Keep your savefile slim and healthy

[fobq]

fsck is used, here is my menu.lst

Code: Select all

title Puppy precise 5.7.1 (sda1/precise5.7.1frugal)
  uuid 1636d0f9-5ac7-4bec-af1c-b9832d101d44
  kernel /precise5.7.1frugal/vmlinuz   psubdir=precise5.7.1frugal pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
  initrd /precise5.7.1frugal/initrd.gz

My cache dir. is all right. I suggest that my usr/lib directory could be the sinner. GDmap shows me files of 5-15 MB here. Could files somehow been dowloaded here? I have no other idea.

[mikeb]

From another post it seems like t\you had files left in the trash which might account for the space loss.

mike

[fobq]

I found some suspicious files:

/root/.config/.openoffice/4/user/uno_packages/cache/uno_packages/sve81rb0.tmp_/dict-en.oxt/th_en_US_v2.dat (18mb)
What is this cache?

I just unloaded my browser's cache (now it is 1,4MB). What is it:
/root/.cache/mozilla/firefox/z4poujvs.default/Cache/_CACHE_003_ (16mb)

I have two big directories in pup_rw: /usr/lib (256MB) and /root (100MB)
the first one is clear, I checked the files in its subdirectories as weel, the last modification happened in December.

The most suspicious one is /root. If it is, it means, on Sunday, it just was 20MB. Is this size imaginable for root?

[mikeb]

Hmm i am not 100% if that open office cache is actually the file used or not../root is where addon on packages are kept..you could hide the file and see if it still works. Open office file structure is a bit of a confusing one.. By the way that's the thesaurus not the dictionary. If you don't need it remove it in settings rather than just delete.

Set browser cache to 0 and then clear it...it should then remain empty.

I have two big directories in pup_rw: /usr/lib (256MB)

...so this is empty ...you just giving the size of /usr/lib...sorry not quite sure if that is what you meant.

mike

[musher0]

I found some suspicious files:

/root/.config/.openoffice/4/user/uno_packages/cache/uno_packages/sve81rb0.tmp_/dict-en.oxt/th_en_US_v2.dat (18mb)
What is this cache?

I just unloaded my browser's cache (now it is 1,4MB). What is it:
/root/.cache/mozilla/firefox/z4poujvs.default/Cache/_CACHE_003_ (16mb)

I have two big directories in pup_rw: /usr/lib (256MB) and /root (100MB)
the first one is clear, I checked the files in its subdirectories as weel, the last modification happened in December.

The most suspicious one is /root. If it is, it means, on Sunday, it just was 20MB. Is this size imaginable for root?

Hello, fobq.

Susupicous ? hehe. Absolutely not ! They are all part of your system.

In particular the files in /initrd/pup_rw/: this directory is actually the original
read-and-write (rw) component of your Puppy. If you go in /initrd/, you'll also see
"pup_ro" (read-only) folders : the "ro" folders are the folders in the Puppy sfs file
and are read-only, they make your basic Puppy.

Technically, in Puppy, all "pup_ro" folders are in the unchangeable Puppy squash
(sfs). file and all "pup_rw" are in your editable "pupsave".?fs file.

The folders in "rw" are actually your active, "living", Puppy system. Puppy is made
so we don't actually work in/initrd/pup_rw/usr or /initrd/pup_rw/root, it would be too
cumbersome, so it has sort of an "identical twin" that appears to us users simply as
/root, /usr, etc.

20 Mb for an active /root ? No problem, I've got the same on my Puppy.

/root/.config/.openoffice/4/user/uno_packages/cache/uno_packages/sve81rb0.tmp_/dict-en.oxt/th_en_US_v2.dat (18mb)
is the American English Thesaurus used by your OpenOffice 4.
American English is a complex and articulate language, you know (where is the
tongue-in-cheek icon! ), it takes a lot of room on a disk, especially for synonyms
and such !

/root/.cache/mozilla/firefox/z4poujvs.default/Cache/_CACHE_003_ (16mb). This is
one of Mozilla Firefox's caches. This one is for minor elements that do not go in
the usual /root/.mozilla/< your personal alphanum code> folder, for some reason.
I'm not a mozilla programmer, but all mozilla-family programs (seamonkey,
iceape, firefox, compozer, etc.) are made that way, with user folders in two places.

