Newbies - Puppy needs YOUR help too!

Booting, installing, newbie
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topher4096
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu 18 Mar 2010, 00:48

#341 Post by topher4096 »

That half-fixed the problem. I get the "working" animation when I click buttons or tasks within programs, but where colleagues and my wife were struggling is when they click to open a program either from the start menu or from a desktop icon. I'm using Puppy Lighthouse most of the time and when you click the icons in the wbar on the desktop, the mouse doesn't react while the program is loading. Same thing if you start a program from the menu.

It's not so bad for quick loading programs, but if you open a program like Konquerer or Firefox...it takes about 5-10 seconds to open on this old PC...so it messes with their minds.

Are there settings somewhere to change this? Again...not a big deal for me at all, but it's something that multiple Linux virgins struggled with coming from Windows OS systems.

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rjbrewer
Posts: 4405
Joined: Tue 22 Jan 2008, 21:41
Location: merriam, kansas

#342 Post by rjbrewer »

Sorry, I've never tried Lighthouse;
I usually stick with official releases.

Maybe posting in the derivatives section (lighthouse) threads
might help.

Inspiron 700m, Pent.M 1.6Ghz, 1Gb ram.
Msi Wind U100, N270 1.6>2.0Ghz, 1.5Gb ram.
Eeepc 8g 701, 900Mhz, 1Gb ram.
Full installs

Sylvander
Posts: 4416
Joined: Mon 15 Dec 2008, 11:06
Location: West Lothian, Scotland, UK

#343 Post by Sylvander »

One way to see whether a program has begun loading...
Is to look at the CPU usage display [Cud].
The Cud display on BoxPup is particularly good.
You would see immediately that CPU usage has jumped to MAX.

Lots of other Puppies don't have such a good Cud display as Boxpup does down at bottom right in the taskbar.
In such cases it's possible to install PWidgets, and enable the CPU graph display.
I use this in Lighthouse-4.43f and it displays great detail.

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RetroTechGuy
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Joined: Tue 15 Dec 2009, 17:20
Location: USA

#344 Post by RetroTechGuy »

Sylvander wrote:One way to see whether a program has begun loading...
Is to look at the CPU usage display [Cud].
The other thing is that some packages assume that you already have all the required libraries and dependencies (some people have added more software, and thus have a more "mature" collection of libraries than a brand new installation). When running from the GUI, you don't get to see the missing lib error messages. What I do is, if a program doesn't look like it's loading correctly, I open a terminal and run it from the command line. Write down all the missing libs, load them, and then try again...

topher4096
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu 18 Mar 2010, 00:48

#345 Post by topher4096 »

Thanks...all that's fine for me since I'm an experienced computer user that doesn't mind tinkering and looking for stuff like that (the CPU indicator), but Windows users are stumped when it comes to that stuff and telling them to look at a CPU load icon will produce blank stares from them.

For me it's a small thing but for Linux newbies that aren't particularly computer saavy to begin with, it's a real issue. Just tonight my 6 year old daughter (who's actually VERY savvy when it comes to computers considering her age), clicked the Seamonkey icon over and over on this computer until she ended up with about 9 instances of Seamonkey open on the desktop. She never does that on our Windows XP laptop.

That aside, Puppy is a great OS and I've found an answer to just about every issue I've encountered right here on this forum without even asking a single question during my first 3 weeks of use.

diacad
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun 25 Apr 2010, 16:52

puppy stalls on creating partition - no message

#346 Post by diacad »

I sucessfully installed 4.3.1 on one old computer (P2-350 128 Mb) and tried it on another (P3-1Ghz 256 Mb). Puppy ran fine off the CD, but when I attempted to install it to HD (20 Gb no partition defined) it stalled within the utility that was to create the partition (GParted). There was no error message, just "1 operation pending" forever. There was no lock-up, I was able to cancel the operation and reboot. I tried this three times, so it was no fluke. This is a machine that has passed hardware diagnostics, and all devices seem to be properly recognized by Puppy. It previously was running XP with no problems. Is puppy THAT fickle, or is there something else I should be aware of or problem areas to look for?

Jim1911
Posts: 2460
Joined: Mon 19 May 2008, 20:39
Location: Texas, USA

#347 Post by Jim1911 »

Did you go to Edit > Apply All Operations?

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babaguy
Posts: 183
Joined: Tue 13 Apr 2010, 22:25
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My 2 Cents' Worth...

