd over dd" somehow negatively affect the usb, maybe by reducing its life due to more intense data transfer?

I know it may be silly of me to imagine such a possibility but it's a question I've never found the answer to so far, since nothing seems to be written about this subject anywhere.

I appreciate any clarification. Thanks.
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