Slack:"Hi FreeBSD, got swap to spare?"

[dr_te_z]

I've got Slack9.1 and FreeBSD on the same machine. I've read http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Linux+FreeBSD.html#toc3. I've cooked an fresh kernel according to instructions, and look (dmesg):

hda: 4124736 sectors (2111 MB) w/67KiB Cache, CHS=4092/16/63
hda: hda1 hda2 hda3 hda4 < hda5 hda6 hda7 hda8 >
hdc: max request size: 128KiB
hdc: 39102336 sectors (20020 MB) w/2048KiB Cache, CHS=38792/16/63
hdc: hdc1 hdc2 < hdc5 hdc6 hdc7 hdc8 > hdc3
hdc1: <bsd: hdc9 hdc10 hdc11 hdc12 hdc13 >


I did not change my "/etc/fstab", instead I changed "/etc/rc.d/rc.local" like this:

$ cat /etc/rc.d/rc.local
#!/bin/sh
#
# /etc/rc.d/rc.local: Local system initialization script.
#
# Put any local setup commands in here:
/usr/sbin/hdparm -c1 -k1 /dev/hda
/usr/sbin/hdparm -c1 -k1 /dev/hdc
/sbin/mkswap /dev/hdc10
/sbin/swapon /dev/hdc10
/sbin/swapon -s
/usr/bin/gdm

It works great! Slack has extra swap space. FreeBSD is not damaged.

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

....So let me get this straight... You're sharing swap space between Linux and FreeBSD? AWESOME!!!

Now this means I don't have to devote two partitions to Linux in order to try out new distros! I'll just use the swap from my main FreeBSD install! How long have you been doing this for? Are there any side effects?

[Loki3]

Now if you want to be really cool you but your /home from your most frequently used distro on a seperate partition using a filesystem that enjoys good *BSD and Linux support. Then all you need is the / partition for all your other operating systems.

[dr_te_z]

Originally posted by Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379
Now this means I don't have to devote two partitions to Linux in order to try out new distros! I'll just use the swap from my main FreeBSD install! How long have you been doing this for? Are there any side effects?
Well, swap partitions can be shared among linux instances. That's noting new. Personally i would not install a new distro whitout having a swap partitions prepared. It can be very small and when the installation is finished you can add the BSD partition to add some breathing space for linux.

I tried it when I found out that it is possible. When you look at the how-to it was written in march 2000. I've not encountered any side effects.

N.B. when you have multiple instances of linux on 1 machine you can easely share /tmp as well. Why not. Just realize that Debian erases /tmp at boot-up.

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Originally posted by Loki3
Now if you want to be really cool you but your /home from your most frequently used distro on a seperate partition using a filesystem that enjoys good *BSD and Linux support. Then all you need is the / partition for all your other operating systems.

Cool idea, too!

How "up to par" is Linux's write support with FreeBSD partitions, though?

[JohnT]

Not to trying to go OT, but looking at your /etc/rc.d/rc.local , I'm curious as to the /usr/bin/gdm?

[dr_te_z]

Originally posted by JohnT
Not to trying to go OT, but looking at your /etc/rc.d/rc.local , I'm curious as to the /usr/bin/gdm?
You're so predictable. I knew someone would wonder....
When I included my rc.local in the post I hesitated to include that piece or not. OK, don't know what I did wrong. I just found out that I had to start "gdm" manually as root when I needed it. You just don't go and investigate everything in depth. So I just accepted the "workaround" for myself.
When I started using the rc.local for my BSD-swap issue I just included everything I wanted in there. A bit of a "pavlov-autoexec.bat" reaction ;).

To go OT myself: thanks for you previous tips. I managed to free enough disk space a I succesfully upgraded to "CURRENT" (needed approx 1Gb).

[dr_te_z]

Originally posted by JohnT
Not to trying to go OT, but looking at your /etc/rc.d/rc.local , I'm curious as to the /usr/bin/gdm?
Hi John.

I was setting up another Slackmachine at work and I wanted "gdm" to come up during boot. I remembered your remark so I did some research. I ended up editing "/etc/inittab" (scary without a knoppixCD at hand) and I changed the "initdefault" line from 3 to 4.
Is this to your apporval?;)

[leonpmu]

Originally posted by dr_te_z
I changed the "initdefault" line from 3 to 4.
Is this to your apporval?;)

Sorry probably offf base, but shouldn't that be runlevel 5? I didn't know that there was a 4.....

but one of the other upper guru's could probably kick my nas for such a stupid point...

