#suse-linux-5-3 — Public Fediverse posts

SuSE Linux 5.3 on 86Box with Slot 1 [1997]

SuSE Linux 5.3 was released on September 10th, 1998, and it was the first version of SuSE that contained the first public version of KDE, which was KDE v1.0. KDE was included as the default, but we have chosen a setup that included running the FVWM2 window manager as the default.

Our focus in this article is testing SuSE Linux 5.3 with an XFree86 server on an 86Box emulated machine with a Slot 1 [1997] motherboard. You can download it from here.

We’ve configured the virtual machine as follows:

We’ve configured a virtual machine to run with:

• Machine type: [1997] Slot 1
• Machine: [i440BX] MSI MS-6147
• CPU: Intel Pentium Pro @ 200 MHz
• Memory: 128 MB
• Video: [PCI] S3 Trio64 (Phoenix)
• Keyboard: AT Keyboard
• Mouse: Microsoft Serial Mouse (COM1)
• Sound card: [ISA16] Gravis Ultrasound
• Floppy disk controller: Internal device
• Hard disk controller 1: Internal device
• New hard disk: SUSE5.3.vhd
  • C/H/S: 2080/16/63
  • Size: 1024 MB
  • Bus: IDE
  • Channel: 0:0
• CD-ROM drive 1: MATSHITA CD-ROM CR-583 1.07 (8x)

Once everything is configured as above, we can now start the virtual machine. We’ll have to change the boot order to ensure that C comes first before CD-ROM.

Now, insert the disc called suse-linux-5.3-cd1.iso to the CD-ROM reader, then let the system start.

After that, let it boot to the installer.

Choose the language, and choose whether you want colors in the installer or not. We have chosen to use colors since the interface looks nicer.

Select the keyboard layout.

You’ll be taken to the main menu of the installer.

Go to Start installation / system, and press ENTER when Start installation is highlighted.

Let the installer load.

Now, you’ll get asked whether to install Linux from scratch or perform an upgrade. Also, demo mode and expert mode are options, but we’ll choose the first option. Then, select Partitioning, as we need to create partitions needed for the installation.

Then, you can choose whether to partition the disk manually or to use the guided partitioning. We have chosen to use the whole hard disk, since it’s a new virtual machine we’re going to install SuSE Linux 5.3 on.

Then, confirm the decision.

After that, partitions will be created, and you’ll be taken to the YaST setup tool where you’ll be able to either select a preset of packages or select a custom set of packages as per your choice.

We will be installing only the essentials with the X server, so let’s choose Load configuration.

We will choose Default system as the preset. Then, let’s verify that all the necessary packages will be installed using the “What if…” option

At this point, we can start the installation process, since everything looks OK. Verify that the disk space required is smaller than the available disk space for a successful installation. During the installation process, you might be prompted to insert another disc. In this case, you’ll have to right-click on the CD-ROM icon at the bottom and choose the required disk number.

Now, the installation of packages is complete. Go back to the main menu, and insert the first disc.

You’ll get asked what variant of the kernel you want to install. Since we didn’t install special hardware that requires special drivers, we’ve chosen the first option, which is the Standard (E)IDE Kernel.

You’ll be asked to choose whether to create a floppy disk for boot up or not. Since this is a test machine, we’ve decided not to create the floppy disk.

Then, configure the bootloader.

Afterwards, manually add the LILO boot configuration that points to the Linux installation. First, press F4 to add a new LILO configuration. Then, name the configuration linux, and let it auto-select the correct Linux partition. In our case, it’s /dev/sda3. Then, confirm that the LILO installation is successful.

Afterwards, select the time zone configuration for your country, or select a UTC offset. Let GMT be the time zone of your virtual machine’s hardware clock.

Now, configure both the host name and the domain name of your choice, since real networking is not going to be set up as this version of SuSE is very old, and we need to isolate it from the rest of our network.

Just set up the loopback.

Finally, we have chosen not to install the sendmail configuration file, since we don’t intend to use it.

The final setup phase starts here.

Let it boot to the new SuSE Linux 5.3 installation on your hard disk. Now, choose the root account’s password.

You’ll be asked if you want to choose a console font.

When it comes to the stage where mouse configuration is the current stage, set it up. Choose the Microsoft Bus Mouse, then select COM1 (cua0). Since we need to start the X server, we’ve decided not to let GPM start at boot up.

Finally, the congratulatory message showing that the installation has finished appeared.

Now, let the scripts install themselves, and you’ll be asked to sign in. Since we don’t have a user account yet, we’ve chosen to sign in to the root account.

Now, let’s configure the X server. To do that, we’ll use the XF86Setup tool.

Now, let’s configure the mouse and the keyboard first.

Now, go to the Card section, and navigate to the correct video card that’s installed to the virtual machine. In this case, we’ve chosen the S3 Trio64 (generic) graphics card.

Let’s go to the Monitor section, and select the High Frequency SVGA, 1024×768 @ 70 Hz preset.

Finally, go to the Modeselection section, and select any resolution up to 1024×768, and select a color depth you want. For example, we’ve chosen 800×600 at 16bpp color depth.

Afterwards, press Done, and let it run the X server for testing. Press Okay, then let it test the X server with the configuration you’ve selected. You should see the congratulatory message in the second image. Press Save the configuration and exit.

Let it create a symbolic link to the accelerated XFree86 S3 server.

Great! Now, let’s start the X server using startx.

Awesome! The X11 server started up without a hitch and in a full resolution of 800×600 with 16-bit colors, in an awesome FVWM2 desktop! The configuration was successful at this point!

