After I put Lupu 528 on CD what do I do?

[ClaudiaThompson]

Hi,

Someone on a computer tech forum told me I should download Puppy, and so I downloaded Puppy Linux and I hope I copied it onto a CD as an image. I am pretty computer illiterate, so please bare with me

So now when I put the CD back into my computer, I see:

boot
boot
help
help 2
initrd
isolinux
isolinux.cfg
logo.16
lupu_528.sfg
vmlinuz

And so, does it seem like I have done the right things so far?

Could you please tell me what to do next, so that I dont mess anything up?

Do I just click on the first boot icon?

Also, will this wipe out everything on my computer, like my Windows XP and all of my old folders and stuff?

In other words, do I need to save everything I need to save to an external hard drive first before booting this CD?

The person was telling me about something about the BIOS and I have no idea what to do.

[rcrsn51]

And so, does it seem like I have done the right things so far?

Yes

Do I just click on the first boot icon?

No. Leave the CD in the drive and restart your computer. If the BIOS is set correctly, your computer will boot off the CD.

Also, will this wipe out everything on my computer, like my Windows XP and all of my old folders and stuff?

No. This is not an install CD, like Windows. It will run Puppy completely off the CD. But it also has installation routines that you can use in the future.

However, your Windows files will be visible from Puppy, so you need to be a little careful about where you go in the file system.

In other words, do I need to save everything I need to save to an external hard drive first before booting this CD?

No.

The person was telling me about something about the BIOS and I have no idea what to do.

Your computer may not be set to boot off the CD, so you will need to change a setting in the BIOS. When your computer starts, you will press a key like DEL or F10 to get into the BIOS. There should be a brief message on the screen about this.

If you are uncomfortable doing this, you may want to find someone to help you.

What model computer do you own? What problem do you have that has brought you to Puppy?

[ClaudiaThompson]

Just a question then... when you say I should be careful where I go in the file system, what do you mean by that?

..just so I dont do anything to mess things up...

[rcrsn51]

Just a question then... when you say I should be careful where I go in the file system, what do you mean by that? ..just so I dont do anything to mess things up...

Be brave. Boot the CD.

[ClaudiaThompson]

Just a question then... when you say I should be careful where I go in the file system, what do you mean by that? ..just so I dont do anything to mess things up...

Be brave. Boot the CD.

I did, I booted the CD and had no problems with it. I did not need to do anything to the BIOS so thats good

I just have two more questions though now that I see how things work.

The person on this other forum had wanted me to use this Puppy program so that we could see if it is the software or the hardware in my computer that is causing all my current problems.

1.Since one of my problems was that when I went to YouTube, and watched a video, the entire screen would freeze up and then I'd have to shut my computer down using the button rather than start/restart. So now, when I go into Puppy, and I get my firefox browser installed, and I go to YouTube to try it out, so I can see if videos freeze up, the first thing its telling me to do at YouTube is to install Adobe Flash Player. Should I actually DO that? Or will it spoil everything?

2.When I want to save my settings, can I somehow just save them to my same CD that this Puppy program is on? Because I do not have a flash drive.

[`f00]

Here's a link to the manual, also on that 'site are various other links (like what not to do ). A bit lengthy, but it does give various other details.

1) no opinion since I don't do Adobe flashplayer

2) absolutely - if your original liveCD wasn't burned 'open'(multisession), you can do that with menu->multimedia->burniso2cd, it's usually okay to use rw media if you like. When you shut down/reboot from your very first initial run there's a dialogue for save method to choose..

Personally I use a liveCD multisession - everything is on the disc (including savedirs), so it's quite safe and separate from your winXP and all on hdd (hard drive).

Welcome to the pldf, by the way

[ClaudiaThompson]

Well, I tried to save my settings and it said the Super-Block could not be read. And it failed


I just want to be able now to access my email and use the word processor thing so that I can write the book I am working on, without my computer freezing up.

I was trying to save the firefox settings and screen resolution. I'd be happy if I could just retrieve my email on there.

