What's on the CD-ROM

The CD-ROM accompanying this book contains the latest SlackWare Linux 3.0 distribution from InfoMagic. This includes the latest versions of the kernel (1.3.18), XFree86 3.1.2, and most utilities, as well as some collections from the Linux archives.

The CD-ROM is readable directly by DOS, Windows, and Linux. The root directory contains a number of text files that relate to the disc's contents and installation instructions. Beneath the root directory are a number of directories used to install Linux for the first time. If you are installing Linux, use the bootdsks.12 and bootdsks.133 directories to locate the proper boot disk kernel; the rootdsks directory holds the root filesystem images. The RAWRITE utility needed to copy the boot and root images to a diskette are in the /install directory. Follow the instructions in the early chapters of this book for details on how to use these files. 

The CD-ROM can be used as an installation source with most of the needed files copied to your hard drive, or you can run your Linux system with the CD-ROM as part of the filesystem. The latter approach reduces the amount of hard disk space you need for Linux, but the speed of the system is slower as a CD-ROM is inherently much slower than a hard drive. Also, you must keep the CD-ROM in the drive at all times with this approach.

If you are looking for a specific file or utility, you can use the find command to search the CD-ROM.