Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

[seeker]

For Puppy distro developers and enthusiasts,

Puppy-Win32-Installer makes it very easy to distribute a Puppy derivative to Windows users as a single file they can click on to install, or uninstall with their Windows 'Add or Remove Programs utility'. The install supports the installation of multiple Puppies, as well as their individual removal.
Your Puppy will be installable on Windows 98, 2000, and XP.

The advantages for Windows users are numerous.
No ISO to burn.
The install does not modify the master boot record of a hard drive.
Grub is not installed to the MBR.
It is a frugal install compatible with SFS files.
Easy Puppy system backup, copy the pup_save file.
No CD or USB required to boot.
User can remove the installs from their drive and even remove the Grub boot screen so their computer boots straight into Windows again.

System requirements for Puppy-Win32-Installer build environment.
Puppy or other Linux, or Windows 32 bit OS.
Wine, if using Linux.
Free disk space (or pup_save space) equal to 3 times the size of the Puppy derivative to be packaged.

The Puppy to be distributed must support installation to a directory: Puppy 3 series or newer.

Download Puppy-Win32-Installer 2.5 MB
The package includes:
The GRUB4DOS boot loaders, grldr and grub.exe
Install helper binaries
Install helper source code under Simple Public License (SimPL) 2.0
Project template (just add your Puppy files initrd.gz, vmlinuz, pup_xx.sfs)
A readme file to include with your Puppy install
GP-Install compiler with GUI
Tutorial (very easy)
To see just how easy it is the tutorial is online here

Thanks go to Brian Grainger for developing the Lin'N'Win install method.
Lin'N'WinNewB Project
This installer uses the Lin'N'WinNewB Project method as the basis for installing, but is not associated with the Lin'N'WinNewB Project or Puppy Linux in any manner.

Seeker

Edit: July 5 2009
The original template file pup-inst-tpl had an incorrect path. If you downloaded before today please download it again to get the correct one.
.

[Hugh]

Seeker,

Many thanks!!

While I'm still a 'newb' experientially, I'm fascinated by this and eager to give it a try.

This could surely make the frugal install procedure, which is my modus operandi, a real easy task.

[reckrhodes]

Thank you so much seeker.

I had successfully followed the steps in creating this file (pup-installer-pl421.exe). Mine is Puppy 4.2.1.

Now I can share this to some windows user to test the power of linux or puppy linux in particular.

Hope they will become a loyal puppians like me.

[ecomoney]

Congratulations Seeker on this new release! It really has made it EASY to switch so there really is no excuse!

May I suggest www.download.com or some windows sites for posting the resulting .exe files, or pm me and I would be happy to mirror. I would love to get my hands on one of those .exe's so I can send links to my Linux-uninitiated friends.

A windows installer for the Puppy 4.2.1 release would also to handy to offer as a download from www.puppylinux.org

[mikeb]

Well glad this finally came to fruition
There used to be a windows installer with the one series but had no recent mentions.

My thoughts are if this tests out ok that puppy should be offered in this format officially. Better a puppy specific solution rather than falling back to unetbootin.

mike

[reckrhodes]

Hello everyone.

Just want to share this.

http://www.teradepot.com/jbnu22hjnhu3/pup-installer-pl421.exe.html

[ecomoney]

Oh heck...after five years now Im gonna have to install windows just to test this

[ecomoney]

I have just tried this on a XP (TinyXP V 0.9 to be precise) and it worked a charm!

Here is a mirror from the company webserver, without download restrictions etc

http://www.ecomoney.eu/puppy/winstaller/pup-installer-pl421.exe

PLEASE TEST!!!

Seeker some great work here! How possible would it be to include an .exe on a Puppy CD that would install under windows (perhaps linked from an "autorun.inf" file that runs when the cd is inserted in a Windows PC). Would this take up much space if the installer used the pup_xxx.sfs/initrd.gz/vmlinuz files from the CD itself?

I had forgotten what a pain Windows is to install...perhaps Puppy does actually meet its primary mission objective after all!

[seeker]

[ecomoney]

So were talking about 0.8mb in total to enable Puppy Linux to be tried alongside and its speed/technical superiority compared on Windows on 63.5% of desktop computers in the world....92% if you get vista support added.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_desktop_operating_systems

Given that statistic, and the fact that Puppy should "install easily onto hard drive media" as well as "be friendly to Linux Newbies", no one could possibly object to having an .exe included on the Puppy Linux CD?

Could they?

[seeker]

[ecomoney]

Count me in

This is the one time that its possible to use Windows to Promote Linux. Ive got a Dual Core Behomoth that was donated by the Seamans Mission that given another gig of RAM would probably run Vista adequately (it "only" has 1gb).

I will have to get hold of a copy, will let you know when I have.

[rcrsn51]

The Vista boot mechanism is quite different from that of XP. You should look at EasyBCD for some ideas.

[mikeb]

this is the approach for vista from grub4dos
http://grub4dos.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Grub4dos_tutorial#Booting_GRUB_for_DOS_via_the_Windows_Vista_boot_manager

mike

[seeker]

Thanks for the support and input. After spending a good deal of time researching this my inclination is to pass on Vista. Too many hurdles and pitfalls for me.

Sometimes I get the feeling that MS is going out of it's way to put up road blocks for the average Joe wanting to contaminate their computers with another OS. The good news is a Puppy CD can clean a system that's contaminated with Vista.