L

[dr_te_z]

Control-V:#
# inittab This file describes how the INIT process should set up
# the system in a certain run-level.
#
# Version: @(#)inittab 2.04 17/05/93 MvS
# 2.10 02/10/95 PV
# 3.00 02/06/1999 PV
# 4.00 04/10/2002 PV
#
# Author: Miquel van Smoorenburg, <miquels@drinkel.nl.mugnet.org>
# Modified by: Patrick J. Volkerding, <volkerdi@slackware.com>
#

# These are the default runlevels in Slackware:
# 0 = halt
# 1 = single user mode
# 2 = unused (but configured the same as runlevel 3)
# 3 = multiuser mode (default Slackware runlevel)
# 4 = X11 with KDM/GDM/XDM (session managers)
# 5 = unused (but configured the same as runlevel 3)
# 6 = reboot

# Default runlevel. (Do not set to 0 or 6)
id:4:initdefault:

[ph34r]

5 is the runlevel for *dm logins in most distros, but slack uses runlevel 4. Debian just adds it to runlevel 2.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by dr_te_z
Hi John.

I was setting up another Slackmachine at work and I wanted "gdm" to come up during boot. I remembered your remark so I did some research. I ended up editing "/etc/inittab" (scary without a knoppixCD at hand) and I changed the "initdefault" line from 3 to 4.
Is this to your apporval?;) Excellent. thats the clean way to do it.:D

[dr_te_z]

Originally posted by JohnT
Excellent. thats the clean way to do it.:D
:confused: Are you sure??

I reversed it already. When I switched to tty1 I saw that the boot-sequence did never finish! The line Starting up X11 session managerwas still visible and I had no tty2 - tty6.

This is not normal behaviour, is it? My pragmatic "gdm" in rc.local was not such a bad idea afterall.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by dr_te_z
:confused: Are you sure??

Am I sure??? :D Don't you read what you edit?
# These are the default runlevels in Slackware:
# 4 = X11 with KDM/GDM/XDM (session managers)

I would suggest you keep a change.log as you go. This way it will help you keep track of you editing and software installs, so baking up won't be a matter of guessing.

[dr_te_z]

My issue is:
Is it normal behaviour that you loose your tty1, tty2, tty3, tty4, tty5 and tty6 when you start gdm by editting "/etc/inittab"?

I know Debain doesn't behave like that.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by dr_te_z
My issue is:
Is it normal behaviour that you loose your tty1, tty2, tty3, tty4, tty5 and tty6 when you start gdm by editting "/etc/inittab"?

I know Debain doesn't behave like that. That's not behavior associated with editing one line in your /etc/inittab file. BTW, I no longer use a DM, it just seemed like wasted process when booting.

[hard candy]

I'm wondering if it would be better to maybe use xdm as the display manager? It seems to be a little less buggy than gdm.
And changing the default runlevel in inittab should not affect tty. I'm wondering if some combination of the rc.local changes and changing the inittab caused his "tty to be caught in a wringer". :)

[JohnT]

I think your right hard candy. I think the DM is being started on tty1 before the other ones can be spawned from inittab.

[dr_te_z]

Originally posted by hard candy
I'm wondering if some combination of the rc.local changes and changing the inittab caused his "tty to be caught in a wringer". :)
No. This is not the issue here. It's a clean new install of Slackware 10 just last week. Nothing in rc.local yet and no other changes to inittab.

I really like gdm. It lets you choose your windowmanager. Linux is all about choice, you know, and when you can't choose (like me) you can log-in to gnome today, use KDE tomorrow and save XFCE for next week. Only gdm and kdm can do that as far as I know. And I like gdm better than xdm.

As I poster earlier, I'm not investigating this any further. I need my energy for another problem with this machine. I'll open a new topic (http://www.justlinux.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=133305)and I hope you can help me.

[JohnT]

Only gdm and kdm can do that as far as I know. And I like gdm better than xdm. You can do that all from your .xinitrc without the need for a DM at all, by commenting or uncommenting your choices and using startx.
Linux is all about choice It's also about simplicity.

[hard candy]

It's also about simplicity.

My moma said I was simple and I do like Linux, so I guess you are right JohnT. (Are you ever wrong? I have not seen any instance) :)

[JohnT]

Originally posted by hard candy
My moma said I was simple and I do like Linux, so I guess you are right JohnT. (Are you ever wrong? I have not seen any instance) :) Yes, hard candy...Alas!:o I was wrong once....then I discovered I was mistaken. :D

[dr_te_z]

Stumbeled over the solution: http://www.linuxpackages.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6214

Question for the moderator:

Do you hate me for this? Updating an old topic? Personally I use this kind of forums as a reference guide. When I have a problem and I remember a topic on that subject I search for it again. So, when I find an answer to a question, from which I know it was never answered in an old topic (can you follow me? English in not my native tongue) I just update it. Not always appriciated.....

[je_fro]

I always appreciate it when someone comes back and posts the solution...
Thanks!