A while ago I wrote a slackbuild generator that creates a skeleton slackbuild.
I use it whenever I need to build a slackware package from source.
If the building follow the classic

./configure

make

make install ...

I posted the script here:
http://vonbiber.byethost17.com/slackware/index.html

I installed slackware from an iso file a while ago.
I posted the notes on how you can do this (link below).
All you need is:
1. a few available partitions (one for storing the files from the iso,
one for the installation, ...)
2. some kind of boot loader (I used grub)

http://vonbiber.byethost17.com/slackware/nocd/

been using TeX (plain mostly, occasionnally LaTeX) for years for all
kinds of stuff: writing letters, resumes, math articles,
documentation, goofy stuff... You can even write music scores,
guitar tablatures, crossword puzzles... It's so flexible.

All you need really (aside from the compiler) is a text editor.

You can even do everything from the CLI, without bothering to open
an X session. I do that quite often.
There are a number of framebuffer tools that can display the output (pics, pdf ...)

I always use a single partition for the whole linux system.
I have several linux systems on different partitions on my hard drive.
I also have a swap partition and larger partitions that I use for storage
(that's where I download the isos, etc.).
On the partition I'm currently on I use slackware 12.2 and here's the
output of the command

$ df -h /

Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on

/dev/root              13G  6.3G  5.9G  52% /

As you can see, even with an 8GB partition you'd stil have plenty of room.
You could create a larger partition for large downloads (iso files, videos, etc.)

As long as you're running windows, the registry gets written to.
Why don't you install linux on its own partition?

You could
1. use a tool such as gparted to shrink/move your windows partition(s)
without losing your windows system
You could use a linux live system such as partedmagic (http://partedmagic.com/)
partedmagic could be run either from a cd or a usb stick

2. in the remaining available space create partitions to install
a) a linux swap partition
b) several linux partitions (so you could try different distributions)
That way your linux would be more effective. You wouldn't have to rely on Windows.

All linux distributions have the necessary software to read pdf files so you don't
really need Adobe Acrobat Reader
I don't use word processors (I'm a TeX user) but I heard that openOffice is a good
alternative to Microsoft Office.

When I bought my laptop it had Windows Vista taking up most of the hard drive space
and a recovery vista on a second (smaller) partition. I have successfully used gparted
from partemagic (and from a usb stick) to do operation 1.
The recommended way of doing it is to
a) shrink/resize the partitions
b) reboot on the windows system so that it will launch a check disk
before proceeding to creating new partitions

Now I'm exclusively using linux (slackware most of the time, a few linux live systems).

can you display the result of each of these 3 commands (from a console/terminal):

dmesg | grep -i wireless

cat /proc/net/wireless

ifconfig -a

What distribution did you install?

I've been using tex for years now
When I have the choice I prefer to use plain tex (instead of latex).
It's true that at first it was used mostly for writing math articles/books
but it's no longer true.
Physicists, chemists, linguists, or anybody that just wants nicely
formatted pages ...
you can typeset anything with it (including music scores, ...).

you can install slackware without even a cd-drive, doing it all from the hard drive.
For this you will need
1. be able to boot from a linux system (it can be a live system)
2. a sufficiently big partition to hold the slackware*.iso file and to extract it
to a directory in that same partition
3. a boot loader installed on your hard drive (such as grub)
4. and 2 empty partitions for installing slackware (one for the linux system and
a smaller one for the swap)

If you meet these requirements then you can read this page where I describe how
I did it from my hard drive. I explained it for grub. For other boot loaders (eg lilo)
you'll need to adapt ...

http://vonbiber.x10hosting.com/slackware/nocd/index.html

here's a possible script skeleton. Copy the code below and paste into
a script file. Fill in with your commands (database creation, etc.).

#!/bin/sh



LOG=databases.txt

usage()

{

cat <<END

USAGE: $0 schema_name database_name

provide description here

END

return 1

}

create_database()

{

#enter the commands to create the database

if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then

       echo "created database $2 with schema $1"

       echo "$2 $1" >> $LOG

        return 0

else

        echo "your error message here"

        return 1

fi

}

#check number of arguments entered

if [ $# -ne 2 ]; then

        usage

        exit $?

fi

create_database $1 $2

You should probably use absolute path for the log file, eg

LOG=$HOME/databases/databases.txt

installed linux system: slackware 12.0
I have installed slackware 13.0 but haven't got around to use it yet.
slackware is the very first linux system I installed (can't remember the version number but it's one-digit).

I also use live linux systems that I carry on a usb stick: slax, grml, RIPlinux, pmagic

I concur with karma's pros

A non-graphical installer: that might scare people away
People might think that you have to type in cryptic command lines on the console.
True: it's not as slick as some other distros (with flashy icons, messages,
the ability to use the mouse ...). However it doesn't mean you have to type in
cryptic command lines on the console. The installer uses the ncurses-based dialog.
You can do your selections by navigating through different options (brief help messages provided).
Rather than a limitation I find this an asset.
Also you don't answer an endless string of questions. It's kept to the minimum.
Once you've made the initial selections the installation is blazingly fast.

con:
the only boot loader offered is lilo
fortunately you can choose not to install a boot loader

slackware is a source-based distribution. It's less dependency-prone than other
systems that use prebuilt packages.

intended users:
I do think that slackware is for everone including noobs.

Over the years I have installed (and sometimes briefly used) a few other distros:
redhat, caldera, debian, libranet, vector linux, mandrake, opensuse, (k/x/)ubuntu, ...
Mostly out of curiosity.
But slackware is definitely my distro of choice.