Installing LINUX

[Darren Cook <darren@example.com>]

Hi!
I successfully installed Linux (slackware v3.0)... kind of. It feels a lot
more complicated than Microsoft operating systems - they tend to hide lots
of the decisions from you, or group them in broader categories.

I got confused with partitioning the drive, but worked it out in the end. I
gave Linux the last 300Mb of a 1Gb SCSI external drive, and the very final
16Mb as a swapfile.
Once past partioning, it was much easier - just choosing from menus.

I made one mistake however - I had to choose a kernel package. I moved the
hilight bar over the one I wanted (sbpcd1 - BTW, there was also a sbpcd2 -
what is the difference?), and pressed Return. Of course, what I should have
done first is press Space to select it... There seemed to be no way to go
back, so although everything else worked, and I can boot Linux, I cannot get
to the CD drive.
I think I also put the modem and mouse on the same COM port (COM1), though I
have not tested either yet.

Is there a simple way to correct these mistakes, or would it be simpler to
reformat the partition and reinstall? No Jim - don't tell me anything to do
with recompiling my kernel. I am still a beginner at this, and rather
disoriented in this UNIX environment.

A few more questions...
1.When it boots up it says:

Configuring Adaptec at IO:334 IRQ 9 DMA priority 6
No BIOS32 extensions present. This release still depends on it. Sorry.

Is this an error? I installed on the SCSI drive, so it must be able to use
my Adaptec SCSI card okay.

2.I installed two sets of kernel sources: 1.2.13 and 1.3.20. Do I need both?

3.I am using a Japanese keyboard (standard 106 key layout). Which is the
correct mapping file? I bought the CD with Japanese extensions on, but the
Japanese translation enclosed is just a straight translation (it basically
says "If you do not have a US keyboard use KEYMAP to choose a suitable
keyboard" - no Japanese specific information!).

Thanks in advance.
Darren.