Save options for pendrives: which is best?

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Mike7
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Save options for pendrives: which is best?

#1 Post by Mike7 »

Hi, Puppy forum members.

I go in and out of the forum, with rather lengthy breaks, because I have some medical issues that take up most of my time. For example, I still haven't fixed my leaky roof or installed a new water heater, since I was posting last March.

Now I have an important question, for me anyway. I'm still using Puppeee 4.4, and my savefile has gotten pretty big (around 1.5g). I only save it when I shut down, but it takes a long time to save it, and I know there's a lot of writing to the pendrive going on.

BTW, I've been keeping all my personal files in the my-documents directory.

So, the question is: what's the best way to set up persistence on my pendrive? (Not system files, just my own data files.)

I think there are five ways of saving my files (please tell me if I'm wrong):
- Using the savefile, as I've been doing.
- Putting all my personal files in the /mnt/home directory.
- Keeping them on a separate partition (for which I would have to do a new installation on a partitioned pendrive).
- Keeping the files on a separate pendrive.
- Saving the my-documents directory to my hard drive before shutting down.

I read somewhere that some versions of Puppy have an option to save to a partition, but I haven't seen this option in Puppeee 4.4. However, I could do it manually, I guess, if I had more than one partition set up.

Can someone tell me what's best? I don't think having to wait a long time to shut down is good, so a big save file is a burden. I also want to minimize writing to the pendrive, because if it stops working I'm gonna have to do a hazardous re-install, as well as maybe lose important files.

Any advice or suggestions will be gratefully received.

Cheers.

Mike7

EdD
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Location: Southside Virginia

#2 Post by EdD »

Don't know about pupeee 4.4, but the universal installer gives the option of no save file on the versions I've used. When the installer comes to the stage of naming the file, the instructions say to clear the box and leave it blank instead of naming it if you don't want a save file.

Read the prompts in the installer. You can always just cancel the installation instead of proceeding.
Dell optiplex 780, Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E7500 @ 2.93GHz, 4g RAM, w/ATI RV620 LE Radeon HD 3450. Currently running a full install of Slacko 6.3.0 ( 32 bit version).

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Mike7
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#3 Post by Mike7 »

Hi, Ed. Thanks for replying.

I didn't use the universal installer so I never had that option. I installed Puppeee4.4 from Windows XP onto a pendrive. Puppeee4.4 is set up so you can do that.

But let's say I could eliminate the savefile. How do I save my data? What's the best way (as per my first post)?

Mike

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mikeb
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#4 Post by mikeb »

Now I have an important question, for me anyway. I'm still using Puppeee 4.4, and my savefile has gotten pretty big (around 1.5g). I only save it when I shut down, but it takes a long time to save it, and I know there's a lot of writing to the pendrive going on.
If it helps your decision you are running in PUPMODE=13 which means the saving you see is ONLY of files added or changed during that session...the size of your save file has no bearing on this.

I guess the files created are
1. your added documents/files
2. files changed by software..eg browser cache, emails?

Sound like saving files to /mnt/home would deal with 1 and there are posts aplenty about 2...turn off cache and so on.

Apart from its ugly windows like name my-documents in the puppy files system was a dumb design move ... the best habit is to keep as much as you can OUT of there. You could even symlink /mnt/home to /root/mystuff if you like....a second stick not a bad idea either.

Those 2 changes alone should vastly improve your shutdown time.

mike

EdD
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#5 Post by EdD »

Mike7 wrote:Hi, Ed. Thanks for replying.

I didn't use the universal installer so I never had that option. I installed Puppeee4.4 from Windows XP onto a pendrive. Puppeee4.4 is set up so you can do that.

But let's say I could eliminate the savefile. How do I save my data? What's the best way (as per my first post)?

Mike
Mike, I installed several versions of puppy to flash drives. I use the universal installer and usually do a full install, and close out without saving. On rebooting, I fatten the install with whatever I want for that particular stick and shut down. The first shutdown message comes up with the option to save to file or to the partition. I choose save to partition.

It would probably work the same on the shut down at the end of the install, but I figured it would be saving the first video driver default, and sometimes I want to add a driver before saving. I do it this way after having made some mistakes in the past with savefiles. My way is just what I fumbled my way into as a perpetual noob. ;-)
Dell optiplex 780, Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E7500 @ 2.93GHz, 4g RAM, w/ATI RV620 LE Radeon HD 3450. Currently running a full install of Slacko 6.3.0 ( 32 bit version).