Can anyone please help If I can use this Puppy Program to just at least use the Word Processer and check my email I will be happy enough... if it keeps my puter from freezing up.

[ClaudiaThompson]

Well now when I put the CD in with the Puppy on it, all I get is the black screen with all the same stuff that came on there, telling me I cant save anything... the Puppy Program wont come back on again.

Does this mean the whole thing is corrupted and I would have to redownload everything onto another disc and not try to save anything at all for it to work? I guess I could at least be able to use the word processor on there.

[Flash]

I don't know why it won't boot now, but you're doing everything right so far, so don't give up yet.

Evidently the version of Puppy you chose (Lupu 528) does not come with Flash already in it. The simplest way to get Flash would be to repeat what you've done, only with a different version of Puppy. I'd suggest the latest version of either Wary or Racy. I'm not absolutely certain that either one of them comes with a Flash player already installed, but it's easy enough to try. Do you have a CD-RW you could use, so you don't make a stack of coasters in your search for the perfect Puppy?

As for using Puppy to access your Windows installation, just looking around can't do any harm. Puppy will not write to your hard disk unless you tell it to.

[Semme]

You can probably make Pup reappear by typing this at the bootscreen: puppy pfix=ram

For FlashPlayer, dwnld'n click on this- it opens under internet. Does YouTube play?

If you must, rt-clk the video'n toggle hardware acceleration..

==

That other forum person was most likely eluding to the use of such a beast.

And naturally- it may be running poor cause of uninvited guests.

If you get as far as Flash, hold-up on this..

[`f00]

Yep, at the bootsplash (graphic that shows the pup-version) type the bootcode°

Code: Select all

puppy pfix=ram

then enter/return<key> to get a 'pristine' (same as initial firstrun boot) environment. This means it skips loading any saved data you may have made previously, either a frugal install's savefile or a liveCD multisession's savedirs .. so you may wind up doing a few things over again.

2a) As for the save method, it's either..
SAVE TO FILE - Save to a file named pup_save.2fs on a hard disk or USB flash drive.
(there are some variations on this step)
~or~
SAVE TO CD - Save to the same¹ CD or DVD where you booted from (this requires that the Puppy CD or DVD was burned in a way that files can still be added to it).
(aka multisession)
.. as far as I know, you need to choose one or the other and stick with that method for the pup you're using.

° - tip: type a 'p' fairly quickly, then the rest of the bootcode so you stop the 'normal' boot sequence from continuing

¹ - or nearly identical .. if your boot disc was not burned open/multisession, you can use burniso2cd to make one that is (just choose the multisession option if using a CD, DvDs are burnt open by their nature). Further tips: use a slow burn speed of 4x and verify near the end of burniso2cd's dialogue if you'd like to confirm the burn.

[postfs1]

To reedit up to date.

[Sky Aisling]

Claudia,

Welcome to the forum.
When you say:

I was trying to save the firefox settings and screen resolution.

Could you explain a bit more to us, please?

How were you attempting to save settings?

Normally, what happens the very first time you finish using a Live CD and you shut the machine down or you *reboot* the machine,
Puppy will ask you if you want to make a *save file*. Your choice is "yes" or "no".
If "yes", then Puppy walks you through a process to make the initial save file.
Once the first save file is made then you don't need to make anymore attempts to save, it's done automatically.

Is this what you did the very first time you tried out the LiveCD?

Keep experimenting. You're not going to mess anything up with a Live CD.
One caveat: Do not touch the program *GParted* until you are more experienced in using an operating system.

It's confusing at first because it seems like the Microsoft Operating System owns the whole machine. It doesn't.
Puppy loads into temporary memory called RAM. RAM goes away when the machine is turned off.

PS - be sure to try Semme's suggestion of:

You can probably make Pup reappear by typing this at the bootscreen: puppy pfix=ram

You do this by quickly hitting the F2 key or typing a letter 'p' just as the Puppy Logo appears on the screen. Be quick, the chance goes by fast.

Yes, you will be able to do all that you want to do with Puppy and then some.