2.17 frugal install problem

[vanchutr]

I used isolinux for the frugal installations in Win/Dos. It's easy to boot up differents pup derivatives
1. Directory structure:
On partition 3 (named hda5 or D: in DOS) I'd made four directories named: iso213, iso214, iso215, iso217
In each directory I'd put these files: vmlinuz, initrd.gz, go.bat, options.txt and loadlin.exe
2. On any root of any partition (e.g on C:\, D:\, E:\, F:\) I'd put the pup_213.sfs, 214_sfs, 215_sfs, and pup_217.sfs must be on C:\ (The pup_save file will be generated in these places and I'l rename them after the first boot to recognize them)
3. The content of go.bat

Code: Select all

loadlin @options.txt

The content of one options.txt

Code: Select all

vmlinuz

root=/dev/ram0

rw

initrd=initrd.gz

vga=normal

ramdisk_size=100000

init=/etc/init

lang=en

apm=power-off

nomce

noapic

noacpi

noscsi

quiet

BOOT_IMAGE=pup_217.sfs

Now I can boot any puppy derivative. CD to isoxxx and type go (in DOS console).

Please give your comments. Thank you

[edoc]

When you commented out
# PDEV1=hda1 PHOME=hda1 psubdir=boot/prism loglevel=3
did that also comment out 'psubdir=boot/prism' ?
(The line commented out was part of the previous 'kernel ...' line.
Maybe try:
Note: 'kernel ... 3' is all on same line:

Code: Select all

title TMXXINE-Prism Puppy Linux (frugal on /dev/hda1) 
rootnoverify (hd0,0) 
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/prism/vmlinuz root=/dev/ram0 PMEDIA=idehd psubdir=boot/prism loglevel=3
# PDEV1=hda1 PHOME=hda1 vga=normal 
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/prism/initrd.gz 

Need to have the 'psubdir=boot/prism' on the kernel line or else it will 'not find Puppy.'
-TazOC

I am still seeing the same boot error (I am going to post this then reboot one more time
because I found a re-named TEENpup tile in the / folder and just deleted it -- will post an
EDIT here if anything improves re. my TMXXINE-Prism boot.

BTW: I doubt it is relevant but TEENpup is not holding time/date settings and seems to
lose other settings when I do a shutdown vs a reboot.

Sure appreciate the assistance!

Here is what I now show in GRUB:

Code: Select all

# Linux bootable partition config begins

  title TEENpup 2.0.0 Puppy Linux (Full on /dev/hda1)
  root (hd0,0)
  kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 ro vga=normal
  
  title TMXXINE-Prism Puppy Linux (frugal on /dev/hda1)
  rootnoverify (hd0,0)
  kernel (hd0,0)/boot/prism/vmlinuz root=/dev/ram0 PMEDIA=idehd psubdir=boot/prism loglevel=3
  initrd (hd0,0)/boot/prism/initrd.gz
  
# Linux bootable partition config ends

[edoc]

Tazoc, was there a special reason for hd0,7 and hda8 in your setup that I have missed
but should emulate, please?

[tazoc]

Tazoc, was there a special reason for hd0,7 and hda8 in your setup that I have missed
but should emulate, please?

I don't think so. Mine has more partitions, thus higher numbers. (hd0,0) basically means /dev/hda1. I don't see anything wrong with your menu stubs. Does TMXXINE-Prism boot off the Live-CD?

[edoc]

Tazoc, was there a special reason for hd0,7 and hda8 in your setup that I have missed
but should emulate, please?

I don't think so. Mine has more partitions, thus higher numbers. (hd0,0) basically means /dev/hda1. I don't see anything wrong with your menu stubs. Does TMXXINE-Prism boot off the Live-CD?

Tazoc,

I really appreciate your assistance and feel badly that your time assisting me does
not also go toward helping with your Lighthouse-Mariner Puppy.

I went to www.lhpup.org Lighthouse215SeaM_beta4 + Mariner SFS because I do not
recall why I chose to try TMXXINE-Prism vs Lighthouse-Mariner.

