Run latest Slackware 64 bit live and create your own live installable Slackware system with Refracta Snapshot! :: Build 250323

About SlackEX 15.0 Current (testing/development) 64 bit Build 250323
Slackware is the first widely-used Linux system, which is still developing. Slackware has existed since 1993. In comparison with for example Ubuntu and Linux Mint, many people believe that Slackware is “difficult”. Any novice can quickly learn to use Ubuntu they say. My remaster of Slackware Current (15.0), which I call SlackEX 15.0 Current 64 bit Linux Live System, is however just as easy to use as Ubuntu and/or Linux Mint. Some tend to complain that the Program Management in Slackware is awkward. That was perhaps earlier the case, but not anymore.

NEWS ABOUT SlackEX BUILD 250323 with the Xfce4 DESKTOP (DE)
A new version of SlackEX is ready. It is based on Slackware 15.0 Stable/Current released 220202 with Xfce4 as DE. The most important package installed is Refracta Snapshot. With that you can build your own Slackware 15.0 distribution. Xfce4 is one of Slackware’s official Desktop environments. The other one is KDE. Kernel 6.13.7-amd64-exton is used in this SlackEX Build. To be able to use Refracta Snapshot you’ll have to use said kernel. Otherwise you can (of course) replace “my” kernel with Slackware’s original kernel – see about that below. Study the list of NEW installed packages and the list of upgraded packages. While running SlackEX Xfce4 in VirtualBox you can do so in full screen since VirtualBox Guest Additions are pre-installed. Watch this screenshot.
NOTE1: You’ll run SlackEX Build 250323 as the normal user user or as root. The password for root is root. The password for user is live.
NOTE2: You can run SlackEX Build 250323 on UEFI and non-Uefi computers. You can also run SlackEX live super fast from RAM.

ABOUT running SlackEX in RAM
You can run SlackEX from RAM also when starting SlackEX in UEFI mode. The previous SlackEX versions could only run from RAM if they started in Legacy mode. So my advice is to run this version SUPER FAST from RAM! The best way to run a Linux Live System! When SlackEX has booted up you can remove/eject the USB stick or the DVD.

SCREENSHOTS
Screenshot 1 – user’s Desktop – Xfce4
Screenshot 2 – root’s Desktop – Xfce4
Screenshot 3 – root’s Desktop when running in VMware Workstation – Xfce4
Screenshot 4 – using Refracta Installer – installing Grub
Screenshot 5 – SlackEX is running in VirtualBox when Guest additions have been installed – Xfce4

Why Slackware?
Slackware is grossly underestimated (in my opinion). This article give you ten (10) reasons to choose Slackware. And this article explains how Slackware works nowadays (2023).

READ MORE…

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 11 (with GAPPS), AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and
about my Android 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 5, Pi 4 and  Pi 3/2 at raspex.exton.se – latest is RaspAnd 15 (with GAPPS), RaspAnd 14 (also with GAPPS), 13 and 12 (without GAPPS), RaspAnd 11 (with GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (also with GAPPS)!

 

 

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LFS EXTON – a live installable Linux system built from Linux From Scratch (which can run on ALL computers) with kernel 6.0.6-amd64-exton ::: Build 250315

LFS EXTON Linux live DVD/USB is built using Linux From Scratch 10.1/11.2 and Beyond Linux From Scratch 10.1/11.2 (BLFS).

IMPORTANT NOTE 250315
I’ve decided to abandon the LFS EXTON project. Version 250315 and 221103 of LFS EXTON is based on Linux From Scratch 10.1/11.2. The newest version of Linux From Scratch is version 12.3. It is therefore not possible to upgrade LFS EXTON anymore. Not without a lot of struggle anyhow. And I don’t feel like starting from scratch (again). Too time consuming. Anyone is welcome to take over my project though. You can change everything to your liking and the create a new ISO using Refracta Snapshot, which is working very well in Build 250315. See below and download a HOWTO about how to use Refracta Snapshot. You’ll find the just mentioned instruction also in /root in Build 250315.