So I'd say your Puppy is quite healthy, nothing suspicious at all in it. I hope the
above helped in answering your questions.

BFN.

[mikeb]

The query was about /root going from 20mb to 100mb ... browser most likely

mike

[musher0]

The query was about /root going from 20mb to 100mb ... browser most likely

mike

Hi, mikeb,

Browser, yes, and perhaps if fobq has "thumbnails on" in the ROX options,
/root/thumbnails/normal can fill up pretty quickly. And he's using OpenOffice, so
OO has its own config and the personal profile stuff at /root/.config/OpenOffice or
some similar name.

@fobq:
Maybe you don't know this: to space some space in your pupsave file, you can
create a "My-Stuff" folder in /mnt/home. Move all the big files in /root -- and in /root
only -- in it, and bring them back to their original place as links. That will save a lot
of space in your pupsave.

This is what I have in mine: (see attached pic). I use KingsoftOffice instead of
OpenOffice, but I'm sure you're getting the idea.

BFN.

[mikeb]

must not forget the /initrd/pup_ro1 for usb users... which is read/write ... pup_rw gets copied to there at shutdown.

I tend to disregard thumbnails as they get wiped each reboot. (ok mine do not but after 30 days they do)

Pup save space... the final front ear.
To boldly fill like no other file has been filled before...boldly

mike

[fobq]

...so this is empty ...you just giving the size of /usr/lib...sorry not quite sure if that is what you meant.

I mean usr/lib is 256 MB but it is ok, I found no big files modified in January.

Thanks, I also use the symlink option.

And if we are talking about this file:
/root/.config/.openoffice/4/user/uno_packages/cache/uno_packages/sve81rb0.tmp_/dict-en.oxt/th_en_US_v2.dat (18mb)
how could it been downloaded/created/modified by itself, what option is responsible for this? How can I prevent similar events?

[mikeb]

the thesarus comes with open office.... only way to not include it is to not include it with the package.
When you first run it gets copied from /opt to /root.
mike

[fobq]

I see. In this case it is innocent. I installed OO in December.
I have no other idea. Now I change to an observing position, and wait what happens. I have also several other thing to learn about Puppy.

Mikeb, as I remember you wrote somewhere you used only sfs packages.
I would like to learn more about this way and creating sfs packages. Could you recommend me an article dealing with it for beginners?

[mikeb]

well at least you know where to look and a tool to help now.

Hmm sfs article...nothing comes to mind.

I don't recall there being a pet2sfs tool but others may know of one.

Perhaps if I tell you how its made on the command line that might be a start.

An sfs is just an archive made from a file tree in a folder... in other words the files as they appear when added to puppy. (note it must be done in ext2/3/4)

So for example if you extracted a pet ...rename it to tar.gz ... and the contents were in folder MyProgram you would use

mksquashfs /path/to/MyProgram /path/to/MyProgram.sfs

done... the source folder could be an extracted deb, or rpm or built from sources.

Once made, the sfs can be loaded on the fly from the menu or added to the bootconfig list to load at boot.

If you click on an sfs you can browse the contents...this might help clarify what they are.

Lighthouse pup and lazy puppy are 2 examples of pups that focus on sfs usage. There is also slax/porteus that only use sfs modules.

Hope that helps and questions are welcome.

mike

[Pelo]

The biggest problem I am facing is, whatever is installed in /opt, takes space in savefile.
Really ? please confirm that opt is saved each time. I am surprised.

[musher0]

@pelo : yes, /opt is an integral part of any Linux system, Puppy or not.

@mikeb et al.
dir2sfs is the sfs tool in Puppy. Let's saythat you just unpacked a program in a folder
named NewProgram on /mnt/sda1. In console, you go to /mnt/sda1 and type dir2sfs
NewProgram and it creates the sfs archive for you. Like so:

Code: Select all

cd /mnt/sda1
dir2sfs NewProgram

It basically does that same thing that you just described: it's a wrapper for mksquasfs.

BFN.

[mikeb]

Well one of the most pointless wrappers ever... it seems to do the same as the original command...

But regardless I was thinking more in terms of pet2sfs ... in slax I have deb2lzm and tgz2lzm for slackware which are handy tools for quick tests.

The process is so simple it hardly warrents a wrapper really... an understanding of a linux file tree and the usual unpacking tools are all thats needed.

