wakepup2 and 166mhz laptop with 48 MB RAM

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snow-ice · #16 Post by **snow-ice** » Sun 17 Jun 2007, 01:24

It's a 3gb with 2 gigs free. I don't care if I wipe out all of windows. This will be a Linux only computer. I just need a way to get it in.

I did try the 2.16 version of puppy on my 2 year old Dell laptop and it went fine so I think the disk is good.

I will try the boot manager.

Thanks again,
Greg

GuestToo · #17 Post by **GuestToo** » Sun 17 Jun 2007, 01:29

I downloaded and ran cd2iso. I got a checksum number but what do I compare it to?

the md5sum should be identical to the md5sum of the iso ... if it is, it burned ok, not one byte is bad

if it is a different number, it still may be ok ... there may be one bad byte that is unimportant, or more likely, padding bytes were added to the end of the cd

my experience with Burncdcc is that is works well and the md5sum of the cd should be the same as the iso's md5sum

if the cd will work on another machine (probably machine with more ram) then the cd disc is probably good

The program I used gave me 8 files on the cdrom. Is this correct or do I need only the ISO file on cdrom?

the 8 files are good ... they are the files in the file system in the iso ... if you just copy the iso file to the cd, it will not work at all

Do I understand it right that I need idehd, initrd.gz,pup_216.sfs, and vmlinuz on the hdd to boot?

you need them somewhere to boot ... if you have them on the hard drive, you would not need them on the cd ... in fact, you would not need a cd disc at all, assuming you have a boot loader installed and configured

if you do a full normal install to a partition you would not need those files either (the hundreds and thousands of files that are inside those 2 files would be decompressed and copied to the hard drive

GuestToo · #18 Post by **GuestToo** » Sun 17 Jun 2007, 01:48

I included the "$@" from the original post, but can't imagine what to put in for an argument??

well, type readcd --help ... i think you can also over ride the options, for example, speed=30 something something speed=8 would set the speed to 8x

Your current example has -ts=8k plus a speed argument

Anything worth explaining about these differences?

i like to use a moderate speed ... too fast and it will be more likely to display errors that wouldn't happen at a more reasonable speed ... too slow, and it really is not testing it thoroughly ... it's up to you to choose the parameters that you think is best for the purpose of testing the quality of the cd

on my machine, if i do not use the -ts parameter, it locks up the cd driver ... it sets the size of the buffer used when reading the sectors of the cd disc ... the default value (something like 256 i think) is too big and locks up the system

it takes 2k of buffer space per disc sector, plus a little more for the error correction bytes ... so -ts=6k will read about 2 sectors into the buffer at a time ... it's a question of trying different values until you find a value that you like ... i was using 6k, which reads 2 sectors at a time ... i'm now using -ts=12k, which reads 4 sectors at a time, i don't think there is an "ideal" number

you can see how many sectors are being read into the buffer at once ... readcd will be printing information like this as it runs:

addr: 12484 cnt: 4

cnt: 4 means that 4 disc sectors are being read into the buffer at a time ... changing the -ts value will change the cnt: number (i don't know why the ou were omitted, or the ess)

John Doe · #19 Post by **John Doe** » Sun 17 Jun 2007, 01:55

muggins wrote:there was a post where somebody detailed their method in getting puppy to work with 48M ram, but i've been unable to find it.

That was me, "goin' crazy":

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=15946

I think the OP's problem with linld is the commandline limit I ran into when I first got here. I may have moded wakepup to do that test and forgot. In fact now that I look at it, I think I did.

I'll post a .img in a bit. I'm all over this for the next 20 minutes.

John Doe · #20 Post by **John Doe** » Sun 17 Jun 2007, 03:47

ok, so it took 2 hours.

Here is wakepup2 tuned up. I fixed up the command line limit by writting all the boot options to a file at linld/puppy.lin dynamically. Also added a second menu for pfix ram and nox options (all possibilites).

*edit-no longer true ->All changes where in autoexec.bat

Do not be concerned with the contents of linld/puppy.lin. It is only there so it doesn't error when deleted.

I also changed the messaged displayed at runtime to say version 0.3, so people would know. I kept the 2 on the file name so the scripts that call it won't need changed.

Md5 of img:

Code: Select all

370f75b8241f8696a75d7813e8a0e6b4  wakepup2.img

Directions:

Code: Select all

tar -zxf wakepup2.img.tar.gz
md5sum wakepup2.img
dd if=wakepup2.img of=/dev/fd0

*edit-final rc1 (probably final [for now])

snow-ice · #21 Post by **snow-ice** » Mon 18 Jun 2007, 02:31

John,
First, thanks for your effort. I'm new to linux and the help is amazing.