ABOUT Refracta Snapshot in Build 250315
Refracta Snapshot shall be started in LXTerminal with /usr/bin/refractasnapshot
The config file is /etc/refractasnapshot.conf. There you can change where you want your ISO after the remaster process is ready. You can for example change from /home/snapshot to /mnt/sda3/snapshot and /home/work to /mnt/sda3/work. That can be useful if you want to use Refracta Snapshot while running LFS EXTON live from a USB stick. Now follow the instruction below.

A) Open a terminal as root and run /usr/bin/refractasnapshotscreenshot…

Choose a task.

1. Create a snapshot (uefi disabled)
2. Re-squash and make iso (no-copy)
3. Re-make efi files and iso (no-copy, no-squash)
4. Re-run xorriso only. (make iso, no-copy, no-squash)
5. Help
6. Exit

Choose alternative 1.

B) In /home/work/myfs the whole system will be created

C) For some unknown reason the command mksquashfs in the script /usr/bin/refractasnapshot won’t work.

D) cd /home/work – then run the command:
mksquashfs myfs/ iso/live/filesystem.squashfs -noappendscreenshot…

E) Then run again the command /usr/bin/refractasnapshot – choose alternative 4 for creation of the ISO file – screenshot…
It also shows how you can transfer your ISO file to your Windows computer in your Network using Samba. See below about Samba.

Everything will be alright. You’ll find your new ISO file in /home/snapshot (if you haven’t changed that). The whole thing is so simple that a 10 year old child can do it!

OLD AND NEW NEWS 221103/250315
A new version of LFS EXTON is ready! The first version is from 210706. Most important news re. the new version:
1. LFS EXTON Build 250315/221103 runs on ALL computers. I. e. new and old ones. UEFI or non-UEFI computers. (Build 210706 was not compatible with some newer computers).
2. Build 250315/221103 uses the latest (by 221103) kernel 6.0.6, released 221029.
The kernel is named 6.0.6-amd64-exton-rt14.
3. I have upgraded some essential packages. Most important Firefox.
NOTE: Firefox will always be upgraded automatically to the latest version.
4. I have installed two new packages: Gnu Emacs (“At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support text editing”) and MPlayer (a movie player).
NOTE about MPlayer: To be able to play videos (and not just hear sound) you’ll have to install AAlib. Very easy to install. Just follow the instructions. NOTE: Already done in Build 250315.
5. You can download the kernel-sources for LFS EXTON from SourceForge.net – linux-source-6.0.zip. Can be used if you want to install (for example) NVIDIA Graphics Drivers. Unpack and place the sources in /usr/src.

ABOUT Refracta Installer
I finally made Refracta Installer to work in LFS EXTON! Now you can install LFS EXTON to hard drive like any other Linux distribution. Just start Refracta Installer from the menu and follow the instructions. Watch this screenshot.
NOTE: You should create the install partition in advance. Use GParted for that.

LXDE and LightDM

LFS EXTON uses LXDE as Desktop environment. LXDE is designed to be user friendly and slim, while keeping the resource usage low. LFS EXTON has all the tools needed for you to go on and install other Desktop environments or whatever you like (after a hard drive installation of LFS EXTON).

Build your own Linux system
You can also just use LFS EXTON Live DVD/USB as build environment when building your own Linux system from scratch.

Install LFS EXTON to a USB stick
Install the ISO file to a USB stick with Rufus  in Windows. It will look like this.

LOGIN to LXDE
Login as root with password root$$ or as the ordinary user lfs with password linux$$. In Build 250315 the passwords are root respectively linux. While logged in as lfs you can use Sudo to become root. Example commands: sudo su and sudo pcmanfm. LightDM‘s login screen will look like this in Build 250315.



Install to hard drive using Refracta Installer
1. Start Refracta Installer from the menu and follow the program instructions. Watch this screenshot.
2. Install options – screenshot.
3. Ready to install – screenshot.
4. When asked to chroot and install Grubscreenshot.
5. Keep current user (lfs) and root passwords – screenshot.
6. When the installation is complete you will see this – screenshot.
7. Notice the disk space used after installation to hard drive – screenshot.
8. For user lfs to be able to use Sudo after a hard drive installation you’ll have to edit /etc/sudoers as root with Nano or Mousepad. Add this line to the end:
lfs ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALLscreenshot.
NOTE: If you already use Grub as boot loader you shall refrain from installing Grub when installing LFS EXTON to hard drive. Just add the boot lines below to /boot/grub/grub.cfg on the partition where you have Grub installed. You shall (of course) never mess with your current EFI Grub installation. LFS EXTON can run on EFI computers, but you can’t make an EFI Grub installation using LFS EXTON.

