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DavidSpector
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Success and problems

#31 Post by DavidSpector »

8Geee, I was referred to this thread by bigpup because I have created a live USB drive from the puppy Slacko distro s57-2018a.iso on target computer Eee Asus 1000HE, which runs Windows XP on every alternate boot.

This distro works nicely for the most part. Thanks for your work. The mouse, keyboard, audio, screen, Internet, and browser all work fine.

The first time I booted, I got the often-occurring error message "puppy_slacko_5.7.sfs not found", even though that file was on the USB drive, plain as day. I say "often-occurring" because I've found reports of it 8 years back on the Web, and I've encountered it myself with every distro I've tried on this 1000HE. It seems to be a bug that is inherited by all distros created from either puppy or Linux in general.

The standard syslinux.cfg file ends with the option "pmedia=cd". I don't think this causes the bug, because changing to strings like "usb" and "usbflash" doesn't usually help (I haven't tried it with s57-2018a.iso because I assume it will fail).

So I do the old trick of moving the puppy_slacko_5.7.sfs file from the USB drive to the Windows C: drive on the target computer, and editing that final option in syslinux.cfg to "pmedia=atahd". This makes the Linux boot look on the Windows C: drive partition to find the SFS file. This works.

However, any customizations of the resulting live Linux are lost, because when Saving during Quit or Reboot the reported size is -24 MB (yes, negative). Either the save file is not loaded on the next boot (I don't see it in the messages scrolling by) or it is loaded but is empty.

Can anyone listening to this thread help me?

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8Geee
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#32 Post by 8Geee »

If you open /mnt/home/extlinux.conf what do you see on Line 12?

The version should contain 'append initrd=initrd.gz pmedia=usbflash pfix=copy' without marks.

That is in addition to 'cd' initrd has these other qualities.

Be careful using FAT based files, they fragment.

Regards
8Geee
Linux user #498913 "Some people need to reimagine their thinking."
"Zuckerberg: a large city inhabited by mentally challenged people."

DavidSpector
Posts: 61
Joined: Sat 16 Dec 2017, 16:23

Results

#33 Post by DavidSpector »

I opened the Edit icon and got Geany. The choices were root and File System. I chose File System, not sure why. Then I opened mnt. Under mnt there was no home directory. There was a flash directory, but it is empty. Not sure what I should do now.

Some questions: Doesn't Linux have a defragmenter? And why should the USB drive get fragmented if it is never written?

Sailor Enceladus
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Re: Results

#34 Post by Sailor Enceladus »

DavidSpector wrote:I opened the Edit icon and got Geany. The choices were root and File System. I chose File System, not sure why. Then I opened mnt. Under mnt there was no home directory. There was a flash directory, but it is empty. Not sure what I should do now.
You can probably get there by clicking on the flash stick icon on desktop (probably sdb1, last one on the bottom of this image).

Image

Once you have it open in the file manager, you can probably open text files by right-clicking on them and Open as Text.

DavidSpector
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#35 Post by DavidSpector »

Sailor Enceladus, When I clicked on the USB plug icon, I got a file manager, not gparted.

The file manager was looking at mnt/sdb, if I recall correctly. But the files it showed were only the files on the USB drive, the same files that were put there when I created the puppy boot system.

There is no "home" or any other directory.

Sailor Enceladus
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#36 Post by Sailor Enceladus »

DavidSpector wrote:The file manager was looking at mnt/sdb, if I recall correctly. But the files it showed were only the files on the USB drive, the same files that were put there when I created the puppy boot system.

There is no "home" or any other directory.
The directory you're in (mnt/sdb) is the one 8Geee is talking about. It's only called "home" after you create a savefile. :)

DavidSpector
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#37 Post by DavidSpector »

So I am stuck now. Don't know how to do this kind of debugging.

I added more information to my previous posting, but it seems to have been ignored or deleted by the forum system.

There is no such file.

DavidSpector
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#38 Post by DavidSpector »

Just in case it didn't get posted, I am stuck.

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8Geee
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#39 Post by 8Geee »

What you are looking for is found by clicking on the House then clicking on the up arrow on top-left. Evidently you didnot create a save-file when first run was completed.

I do not know how you downloaded the Puppy, but it looks like f2fs, because the drive is full. Also I don't read Japanese/Chinese, so the screenshots don't help.

Editted out. The OP wants a live usb... I don't know how to do that. I just do the usual puppy on the usb (mode 13).

Also tell us how you get Windows to boot on every alternate start-up. Live cd rewritable might be a better choice.


Regards
8Geee
Last edited by 8Geee on Fri 29 Dec 2017, 22:13, edited 1 time in total.
Linux user #498913 "Some people need to reimagine their thinking."
"Zuckerberg: a large city inhabited by mentally challenged people."

DavidSpector
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Joined: Sat 16 Dec 2017, 16:23

#40 Post by DavidSpector »

8Geee, before I attempt to follow your instructions, some of the things you said made me believe that you did not read the OP for this thread. I cannot create a Save file because the size is always zero (actually, -24 MB).

I'm not even sure I am able to follow your instructions.

Please confirm that you know what is happening and that I should try to follow your instructions.

I am a beginner, but this Linux work is pretty loose and random, not at all what I am used to after 40 years creating and debugging software. I know that sounds critical, but it is not just a response to you, but to all the advice I've received in this and other forums about Linux. It just seems so strange and experimental instead of being clear and logical. Maybe you can set me straight on this?

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8Geee
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#41 Post by 8Geee »

Editted my previous post, I do not know how to make a live usb, just pupmode 13, independent of Windows.

Its not the computer, its the method, and translation from Chinese/Japanese.

Regards
8Geee
Linux user #498913 "Some people need to reimagine their thinking."
"Zuckerberg: a large city inhabited by mentally challenged people."

DavidSpector
Posts: 61
Joined: Sat 16 Dec 2017, 16:23

#42 Post by DavidSpector »

Oh. Murga thought that you had created this ISO.

I don't see any Japanese or Chinese characters anywhere. I do not know what "pupmode 13" is or how it differs from a live Linux.

So just let me ask you this: do you have any idea why this puppy will not Save? Why it says that the Save file would be -24 MB?

If you can't help, I guess I'll post again and see if bigpup can help me further. He had no idea why the size would be -24 MB but thought you would know.

Maybe it's just that the Eee Asus 1000HE is too weird for Linux. I wonder if I could find a distro of the original Linux that was designed for the OEM 1000HE.

DavidSpector
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#43 Post by DavidSpector »

ADDED to previous posting:

Does https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEeePC/Model/1000HE help you any?

How about http://www.geteasypeasy.com/ ?

Sailor Enceladus
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#44 Post by Sailor Enceladus »

@DavidSpector: I replied to your other thread here: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 192#978192

DavidSpector
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#45 Post by DavidSpector »

I've given up on Slacko puppy, also on several others.

I found EasyPeasy, which really works right away, and perfectly. Since it comes from Ubuntu, you specify some storage size in the installer (I used 100 MB) so your live EasyPeasy has persistent storage automatically (no Save required).

Sailor Enceladus
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#46 Post by Sailor Enceladus »

DavidSpector wrote:I've given up on Slacko puppy, also on several others.

I found EasyPeasy, which really works right away, and perfectly. Since it comes from Ubuntu, you specify some storage size in the installer (I used 100 MB) so your live EasyPeasy has persistent storage automatically (no Save required).
I also have Slacko 5.7 as a full install, on an ext4 partition. On my 1GB RAM machine I found this to actually work better overall, as I'm not hitting the swap-partition as much with browser doing things (a full install doesn't need a savefile :) ).

I'm guessing your savefile problem stems from that you have half the puppy files on usb and other half on hard drive (if I understood your original post correctly), which might confuse the savefile size calculation, but I'm not entirely sure either.

DavidSpector
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Joined: Sat 16 Dec 2017, 16:23

#47 Post by DavidSpector »

None of my problems so far have been because I did something wrong. Just saying. Each distro has posed different problems (except for "sfs not found" which happens with most of them).

Now with EasyPeasy I'm having trouble connecting to the internet through wireless. Makes no sense. When I enter the Gateway address, it changes it to 0.0.0.0 . Oh well. With EasyPeasy I'm on my own. It was fun while it lasted; guess I'll have to stay with Windows XP on that computer, so I can use it to view and control my computer in the next room using RealVNC.

Sailor Enceladus
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Joined: Mon 22 Feb 2016, 19:43

#48 Post by Sailor Enceladus »

DavidSpector wrote:None of my problems so far have been because I did something wrong. Just saying. Each distro has posed different problems (except for "sfs not found" which happens with most of them).
I don't think booting from USB with the puppy.sfs on HDD is an "old trick" that is normal, or that is what pmedia=atahd is for. I think it's for if all your files including the bootloader is on the HDD, with nothing on the USB. I don't think puppy is designed to work the way you have laid it out with this "old trick" at all, or that anyone has ever done it this way before you (but I could be wrong, I'm not entirely sure how much is on the USB and how much is on HDD in your layout). It sounds like trying to play Level 61 in a game that was only programmed with 60 levels and hoping Level 61 all makes sense with no unexpected surprises. :lol:

DavidSpector
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#49 Post by DavidSpector »

Sailor Enceladus, I am sorry, but you are wrong. I learned the trick of moving just the SFS file to the C: drive from one person in this forum, and from a posting in another forum that I did not understand at the time.

For most of the distros I have tried, when all the live files are on the USB drive there is an error message saying that the SFS file is not found. That is a bug, and is the main reason I call this an "old trick". That is what it is, a workaround for a bug.

There is no shame in bugs. They can and do exist. I have been paid a salary for positions where I only fixed bugs. Please don't get offended.

On the other hand, if the people who maintain these distros can reproduce this bug themselves, they should fix it. So I assume that it only happens on a few target computers, like mine. That makes it much harder to fix.

Anyway, my problem with EasyPeasy might only be due to the fact that I changed its hostname without restarting it. I will try again tomorrow.

Thank you again for your help, and have a happy new year.

Sailor Enceladus
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#50 Post by Sailor Enceladus »

DavidSpector wrote:Sailor Enceladus, I am sorry, but you are wrong. I learned the trick of moving just the SFS file to the C: drive from one person in this forum, and from a posting in another forum that I did not understand at the time.
Hi David, could you link to the post where you got this information? I'm not entirely sure that the person who wrote the post would even disagree with what I wrote (if they are a puppy user on this forum), so your confidence that what I wrote about how pmedia=atahd is supposed to work in puppy is "wrong" seems a bit perplexing. :) Here's what the woof-CE readme said about it: https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/w ... E.txt#L121

Code: Select all

pmedia=<atahd|ataflash|usbhd|usbflash|cd>
   Indicates the type of boot device.
I tried the trick of moving the adrv, puppy.sfs, and zdrv in a woof-CE Slacko 5.7.1 build from my USB to the root of my HDD on sda1 (which is a fat32 partition) but keeping the boot files on USB, then changing the syslinux.cfg line from "pmedia=usbflash" to "pmedia=atahd" and booting into the USB, and it did indeed find the three sfs files on the HDD and loaded them. I didn't have any problems creating a savefile either (it chose sda1 on the HDD as the savefile partition instead of sdb1 on the USB). Is your HDD partition with the puppy.sfs file also fat32? This 5.7.1 iso uses the newer init by gyro, perhaps you could try your trick with that puppy and see if it still gives you -24MB as the size? Attached are the screenshots of my saving dialogs, it said I had 65MB free, which was pretty close to what pmount said (73.2M). Posting these two screenshots of yours might help too.
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