I got the image file onto a floppy, I had a little trouble, but got it done. I booted with the floppy from you and puppy 2.16. I got past the first menu but got stuck at the second. I tried both options 2 and 3 in the first menu along with 1,2,3,4 in the second menu. The error I have is

LINDL v0.97
kernel command line
root+/dev/ram0 pmedia+idehd acpi_off (this one changed with the option used)
can't open lernel file
A:

Do think this can be overcome? Like I said, I am willing to get linux in the laptop however it can be done.
Thanks again,
Greg

John Doe · #22 Post by **John Doe** » Mon 18 Jun 2007, 02:39

snow-ice wrote:root+/dev/ram0 pmedia+idehd acpi_off (this one changed with the option used)

That's weird

mine looks more like this:

root /dev/ram0 PMEDIA=idehd acpi=off

Perhaps a BIOS setting of some type is causing DOS to act weird?

snow-ice · #23 Post by **snow-ice** » Mon 18 Jun 2007, 02:48

Sorry for the typo

root=/dev/ram0 pmedia=idehd acpi=off

This is how it appears.

Greg

John Doe · #24 Post by **John Doe** » Mon 18 Jun 2007, 03:04

that looks good...

do you have all these files on your idehd in the root of the drive?

initrd.gz
pup_216.sfs
vmlinuz
zdrv_216.sfs

or you could throw the CD in the drive (or perhaps you don't have one and I missed that in the thread). The boot disk will wake up the CD also, or via USB if you have all those files on a USB device.

snow-ice · #25 Post by **snow-ice** » Mon 18 Jun 2007, 05:53

I found the problem, I used windows xp to burn the cd's. The evil empire strikes again. When I used nero, everything was readable by the laptop. I ran thru the 2 menu's, alot of code went by. It got stuck for awhile then ran more and stopped here...

/bin/sh: can't access tty; job control turned off
(initramfs)

any ideas?

making progress.......

snow-ice · #26 Post by **snow-ice** » Wed 20 Jun 2007, 17:43

I have been checking websites trying to run down my problem. The error that I posted seems to be a notification, not an error. I checked the previous lines and looked for those items in the net. Can I get somehow get a log of the activity when the program loads? Maybe put it on a floppy?I have time to research the problem but would not be near the computer in question to read from the screen. Thanks,
Greg

Sage · #27 Post by **Sage** » Wed 20 Jun 2007, 18:18

The program I used gave me 8 files on the cdrom. Is this correct or do I need only the ISO file on cdrom?

Neither is correct. Use Nero in 'doze if you are unfamiliar with Linux commands - it's virtually fireproof.
You simple 'Open' the xyz.iso file from 'File' and click 'Burn'.
You cannot boot an .iso CD nor can you boot a CD with all the files extracted and copied (unless you have an adjunct on FDD).

Apart from which, I am wondering whether you picked up the advice from Bruce about NOT using CD-RW on old kit. Use good quality CD-R only, no supermarket cheapies.
You have enough resources to get this thing running on your laptop, although slowly. If possible add extra RAM - this may be difficult.
Completely clear your HD before partitioning with a small, ~60Mb swap partition - beware of bad advice to make it bigger - and pre-format your main partition to ext2 before running the Universal Installer and selecting NORMAL or Full or Type2, whatever the version you chose comes up with. Coexist, Frugal, are inappropriate on this machine.

Update: Funny! p.2 of this thread wasn't showing when I first looked at it. Now it's there and my comments are somewhat deja vu.
Glad to see there is real progress and Nero worked for you. You can d/l a copy for Linux; you will find that your (legitimate!) code for the 'doze version is also valid for that one. Not sure it'll work in Puppy , though.

snow-ice · #28 Post by **snow-ice** » Thu 21 Jun 2007, 17:23

Do you mean format? If so, will a format from DOS then allow me to make the partition? I found a page with good instructions that I will follow for the swap file.

http://www.justlinux.com/nhf/Installati ... fdisk.html

As I said earlier, I don't care about the windows on the laptop. I have 4 more computers here that will get linux when I get enough knowledge.

I made the cd with nero the way you recommended and I got these 8 files.

05/16/2007 06:35 PM 1,751,249 VMLINUZ
05/16/2007 06:41 PM 10,648 ISOLINUX.BIN
05/17/2007 01:07 AM 2,048 BOOT.CAT
05/16/2007 06:39 PM 127 ISOLINUX.CFG
05/16/2007 06:39 PM 934,674 INITRD.GZ
05/03/2007 03:48 AM 1,007 BOOT.MSG
05/17/2007 01:03 AM 73,506,816 PUP_216.SFS
05/16/2007 06:37 PM 17,793,024 ZDRV_216.SFS

The session was called cd-rom mode 1 iso9660. Is this what you meant? It looks like others I made. I will check it out later tonight when I get home and post back.
Thanks, Greg

Sage · #29 Post by **Sage** » Thu 21 Jun 2007, 17:50

Oh dear, there is still a yawning gap of understanding, I'm afraid. You cannot boot that CD, you can only load it with a suitable boot floppy. What surprises me is that you don't seem to have read all the background discussion published here. It isn't too difficult really.
Look through all your searching results. Forget the Coexist/Frugal option on that machine. Use cfdisk from the console with your HD removed and mounted in one of your other desktops. This route makes everything so much easier. You've got ample HD space and just about enough memory provided you set up a swap partition.

snow-ice · #30 Post by **snow-ice** » Thu 21 Jun 2007, 18:07

I am using the wake2pup floppy. John Doe got wake2pup to behave in the laptop and I believe puppy started to load. It is now stuck. I have read all that was posted but I don't have a good understanding of the linux commands. I get conflicting info and it's hard to figure out which to follow. I have read multiple web pages which conflict. The iso file is a good example. I have read it both ways, the 8 files or the 1 iso file. I will try whatever is posted, happy for the help.

I will try the new cd along with wake2pup again. First I will format and get rid of win98, and make the swap file, then attempt to boot with the floppy and cd.

When I tried to boot from cd only, I was able to select cd and make it the only boot device in the bios. When I booted, after 20 seconds of so, the screen showed a picture of all of the F keys and a message to insert a floppy. So thats why I am using wake2pup.
Thanks again.
Greg

John Doe · #31 Post by **John Doe** » Thu 21 Jun 2007, 19:20

snow-ice wrote:...I believe puppy started to load. It is now stuck.

I'm making another one with a menu selection for this:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 595#123595

I think that might be what you need.

@Sage and others...

What's your take on himem support? Should I throw that in? and most importantly does it require a menu select also (I can do it)? I'm wondering if anyone knows of any instances of himem causing a problem booting, other than the mention in the comments of a tiny.exe problem (we aren't using that anyway).

I was considering adding it because my "flagship 75mhz box" won't boot, but now I just added it and it still won't boot. Maybe it's days are over

I get

Read error
High mem corrupted - not exiting to DOS

Perhaps swapping some EDO sticks will help....

Sage · #32 Post by **Sage** » Fri 22 Jun 2007, 06:24

Afraid I can't help. Never saw the wisdom of a Frugal install - might as well extract and use all the files as normal files; HD space is rarely an issue.
Never use multiboot, either - recipe for disaster. Either use caddies or a liveCD/USB fob/CF.
Time to leave 'doze behind.

John Doe · #33 Post by **John Doe** » Fri 22 Jun 2007, 06:43

Sage wrote:Afraid I can't help. Never saw the wisdom of a Frugal install...

I was begging your advice on hardware as it relates to himem, install type had nothing to do with my inquiry.

Sage wrote:Time to leave 'doze behind.

we're using FreeDOS

Sage · #34 Post by **Sage** » Fri 22 Jun 2007, 07:08

I prefer DRDOS - still the best if you use the third party updates. You can check memory with <memtest>, although you can bypass the himem test either by writing it out with a switch in your config.sys or using a keypress at start up. I forget the details - been a while since I confronted those issues. Easier to swap memory strips. I've got boxloads to choose from. Don't forget, in the olden dayes, there were always compatibility issues between different strips. And don't forget that 'double-sided' does NOT refer to chips being on both sides of the pcb!

John Doe · #35 Post by **John Doe** » Fri 22 Jun 2007, 07:53

Sage wrote:...compatibility issues between different strips...

it booted before. perhaps i used one of my other two boot images. tried with both himem and without it. thanks for the config switches. even went so far as to manually add and remove himem driver. no luck either way. betting on physical problem.

as far as i made it today is here (hope to get "snow-ice" going with choice #3 [LOTS of new menu choices])..

file is here now:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 924#122924

*removed himem, it sucked. my machine wouldn't boot with it in there. turned out the be the CD ROM was the problem and I was just grasping at straws.

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wakepup2 and 166mhz laptop with 48 MB RAM