I could not find your misison statement for your version of Puppy there. I think my
concern at the time was that I wanted a version that used Seamonkey for simplicity
and integration and that I wanted to avoid KDE for size. Could you restate your unique
goals for Lighthouse-Mariner, please, so I may reconsider it?

I am only testing TEENpup prior to deploying it to the children's PC, I don't play
computer games and it is otherwise a bit bulky for my needs. I will uninstall it from my PC soon.

[ICPUG]

Edoc,

I'm back again, having had a look in the backwaters of the bootup code! I'm very much a beginner here and you have sent me down some uncharted territory, but I thought I would report back what MIGHT be the problem.

Now that tazoc has put you right regarding the psubdir parameter, which you inadvertently commented out, I cannot see anything wrong with your menu.lst.

Your error message says:
ERROR, cannot find Puppy on 'idehd' boot media.
PUPMODE=15 PDEV1=hda1

The key, I believe, is PUPMODE=15. I have never taken much notice of this before, but as Sherlock Holmes used to say, "when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

PUPMODE should never be set to 15, so why is it? Initially the PUPMODE should be set to 13 and then revert to 12 when it determines that you are on an IDE drive and not a flash drive. Where does the extra 2 (13+2 =15) come from?

In the initial boot code PUPMODE is created by checking for various possibilities, such as a pup_217.sfs file exists, a pup_save.2fs exists and crucially a hard drive install exists. If the hard drive install exists it adds 2 to the PUPMODE.

Now I cannot decipher how it determines whether a hard drive install exists but my theory is that it is detecting the TEENpup install, not by the remnant files that rcrsn51 suggested, but some other means.

If my theory is correct then it would seem as if a hard drive install and a frugal cannot coexist. Tazoc had two frugal installs, so he did not have the problem.

You never said why you did a full install of TEENpup, rather than a frugal, but there is one hope of a solution that keeps it. If I understand things correctly then the code will only add 2 to the PUPMODE if the hard drive install is on the same partition as the frugal install.

Would it be possible to add a new partition, put your frugal TMXXINE-Prism Puppy files on it, alter the menu.lst accordingly and see if that works? I cannot promise success, because there is a lot of hypothesis going on here. It depends how desperate/keen you are!

ICPUG

[edoc]

If my theory is correct then it would seem as if a hard drive install and a frugal cannot coexist. Tazoc had two frugal installs, so he did not have the problem.

You never said why you did a full install of TEENpup, rather than a frugal, but there is one hope of a solution that keeps it. If I understand things correctly then the code will only add 2 to the PUPMODE if the hard drive install is on the same partition as the frugal install.

I ran into a problem with re-partitioning the HDD so the Full HDD install was a quick fix.

If I could remember what files I need to save, then copy back to rescue my Seamonkey
E-mail folders, then I'd be happy to remove TEENpup.

This last time I have been able to get my address book and bookmarks by copying
those specific folders plu over-righting about everything else in that folder but have
not succeeded in getting Seamonkey to recognize my folders no matter what I copy.

Would it be possible to add a new partition, put your frugal TMXXINE-Prism Puppy files on it, alter the menu.lst accordingly and see if that works? I cannot promise success, because there is a lot of hypothesis going on here. It depends how desperate/keen you are! ICPUG

See above - if I can solve the question of what files need to be copied back into what
folders I'll be golden.

BTW: What IS the best way to completely eliminate a Full install so as to be sure to be
clean prior to a Frugal?

[tazoc]

Tazoc,

I could not find your misison statement for your version of Puppy there. I think my
concern at the time was that I wanted a version that used Seamonkey for simplicity
and integration and that I wanted to avoid KDE for size. Could you restate your unique
goals for Lighthouse-Mariner, please, so I may reconsider it?

I am only testing TEENpup prior to deploying it to the children's PC, I don't play
computer games and it is otherwise a bit bulky for my needs. I will uninstall it from my PC soon.