#348 Post by babaguy »

Dear All -
I must agree with topher 4096 (sic?) that this forum is *SO* welcoming, quick to reply, and NO put-downs that I can see...I have been wanting to use a Linux OS for *years* - like, more than a decade! I've been buying Linux magazines with their free DVDs all this time, reading the hype, totally ready to give up Windows - (I got a Mac Mini in 2008 and this has been great, but I've still been longing for *something* about Linux...)
Back in 2006 I tried to install Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu onto a used "tower" computer and just encountered so many problems with them - I joined my local Linux User Group (LUG) but very quickly got "RTFM!" 'd to the point that I was scared off posting questions or comments!
(Note to Newbies: RTFM = "Read The F&*%ing Manual!")
I got my hands on a BIG Toshiba Equium laptop and put Ubuntu on that last year - when Linux Format magazine dedicated one special issue to the Big U - and this (finally) worked very well - EXCEPT that I have had REAL problems with WiFi recognition - Ubuntu keeps asking for the log-in passwords for networks and then simply gives up trying. Ethernet works fine.
But I'll tell you what made me love Puppy from the first glance at the desktop...THE BIG CLOCK ! I *love* it !
I downloaded "Gdesklets" from the Ubuntu repository for my big Toshiba laptop, but because I'm hopeless (so far) at coding, I can't figure out what "argument" to write to ensure that the clock in "Gdesklets" loads automatically at boot on that machine...!
Then I boot the CD of Puppy 4.2 (K 2.6.21.7 - the "Retro" version?) onto an old HP Omnibook XE2 laptop that had been mouldering around the house for a few years (bad battery, Windows 98, P III processor) and what do I see...? A BIG CLOCK !
I know it sounds weak and weeny-esque, but by jingo! I *knew* I'd finally found a Linux that really *IS* for humans, and isn't afraid of know-nothings (like, um....me!)
I received some very good advice today & yesterday about setting up partitions and GRUB for a full install on this old HP Omnibook XE2, but was also able to figure out what needed to be done all by myself (one old pup learning - finally - some new tricks !) and I simply want to say how much I'm enjoying working with Puppy and how happy I am with this forum - THANK YOU ! Onward !

TheSlider
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed 28 Apr 2010, 16:14

#349 Post by TheSlider »

Jim1911 wrote:Did you go to Edit > Apply All Operations?
XD
So true ! I got stuck there for a few minutes too.
Gparted has a weird user interface where you actually can do everything directly on it with left and right clicks but have to go through a menu to apply all changes.
At least, that is until you resize the window and discover the Apply button...
The GUI buttons should be smaller and the apply bouton should be present on every roll-down menu as it's an important function.
note : Pressing F1 doesn't show the manual.

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pa_mcclamrock
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Joined: Fri 03 Jun 2005, 23:13
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA

#350 Post by pa_mcclamrock »

Aitch wrote:To help understand the file system, try midnight commander, for an 'explorer' type file manager
OK, time for me to start keeping up with this thread! Less than two months late, let me add this link about "Filesystems and File Management in Puppy Linux" (http://www.pa-mcclamrock.com/getstart.html#filesystems), which I think should help to clarify at least a few things.
It's stupid to use inferior software for ideological reasons.
--Linus Torvalds

xarmyvet02
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat 15 May 2010, 23:45

Wireless Internet

#351 Post by xarmyvet02 »

Does this version of Puppy have wireless Internet that works out of the box? THANK YOU for your time and consideration.

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rjbrewer
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Joined: Tue 22 Jan 2008, 21:41
Location: merriam, kansas

Re: Wireless Internet

#352 Post by rjbrewer »

xarmyvet02 wrote:Does this version of Puppy have wireless Internet that works out of the box? THANK YOU for your time and consideration.
In most cases; yes.
Describe your box.

Inspiron 700m, Pent.M 1.6Ghz, 1Gb ram.
Msi Wind U100, N270 1.6>2.0Ghz, 1.5Gb ram.
Eeepc 8g 701, 900Mhz, 1Gb ram.
Full installs

xarmyvet02
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat 15 May 2010, 23:45

MY BOX

#353 Post by xarmyvet02 »

I plan on buying my grandson one of those 7 inch TFT netbooks on ebay. They have a 300 mHz VIA ARM processor, 128 MB RAM, built in WiFi and comes loaded with Windows CE which has got to go.
Will Puppy work on it? THANK YOU for your time and consideration.

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rjbrewer
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Joined: Tue 22 Jan 2008, 21:41
Location: merriam, kansas

#354 Post by rjbrewer »

Unless someone knows otherwise, I don't believe Puppy will
run on "Arm" processors.

No doubt others will have advice on a good small machine.

Inspiron 700m, Pent.M 1.6Ghz, 1Gb ram.
Msi Wind U100, N270 1.6>2.0Ghz, 1.5Gb ram.
Eeepc 8g 701, 900Mhz, 1Gb ram.
Full installs

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Aitch
Posts: 6518
Joined: Wed 04 Apr 2007, 15:57
Location: Chatham, Kent, UK

#355 Post by Aitch »

pa_mcclamrock

/mnt : The Drive Bone Gets Connected to the /mnt Bone - :lol:

Interesting concept.....

Don't know if amigo is still thinking of a puppy port to ARM, but *buntu is....

Aitch :)

Nooblet0218
Posts: 105
Joined: Fri 21 May 2010, 17:50

#356 Post by Nooblet0218 »

Ok I'm a new puppy newbie and part time ubuntu user and over the past week i've started using puppy on a few of my old comps.

I wanted to convert one of the older laptops i have laying around to a school laptop so i could use it to work with other people in groups and what not since having a desktop in college isn't always that handy. I googled small linux distros and found that puppy was one of the most popular, so i came and burned 4.3.1 to a disc and got to it.