Here are some of the demonstration pictures of the system:

SuSE Linux 5.3 on 86Box with Slot 1 [1997]

SuSE Linux 5.3 was released on September 10th, 1998, and it was the first version of SuSE that contained the first public version of KDE, which was KDE v1.0. KDE was included as the default, but we have chosen a setup that included running the FVWM2 window manager as the default.

Our focus in this article is testing SuSE Linux 5.3 with an XFree86 server on an 86Box emulated machine with a Slot 1 [1997] motherboard. You can download it from here.

We’ve configured the virtual machine as follows:

We’ve configured a virtual machine to run with:

• Machine type: [1997] Slot 1
• Machine: [i440BX] MSI MS-6147
• CPU: Intel Pentium Pro @ 200 MHz
• Memory: 128 MB
• Video: [PCI] S3 Trio64 (Phoenix)
• Keyboard: AT Keyboard
• Mouse: Microsoft Serial Mouse (COM1)
• Sound card: [ISA16] Gravis Ultrasound
• Floppy disk controller: Internal device
• Hard disk controller 1: Internal device
• New hard disk: SUSE5.3.vhd
  • C/H/S: 2080/16/63
  • Size: 1024 MB
  • Bus: IDE
  • Channel: 0:0
• CD-ROM drive 1: MATSHITA CD-ROM CR-583 1.07 (8x)

Once everything is configured as above, we can now start the virtual machine. We’ll have to change the boot order to ensure that C comes first before CD-ROM.

Now, insert the disc called suse-linux-5.3-cd1.iso to the CD-ROM reader, then let the system start.

After that, let it boot to the installer.

Choose the language, and choose whether you want colors in the installer or not. We have chosen to use colors since the interface looks nicer.

Select the keyboard layout.

You’ll be taken to the main menu of the installer.

Go to Start installation / system, and press ENTER when Start installation is highlighted.

Let the installer load.

Now, you’ll get asked whether to install Linux from scratch or perform an upgrade. Also, demo mode and expert mode are options, but we’ll choose the first option. Then, select Partitioning, as we need to create partitions needed for the installation.

Then, you can choose whether to partition the disk manually or to use the guided partitioning. We have chosen to use the whole hard disk, since it’s a new virtual machine we’re going to install SuSE Linux 5.3 on.

Then, confirm the decision.

After that, partitions will be created, and you’ll be taken to the YaST setup tool where you’ll be able to either select a preset of packages or select a custom set of packages as per your choice.

We will be installing only the essentials with the X server, so let’s choose Load configuration.

We will choose Default system as the preset. Then, let’s verify that all the necessary packages will be installed using the “What if…” option

At this point, we can start the installation process, since everything looks OK. Verify that the disk space required is smaller than the available disk space for a successful installation. During the installation process, you might be prompted to insert another disc. In this case, you’ll have to right-click on the CD-ROM icon at the bottom and choose the required disk number.

Now, the installation of packages is complete. Go back to the main menu, and insert the first disc.

You’ll get asked what variant of the kernel you want to install. Since we didn’t install special hardware that requires special drivers, we’ve chosen the first option, which is the Standard (E)IDE Kernel.

You’ll be asked to choose whether to create a floppy disk for boot up or not. Since this is a test machine, we’ve decided not to create the floppy disk.

Then, configure the bootloader.

Afterwards, manually add the LILO boot configuration that points to the Linux installation. First, press F4 to add a new LILO configuration. Then, name the configuration linux, and let it auto-select the correct Linux partition. In our case, it’s /dev/sda3. Then, confirm that the LILO installation is successful.

Afterwards, select the time zone configuration for your country, or select a UTC offset. Let GMT be the time zone of your virtual machine’s hardware clock.

Now, configure both the host name and the domain name of your choice, since real networking is not going to be set up as this version of SuSE is very old, and we need to isolate it from the rest of our network.

Just set up the loopback.

Finally, we have chosen not to install the sendmail configuration file, since we don’t intend to use it.

The final setup phase starts here.

Let it boot to the new SuSE Linux 5.3 installation on your hard disk. Now, choose the root account’s password.

You’ll be asked if you want to choose a console font.

When it comes to the stage where mouse configuration is the current stage, set it up. Choose the Microsoft Bus Mouse, then select COM1 (cua0). Since we need to start the X server, we’ve decided not to let GPM start at boot up.

Finally, the congratulatory message showing that the installation has finished appeared.

Now, let the scripts install themselves, and you’ll be asked to sign in. Since we don’t have a user account yet, we’ve chosen to sign in to the root account.

Now, let’s configure the X server. To do that, we’ll use the XF86Setup tool.

Now, let’s configure the mouse and the keyboard first.

Now, go to the Card section, and navigate to the correct video card that’s installed to the virtual machine. In this case, we’ve chosen the S3 Trio64 (generic) graphics card.

Let’s go to the Monitor section, and select the High Frequency SVGA, 1024×768 @ 70 Hz preset.

Finally, go to the Modeselection section, and select any resolution up to 1024×768, and select a color depth you want. For example, we’ve chosen 800×600 at 16bpp color depth.

Afterwards, press Done, and let it run the X server for testing. Press Okay, then let it test the X server with the configuration you’ve selected. You should see the congratulatory message in the second image. Press Save the configuration and exit.

Let it create a symbolic link to the accelerated XFree86 S3 server.

Great! Now, let’s start the X server using startx.

Awesome! The X11 server started up without a hitch and in a full resolution of 800×600 with 16-bit colors, in an awesome FVWM2 desktop! The configuration was successful at this point!

Here are some of the demonstration pictures of the system: