I have converted a Windows-user, but which puppy is best?

[minesadorada]

I would suggest you bring a bunch of puppy live CDs and by trial-and-error narrow them down to a shortlist of Puppy distros that will successfully on your friend's computer:

1 ) Connect to the Internet on bootup and be able to view flash pages.
2 ) Mount drives on bootup
3 ) Install and print a test page successfully from the word processor.
4 ) Mimic whatever email system your friend is used to
5 ) Be able to make sounds, and use the microphone if fitted.

Then, from your new shortlist, pick the most friendly-looking to do a frugal hard disk install (side-by-side with Windows via Grub4DOS, and ideally on a small new scavenged-from-windows ext3 partition with a small swap partition) and make Puppy the default with a 5-second timeout. Make a backup of the save file as soon as you have finished installing and configuring. Symlink the 'downloads' and 'My ...' folders to the hard disk.

Backup the windows settings before you do anything. (there's a post somewhere on this forum that tells what you need to back up)

I have followed this strategy with some success, having learned the hard way to check hardware compatibility first and also make it slightly harder to use Windows as the default. Distros can vary widely, and between versions too.

:my 2 euro

Coincidentally I am currently installing RSH's excellent Lazy Puppy 2 on a friend's ex-windows laptop. I have it in front of me as I type. I chose Lazy 2 because of the built-in 'Beginners, Intermediary and Advanced' menu level system and it passes the compatibility tests.

[puppyluvr]

Hello,
( Shameless self promotion to follow):
Why not make a MultiPup disk for him...
Several Puppies per CD, or like 30 per DVD.. Include the .sfs and .pet files you want..

Download version 3.3 .pet from page 10 or the direct link on page 1, and follow the instructions...

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=63572

[mini-jaguar]

mini-jaguar wrote:

Is this an attempt at humour? If so, I do not find it in the least bit funny.

Umm...no.

O.k., that is a processor which came out in 2000, so given the normal industry delay for actual implementation it is possible that it was used on a computer manufactured in 2006-2008.

However, I'll have to argue that the memory for that computer is pretty low if one would expect multi-media browsing in many tabs. Also certain versions of Firefox are prone to bugs and are very slow.

mini-jaguar wrote:
Read closely:

Remember, you're attempting to run Puppy on a computer designed to run Windows.
So it might take a few attempts with a few Puppies before you find one that's compatible.

Why do you suppose BarryK and others have released alternate/retro-kernel versions of the same Puppies?

You got me there. I attempted to boot 4.2.1 with the newer kernel in my ancient 2007 or 2008 Dell IBM-clone-decedent laptop and it wouldn't boot, while it booted fine and worked o.k. in live mode on my 2007 Mac.

The retro version did work.

But I would argue that it's not the age of the kernel that caused problems, because every 5.*.* Puppy I tried on that computer booted fine and worked, including FatDog64, Lighthouse64, Saluki, Puppy Studio 3.3, Lucid, Slacko, etc. etc.

[tallboy]

Thank you all for your valuable input, your tips are noted.

Any additionional posts are welcomed anytime, I'll follow this thread, and comment.

4 to six years old would be brand new to me.

To me too, my main linuxbox was made sometime last century...

How about "Puppy Linux - Designed for the PC".. LOL

Absolutely love that one!

Re: running the puppy live, frugal or stored;
I have been running all my puppys since 2.17 from live-CD/DVDs only, and apart from slow bootup at times, I have been very satisfied with the live setup, and always felt very secure. Apart from ease of use, the feeling of security is what I wish to pass on to the newbie as the main reason for converting to puppylinux. So, I'll burn him a selection of puppys, and have him run them off a live-CD to start with. Then he's always free to choose an alternative way to run his puppy later.
I want him to be reassured that he can just turn off his machine anytime he feels like it, and then just turn it on again to boot normaly into Windoze if he wants to - no files lost, no viruses gained!

The guy is away for easter holiday, so I still have no input on hardware. I'll come back with that later.

tallboy

[Burn_IT]

I've just been upstairs in my workroom and fired up an old AMD K6-2 300Mhz machine with 64Mb memory and a 4Gb disk with Puppy 4.1 on it.

I was surprised at how responsive it was.

[greengeek]

I want him to be reassured that he can just turn off his machine anytime he feels like it, and then just turn it on again to boot normaly into Windoze if he wants to - no files lost, no viruses gained!

