bodom_lx at task3 dot cc

I love to be back to Slackware, my very first distribution. However, there are a couple of things that I’m missing from the other more comfortable distributions. From among them, I totally miss Network Manager.
I saw many people asking in forums on how to install Network Manager in Slackware 13.0. There is Wicd, already present in Slackware “repositories”. Every Slackware maniac will tell you that it does the same job of Network Manager, but I don’t agree. It does not always work and is more complicated to be configured than NM.

Anyway, I’m going to explain to Slackware newbies the dirty way to have a fully working Network Manager on Slackware 13.0. This method is totally against Slackware philosophy and will also replace some important libraries of the system! Anyway, the packages being replaced are prepared from the guys behind GNOME SlackBuild, a project to bring Gnome in every Slackware release.
You have two way to have Network Manager in your Slackware: either install the entire Gnome from them (or any other similar project) or use slapt-get against their repositories and just install Network-Manager. Here are the instructions. All the following actions must be performed as root user:

1. Download, install and configure slapt-get. Instructions are provided on their website.
2. Update your system with:
   

   slapt-get –update
   slapt-get –dist-upgrade

3. Add GNOME SlackBuild repository in /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc:

   SOURCE=http://mirror.switch.ch/ftp/mirror/gsb/gsb-current/

4. Update the list of available packages and replace some system packages:

   slapt-get –update
   slapt-get –add-keys
   slapt-get –install –reinstall alsa-lib bluez glib2 gtk+2 libwnck

5. Now install Network Manager and its GTK applet:

   slapt-get –install NetworkManager network-manager-applet

6. Be sure that dbus, hal and NetworkManager daemons will be loaded at boot time:

   chmod +x /etc/rc.d/rc.messagebus /etc/rc.d/rc.hald /etc/rc.d/rc.networkmanager

7. Add your user to the plugdev group. Edit /etc/group, find the line

   netdev:x:86:root

   Add your username after root (bodom_lx is my case)

   netdev:x:86:root,bodom_lx

8. You are quite finished now! Log back as normal user and create a startup script for network-manager-applet:

   cd ~/.kde/Autostart/

   Create a file called nm-applet.sh with the following content:

   #!/usr/bin/bash
   nm-applet –sm-disable &

   Give it execution permission:

   chmod +x nm-applet.sh

   .

Reboot your system. Everything should work fine now.

To uninstall Network Manager and restore the system as it was before the installation follow these instructions, as root::

1. remove any GNOME SlackBuild package using:
   

   removepkg /var/log/packages/*gsb

2. Comment GNOME SlackBuild entry in /etc/slapt-get/slapt-getrc:

   #SOURCE=http://mirror.switch.ch/ftp/mirror/gsb/gsb-current/

3. Update your slapt-get sources and re-install the replaced Slackware packages:

   slapt-get –update
   slapt-get –reinstall –install glib2 libwnck alsa-lib gtk+2

4. Toggle execution permission to the auto-started network-manager-applet. Log back as normal user and type:

   chmod -x ~/.kde/Autostart/nm-applet.sh

Feel free to comment any suggestion.

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