NOTE: You can install LFS EXTON on any normal computer. If you want to do that you should at first read my instruction How To dual boot, triple boot or multi boot Linux with Windows in a simple way and be happy. The Grub boot lines for LFS EXTON in /boot/grub/grub.cfg can look like this:
#################################################
menuentry ‘LFS EXTON 250315 (/dev/sda6)’ –class lfs –class gnu-linux –class gnu –class os $menuentry_id_option ‘gnulinux-simple-191fccec-4ecc-48b2-879d-504f9a2ad365’ {
recordfail
load_video
insmod gzio
if [ x$grub_platform = xxen ]; then insmod xzio; insmod lzopio; fi
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search –no-floppy –fs-uuid –set=root 191fccec-4ecc-48b2-879d-504f9a2ad365
else
search –no-floppy –fs-uuid –set=root 191fccec-4ecc-48b2-879d-504f9a2ad365
fi
linux /boot/vmlinuz-6.0.3-amd64-exton-rt14 root=/dev/sda6 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-6.0.3-amd64-exton-rt14
}
###############################################
NOTE1: On some laptops you may have to add
acpi_backlight=vendor acpi_rev_override=1 to the kernel boot line.
Do that if your screen is too dark.
NOTE2: You can also do that when running LFS EXTON live from a USB stick. Replace boot/grub/grub.cfg with this file.

Kernel

LFS EXTON uses my “special” kernel 6.0.3-amd64-exton-rt14. You can of course compile you own LFS kernel if you want.

“Normal” use of the system
You can also use LFS EXTON as any other “normal” Linux system. You can for example run Netflix in Firefox.

Running in VirtualBox/VMware
For some unknown reason LFS EXTON Build 221103 doesn’t work so well in VirtualBox. You can, however, run it in VirtualBox if you add nomodeset to the boot line when booting up LFS from the ISO file in VirtualBox. Just press TAB before the boot process starts. You can, however, run LFS EXTON without any problems in QEMU in Linux and in VMware in Windows. Watch this screenshot (running in QEMU in Linux) and this screenshot (running in VMware in Windows 11). I even managed to install LFS EXTON in VirtualBox in Linux. Not easy, but it can be done. With the help of the provided kernel sources (SourceForge.net – linux-source-6.0.zip) I also could install VirtualBox Guest Additions so that LFS EXTON can run in full screen. Watch this screenshot…
NOTE: Build 250315 works very well in VirtualBox and you can run it in full screen. Watch this screenshot…

Error during the boot process
During the boot process you will see a error message about ssh. Just press ENTER and the boot process will continue. After a hard drive installation you can get rid of the error message by running the following commands as root.
1. cd /etc/ssh
2. ssh-keygen -A
3. /etc/init.d/sshd start
Watch this screenshot…

Sound in LFS EXTON
You will only have sound when logged in to LXDE as the normal user lfs. Use Pavucontrol (PulseAudio Volume Control).

Using Samba
You can connect to your Windows computers in your Network using Samba. Example command: smbclient //192.168.0.38/LINUX -U arne
NOTE: LINUX is my shared folder on my Windows computer.
arne is my username.
192.168.0.38 is the IP address for my Windows computer.
Use the put and get commands.

Using WiFi
It is very simple. Just click on the Network (Network Manager) icon in the menu to the right. Give your password and connect! Watch this screenshot…

How to mount NTFS partitions read and write
Just run two commands as root (example)
1. mkdir /dev/sdd1
2. ntfs-3g /dev/sdd1 /mnt/sdd1

Run it fast!
The system is quite fast and responsive. You can run LFS EXTON live super fast from RAM. When the boot process is ready you can eject the DVD or USB stick – screenshot. Use Boot alternative 2 or Advanced options… >> load to RAM. Watch the live boot screen below.)

DOWNLOAD
LFS EXTON 64bit version 250315 can be downloaded from SourceForge.netFast, secure and free downloads from the largest Open Source applications and software directory.

md5sum for the LFS EXTON ISO – lfs-exton-64bit-lxde-2350mb-250315.iso

IMPORTANT NOTE 250315
I’ve decided to abandon the LFS EXTON project. Version 250315 and 221103 of LFS EXTON is based on Linux From Scratch 10.1/11.2. The newest version of Linux From Scratch is version 12.3. It is therefore not possible to upgrade LFS EXTON anymore. Not without a lot of struggle anyhow. And I don’t feel like starting from scratch (again). Too time consuming. Anyone is welcome to take over my project though. You can change everything to your liking and the create a new ISO using Refracta Snapshot, which is working very well in Build 250315. See above and download a HOWTO about Refracta Snapshot. You’ll find the just mentioned instruction also in /root in Build 250315.
/exton

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 11 (with GAPPS), AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and
about my Android 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 5, Pi 4 and  Pi 3/2 at raspex.exton.se – latest is RaspAnd 15 (with GAPPS), RaspAnd 14 (also with GAPPS), 13 and 12 (without GAPPS), RaspAnd 11 (with GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (also with GAPPS)!

 

 

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ExTiX 25.3 KDE Plasma and the Ubuntu Desktop together with Waydroid (“Waydroid lets you launch a complete Android system on Linux with GAPPS”) :: Build 250305

ABOUT ExTiX 25.3 – Build 250305
I have made a new version of ExTiX – The Ultimate Linux System. I call it ExTiX 25.3 KDE Waydroid Live System. (The previous KDE/Anbox version was 22.9 from 220922). I have now made it possible for you to install Waydroid in ExTiX. (Waydroid lets you launch a complete Android system on Linux with Google Play Services so you can install your favorite apps). So now you can run Android apps in ExTiX. GAPPS (Google Play Services and Google Play Store) are however NOT pre-installed in ExTiX 25.3. That’s because you’ll have to register your computer with your own Gmail account to be able to run Google Play Store. The second best thing with ExTiX 25.3 is that while running the system live (from DVD/USB) or from hard drive you can use Refracta Snapshot (pre-installed) to create your own live installable Ubuntu/Waydroid system. So easy that a ten year child can do it!

ExTiX 25.3 KDE Plasma System 64 bit is based on Debian and Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS Noble Numbat. I have installed KDE Frameworks with KDE Plasma 5.27.12. KDE Frameworks are 83 addon libraries to Qt which provide a wide variety of commonly needed functionality in mature, peer reviewed and well tested libraries with friendly licensing terms.

The system language is ENGLISH.

Used KERNELS
Ubuntu’s latest original kernel 6.8.0-54-generic with the binder kernel module (needed by Waydroid) and my own compiled kernel 6.13.5-amd64-exton. While running ExTiX live “my” kernel will be used. To be able to run Waydroid you’ll have to use kernel 6.8.0-54-generic.

HOW TO install and use Waydroid in ExTiX 25.3- Advice’s at How-To Geek
1. Be sure to boot up ExTiX using kernel 6.8.0-54-generic. Log in to the Ubuntu Desktop using the Wayland Display Server. Run the command sudo apt update followed by sudo apt install waydroidscreenshot 1
2. Start Waydroid from the menu and choose to install GAPPS – screenshot
3. Find out your computer ID – screenshot 
4. Register your computer – screenshot
5. Running Waydroid with Google Play Store – screenshot
6. Running Google Play Store 1 – screenshot
7. Running Google Play Store 2 – screenshot

MORE SCREENSHOTS
1. ExTiX KDE Desktop running 250305
2. Trying to run Waydroid in VirtualBox with no success, but it may be possible…

READ MORE…

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 11 (with GAPPS), AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and
about my Android 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 5, Pi 4 and  Pi 3/2 at raspex.exton.se – latest is RaspAnd 15 (with GAPPS), RaspAnd 14 (also with GAPPS), 13 and 12 (without GAPPS), RaspAnd 11 (with GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (also with GAPPS)!

 

 

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