I don't want to be a party pooper - but please just warn him that Puppy gives him total control over his Windows files. In other words - If he accidentally removes his Windows folder or any other vital system files the outcome will not be what he wants. (It's not just viruses that cause lost files...)

Most Puppy lovers actually love this feature, but it is important to understand how much power you have at your fingertips, because some users would prefer NOT to have this ability.

Remember, you're attempting to run Puppy on a computer designed to run Windows. So it might take a few attempts with a few Puppies before you find one that's compatible.

I second Dewbies comment. I have found many mismatches between individual Puppies and specific hardware. Forum users will always help you get past the problems - but just be aware that incompatibilities do exist. And remember that Puppy is designed to be small with minimal bloat - which means that it doesn't always have EVERY option for EVERY computer cluttering up it's system files. (Does a damn good job though...)

For someone new to Puppy and Linux I would suggest Lucid 5.2.8-005. It has a good help section and all of the major programs also have working help. Very good for new user

Bigpup is right - the recent Lucid is pretty straightforward and bug free. Definitely one to add to your list.

[rcrsn51]

In other words - If he accidentally removes his Windows folder or any other vital system files the outcome will not be what he wants. (It's not just viruses that cause lost files...).

Read here for a solution.

[Dewbie]

tallboy wrote:

I have been running all my puppys since 2.17 from live-CD/DVDs only...So, I'll burn him a selection of puppys, and have him run them off a live-CD to start with.

MultiPup CD is best for testing various Puppies, and for frugal / full installations.

When booting from MultiPup CD to save file, I've had problems (kernel-panic errors, etc.).
When booting from single-Puppy CD, these problems disappeared.

[tallboy]

Dewbie, yes, I'm going to burn them separately. I can see now that my writing was clumsy enough to be interpreted as if I should let him rum from a single MultiPup CD, and that was not my intention.

greengeek and rcrsn51, I have tried for many years to remember to dump unwanted files in the trashbin, instead of using rm, but my fingertips seem to live their separate lives...

tallboy

[Moose On The Loose]

greengeek and rcrsn51, I have tried for many years to remember to dump unwanted files in the trashbin, instead of using rm, but my fingertips seem to live their separate lives...

tallboy

Make a script called "rm"

Code: Select all

... find out what MAX is 
amixer sset Master $MAX
waveplay NailsOnBlackboard.wav

Or more sanely just ask "Are you really sure?" before doing the real rm.

[greengeek]

I have tried for many years to remember to dump unwanted files in the trashbin, instead of using rm, but my fingertips seem to live their separate lives...

I've found that some puppy users (yes, ok, I'm talking about my 83 year old mum...) end up deleting their windows files via drag'n'drop issues, rather than intended deletion.

Especially so if the user is accustomed to "double click" windows and is acclimatising to using a Puppy that uses "single click" icons. The combo of shaky hands on a touchy mouse can be a disaster.

[bigpup]

I have tried for many years to remember to dump unwanted files in the trashbin, instead of using rm, but my fingertips seem to live their separate lives...

I've found that some puppy users (yes, ok, I'm talking about my 83 year old mum...) end up deleting their windows files via drag'n'drop issues, rather than intended deletion.

Especially so if the user is accustomed to "double click" windows and is acclimatising to using a Puppy that uses "single click" icons. The combo of shaky hands on a touchy mouse can be a disaster.

For Rox-filer file manager
Under options->Action windows->Auto-start these actions
If you untick copy, delete, and move.
A confirmation window will pop up, where you have to confirm, what you want done.

[greengeek]

For Rox-filer file manager
Under options->Action windows->Auto-start these actions
If you untick copy, delete, and move.
A confirmation window will pop up, where you have to confirm, what you want done.

Awesome. Thanks Bigpup. That'll be very useful!
.

[tallboy]

Thank you, bigpup, I'd forgotten that one! In my dpup-484/5, default is apparently that 'delete' is unticked.

My main problem is that I usually have an open xterm, and the use of 'rm' is an old bad habit. There are of course the possibility to use options 'rm -i', or if removing a dir, 'rm -rvI'.

-i prompt before every removal
-I prompt once before removing more than three files, or when removing recursively. Less intrusive than -i, while still giving protection against most mistakes

In my debianbox, I have set the rm as an alias to 'rm -rvI', rather than using the -i option, which makes a mess when removing more than one file. I still forget...

tallboy