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Mike7
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#6 Post by Mike7 »

Hi, Mike B.
If it helps your decision you are running in PUPMODE=13 which means the saving you see is ONLY of files added or changed during that session...the size of your save file has no bearing on this.
Thanks for explaining this. I am much relieved.
I guess the files created are
1. your added documents/files
2. files changed by software..eg browser cache, emails?
Yes, I think that's probably right, with the addition of things like networking and Osmo and stuff like that. I don't mess around with system files if I can help it (although some of them may get changed automatically).
Sound like saving files to /mnt/home would deal with 1
What determines the size limit of /mnt/home?
turn off cache and so on.
Good idea.
my-documents in the puppy files system was a dumb design move ... the best habit is to keep as much as you can OUT of there.
If I can move the entire my-documents folder to /mnt/home, I'll do that. (see above)
You could even symlink /mnt/home to /root/mystuff if you like
Not sure what you mean here: symlink the my-documents folder once I move it to /mnt/home/, or symlink the entire /mnt/home/ folder?
a second stick not a bad idea either.
I'll do that as well, and also back up everything on an external HDD.
Those 2 changes alone should vastly improve your shutdown time.
All good stuff. Thank you very much.

Mike7

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Mike7
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#7 Post by Mike7 »

Hi, Ed.
I use the universal installer and usually do a full install
It never occurred to me to re-install Puppeee on another stick using the universal installer. I guess I could give it a try and see what happens.

I really don't know what type of install I've got, since, as I say, I used the Puppeee self-installer from Windows. What's the difference for me, running a USB stick, between a frugal and a full install? (In case I get the option, doing a re-install with the universal installer.)
and close out without saving
No save file is created, that way?
On rebooting, I fatten the install with whatever I want for that particular stick and shut down. The first shutdown message comes up with the option to save to file or to the partition. I choose save to partition.
A partition you previously created on the stick?

Mike

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mikeb
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#8 Post by mikeb »

Ok /mnt/home is wherever the puppy sfs and save files are...in this case the usb stick I assume, so you have as much room as there is on the stick. Symlinking back to root would just give a convenient access point for say downloads...though I tend to just download straight down to the partition and it get remembered...might be simpler for you that way.

With regard to your second post i don't think the installer gives the full install option for a usb stick...if it did you would not have/need a save file and th ewhole stick is availabel directly in the filesystem. Some have workaround this in some way to do it (altering /etc/rc.d/rc.local at a guess) but a forum search would find more details.

mike

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Mike7
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#9 Post by Mike7 »

Mike B.-
/mnt/home is wherever the puppy sfs and save files are...in this case the usb stick I assume, so you have as much room as there is on the stick.
Great! So there's no problem moving a 700m folder there (my-documents).
Symlinking back to root would just give a convenient access point for say downloads
I don't know how symlinks work. Would a download sent to a my-documents symlink in /root/ actually send it to /mnt/home/my-documents/? If so, maybe that would also work for the default "save file as" in Abiword and Geenie?

OTOH, there must be a simple config file that can be changed to make the defaults for all saves /mnt/home/my-documents/ instead of /root/, don't you think?
I tend to just download straight down to the partition and it get remembered...might be simpler for you that way.
Not sure what this means. Can you explain?
With regard to your second post i don't think the installer gives the full install option for a usb stick...if it did you would not have/need a save file and the whole stick is available directly in the filesystem.
This is not good news. :( I suppose I could do a re-install to another stick using the Universal Installer, but I would for sure lose a lot of my configurations, which by now are many.

Some have workaround this in some way to do it (altering /etc/rc.d/rc.local at a guess) but a forum search would find more details.
I'd never be able to figure it out, I'm afraid. But it is frustrating not being able to access the entire stick through a file manager.

The best thing to have done, probably, would have been to partition the stick. But I didn't know how big to make the partitions. I still don't. If I didn't have a save file, I guess I could have made a 150m partition for Puppeee, and a second partition for the rest of the stick.

Too late, now.

Mike7

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mikeb
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#10 Post by mikeb »

I don't know how symlinks work. Would a download sent to a my-documents symlink in /root/ actually send it to /mnt/home/my-documents/? If so, maybe that would also work for the default "save file as" in Abiword and Geenie?
thats the idea but if you are happy navigating the file system just choose /mnt/home/wherever and do it that way..I do.

Don't worry about the full install...moving documents will most likely solve the problem you have been having anyway.

mike

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Mike7
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#11 Post by Mike7 »

Okay. Thanks, Mike!
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