Puppy was loaded into ram and it ran like a god on a previously shitty emachine, it had everything i needed, and i did need an ms office replacement due to all the powerpoints and what not floating around, so i went ahead and installed the .pet for openoffice. also went ahead and installed my favorite browser opera, set up the email accounts in opera mail and was good to go. then my shitty emachine randomly turned off, i assumed it was because of overheating. so i opened it up and replaced the thermal paste and took compressed air to the inside of it all. I had never had this problem so it was somewhat strange to see it happening now. The problem kept happening regardless of new thermal paste and a dustfree mobo, it took me a day to realize that my cpu frequency was operating higher than it usually had, so i scaled it down using the tool to 800Mhz and now no more problems. I'm pleased to see how puppy has breathed new life into an old and previously extremely crummy xp running emachine, and i plan on using it for my sophmore year. I'm not a complete linux idiot but i did have a few stupid issues setting everything up but i just made a topic on these forums and my problem was solved. Pretty solid distro. set it up on another old comp of mine and i'm rather pleased. only major problem i had was that in 4.3.1 was that i had a lot of trouble getting the wireless to connect well, on my emachine you have to turn on the wireless card by pushing a key on the keyboard and pushing the key wasn't doing anything so i ended up upgrading to lupu and that fixed the problem (not sure why on that one). but my other comp is still running 4.3.1 and i'll leave it at that.

so to sum up, puppy is pretty nice, i had a few individual tech problems and since i'm not technologically illiterate i was able to get them fixed. the problem with that is that converting people to linux that aren't technologically literate seems to be pretty hard. i would really like to see a company out there start selling comps with linux distros as their packaged OS to see linux start to grow, because to be honest thats the only way linux would really gain popularity, most people can't even begin to think about how to change out their os. I'm not sure if my cpu frequency problem is unique to me or if anyone else has had it happen, but basically the cpu never ran that fast under windows and puppy had it set to its max by default so my emachine almost sterelized me; if it isn't exclusive to me then a fix on that would be the only thing i could recommend (but for some reason i'm pretty sure it's unique to me). good distro though, love it so far!

Chris1962blue
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon 24 May 2010, 21:23

Puppy Linux

#357 Post by Chris1962blue »

I've just installed Lucid Puppy Linux on a old 733mhz 256kb Dell desktop and it knocks spots off the Windows 2000 that was previously on it.

Easy to install and found my wireless router relatively easily.

Thank You and Well Done to all involved with Lucid Puppy Linux.

cbs
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun 30 May 2010, 06:34

Blank screen during boot

#358 Post by cbs »

I have a Compaq Armada M300:- 600MHz, 320 MB ram, 10GB hdd
SMC Easy connect wireless PCMCIA lan card.
Running both Windoze XP and Puppy Linux 4.3.1 on Poor man's install.
When Puppy Linux 4.3.1 is booted from live CD, the screen shows the different Puppy files and processes being loaded.
But when booted under Poor man's install, I get a blank screen for about a minute before the mouse cursor appears on the screen.
This is the same with shut-down.
Is there something missing in my menu.lst

title Puppy Linux 4.3.1
kernel (hd0,0)/pup431/vmlinuz PMEDIA=idehd PDEV1=sda1 psubdir=pup431 vga=791
initrd (hd0,0)/pup431/initrd.gz

boot

jerriecan
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun 30 May 2010, 18:23

#359 Post by jerriecan »

Hi there. :)

Let me start by saying that 24 hours ago, I had no idea that Live CDs and Puppy Linux existed. Right now, I am using BrowserLinux, a variant of Puppy Linux 4.3.1, to connect to the internet and type this message.

All I was looking for was a less virus-susceptible OS, and a way to boot my computer in case Windows implodes and I have to recover data from the hard drive. What I've discovered is a great deal more - maybe my new OS of choice.

I have absolutely no experience with any version of Linux whatsoever, and I have to say that I am more than impressed so far with the speed and usability. My internet connection is far more stable than with Windows 2000, which is the native OS on this old laptop, or the Win Xp on my desktop computer. It was also much easier to configure my wireless once I poked around for literally one minute.

I have also burned a Live CD of Lucid Puppy and tried it, and am even more impressed. Right now, I'm just getting my feet wet with a few different distros. I expect that Puppy Linux in one form or another will quickly supersede my Windows usage on all my machines except for a few applications. It certainly will be my choice for all future Internet usage.

I have had a bit of trouble figuring out how to transfer files to the USB drive, and have not yet figured out how to save them to the hard drive directly. I'm sure it's just something I missed because I'm a noob, not a problem in the OS. But if anyone could point me in the direction of a handy tutorial, I would be most appreciative.

For the record, my laptop is an IBM Thinkpad T30 with 768 Megs of RAM and a 1.6 gHz processor. Runs like a dream now. :)

Jerriecan

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Lobster
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#360 Post by Lobster »

But if anyone could point me in the direction of a handy tutorial, I would be most appreciative
videos
http://puppylinux.org/wikka/TutorialYouTube
more tutorials
http://puppylinux.org/wikka/HowToUsePuppy
Puppy Raspup 8.2Final 8)
Puppy Links Page http://www.smokey01.com/bruceb/puppy.html :D

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