The only other point is compatability...sfs is not backwards compatible and versions 3 and 4 are not even that...as long as the sfs is made on the distro it will be used for then there is no problem.

As it happens I build my version 3 sfs on puppy 2 so it works for all. Version 4 I do with lucid for similar reasons. mksquashfs and unsquashfs are not tied to kernel versions either so building can be done outside of the kernel needed but that will not include the ability to use such as lzma or xz to create (unpack ok)

just to fill in a few blanks.

mike

[nic007]

Well one of the most pointless wrappers ever... it seems to do the same as the original command...

But regardless I was thinking more in terms of pet2sfs ... in slax I have deb2lzm and tgz2lzm for slackware which are handy tools for quick tests.

The process is so simple it hardly warrents a wrapper really... an understanding of a linux file tree and the usual unpacking tools are all thats needed.

The only other point is compatability...sfs is not backwards compatible and versions 3 and 4 are not even that...as long as the sfs is made on the distro it will be used for then there is no problem.

As it happens I build my version 3 sfs on puppy 2 so it works for all. Version 4 I do with lucid for similar reasons. mksquashfs and unsquashfs are not tied to kernel versions either so building can be done outside of the kernel needed but that will not include the ability to use such as lzma or xz to create (unpack ok)

just to fill in a few blanks.

mike

pets2sfsgui - convert pets to sfs and combine sfs files into one. SFSconvert to convert between 3 and 4 versions

[mikeb]

I think combining sfs to overcome the crappy needless limitations of puppies sfs handling is the daftest thing to come out of the puppy world. The rest is a 2 line job...unpack/pack. Also these 'wizards' leave no room to strip out the needless crud thats usually in there....a quick test before doing the job properly manually perhaps.

Was not impressed when there was the version 3 to 4 change which was not backwards compatible in order to appease the kernel gods either

yay rant over.

hotdog coaches

mike

ps ...no the daftest is using the devx files to supply tk/tcl or python or qt4 or...well really people what kind of minimalist distro is this??

pps and the kernel sources are 10 times the size needed to build drivers... is that a punishment for wanting to build yer own or something lol

[nic007]

I think combining sfs to overcome the crappy needless limitations of puppies sfs handling is the daftest thing to come out of the puppy world. The rest is a 2 line job...unpack/pack. Also these 'wizards' leave no room to strip out the needless crud thats usually in there....a quick test before doing the job properly manually perhaps.

Was not impressed when there was the version 3 to 4 change which was not backwards compatible in order to appease the kernel gods either

yay rant over.

hotdog coaches

mike

ps ...no the daftest is using the devx files to supply tk/tcl or python or qt4 or...well really people what kind of minimalist distro is this??

pps and the kernel sources are 10 times the size needed to build drivers... is that a punishment for wanting to build yer own or something lol

Those applications are very tiny and does just that what is wanted. Works very well and very quick. As for combining SFS files don't think it's daft at all. It's a quick fix and works without any problems whatsoever. No further changing of initrd? or whatever crap required. So if you are permanently running say JRE/wine/opera, etc. A quick combination of those sfs's into one works like a bomb. Easy fixes for laymen like me. LOL

[mikeb]

Nah its crappy

my smallest sfs/module is around 200k but all load in a blink of an eye and I only have to replace the 200k if there is an update. java and wine...even more reason to keep separate.

If the initrd was written well in the first place this discussion would not be happening...slax managed it 8-9 years ago...whats puppies excuse?
Lazy pup and lighthouse do it, I do it...frogs do it, dogs do it, everybody but barry does it...lets do it, lets have one application per sfs.

{mikeb does a tap dance}

Of course it won't happen...change is something to avoid unless its someone elses update.

mike.... who likes to let off steam ...

[nic007]

Nah its crappy

my smallest sfs/module is around 200k but all load in a blink of an eye and I only have to replace the 200k if there is an update. java and wine...even more reason to keep separate.

If the initrd was written well in the first place this discussion would not be happening...slax managed it 8-9 years ago...whats puppies excuse?
Lazy pup and lighthouse do it, I do it...frogs do it, dogs do it, everybody but barry does it...lets do it, lets have one application per sfs.

{mikeb does a tap dance}

Of course it won't happen...change is something to avoid unless its someone elses update.

mike.... who likes to let off steam ...

Just install the bloody pets or load the SFS's and then do a remaster. LOL