Lighthouse is still beta; I'm working on beta 5, which will have fixes for Xvesa video mode, Pmount missing /usr/bin/bc and startup issues with IceDock and XonClock. More on LighthousePup215Beta4 is here: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=19869 and http://www.lhpup.org/release-lhp.htm The Lighthouse base ISO is based on Puppy 215CE with many new tweaks and tools for Rox-Filer, an emphasis on look and feel and uses Mozilla Seamonkey 1.0.8. Mariner is an optional SFS file expansion pack based on mysticmark's Full Office 2.2, CUPS printing installer, pizzapup's Web / P2P SFS and more enhancements designed for Lighthouse ONLY.

For Lighthouse I do not recommend a full install nor 'saving files and settings to a partition'. The latter alternative option seems to be offered when booting from grub without a pup_save file or first time. So I always choose the default 'save to a file' instead.

SeaMonkey's file and profile details here: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonk ... html#files
The profile location is typically:
/root/.mozilla/[Profile Name]/[random string].slt/
abook.mab == Personal addressbook file
bookmarks.html == Bookmarks file
Mail == Local Folders and POP3 mail
Difficulties may arise when copying entire folders because the profile name or [random string] may differ. Should work if you start with a working SeaMonkey and only copy over bookmarks.html and abook.mab. Not sure about the Mail folder. MU (Mark Ulrich) had a great post on the forum that covered most used files and folders in Puppy to backup/transfer that might have covered this, but I can't find it.

BTW: What IS the best way to completely eliminate a Full install so as to be sure to be clean prior to a Frugal?

That's a good question! I don't know. Certainly reformatting, but be careful with the partition that grub is installed on unless you're gonna wipe the whole disk.

When reformatting/creating/resizing partitions be sure to use gParted booting from a recent Puppy, in LiveCD mode only. This is because it's best not to modify a partition that is mounted. Better yet, d/l the newer official gParted LiveCD here:
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php I don't recommend QtParted, please stick with gParted for Linux.

-TazOC

[edoc]

Better yet, d/l the newer official gParted LiveCD here:
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php I don't recommend QtParted, please stick with gParted for Linux. -TazOC

I am downloading the ISO using wget as I type this. wget is an excellent app!

I was disappointed that there was not a version tied to Puppy.

Sure appreciate the heads-up! Now have to figure out if I have a PC that can write
to a mini-CD ... and get some blanks!

[tazoc]

Better yet, d/l the newer official gParted LiveCD here:
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php I don't recommend QtParted, please stick with gParted for Linux. -TazOC

I am downloading the ISO using wget as I type this. wget is an excellent app!

I was disappointed that there was not a version tied to Puppy.

Sure appreciate the heads-up! Now have to figure out if I have a PC that can write
to a mini-CD ... and get some blanks!

You're welcome!

Puppy has gParted, but I think gParted LiveCD is newer, generally the latest version is most reliable.

No need to use a mini-CD, a tried-and-true CD-R is best for this.
-TazOC

[puppynop]

@vanchutr,

I use 'Pup4DOS' to boot my puppies in Win98, but it doesn't work with 2.17s so I'm going to try your technique.

By 'go.bat' can I just use/edit any existing .bat file? where can I get loadlin.exe.

I boot my puppies by typing 'puppy' at safe mode command prompt, what do you mean by 'CD to isoxxx and type go'.

Thanks.

[vanchutr]

You can find loadlin.exe on internet (google to search it - in syslinux ...)
CD to isoxxx = 'Change directory' to iso215 if you want to boot (run) pup_215.sfs
I upload my used loadlin

[vanchutr]

To dear puppynop,
You can edit any *.bat and options.txt with the notepad of Win98

[puppynop]

@vanchutr,

SUCCESS!

I can now boot 2.17 NOP using the 'command prompt boot option of Win98' but I have to add 'psubdir=/Iso217' after 'root=/dev/ram0' at options.txt though (only for puppylinux2.17).

I made pup217.bat file at c:\ w/ the ff code:

@echo off
echo Booting Puppy Linux....
c:
cd\Iso217
c:\Iso217\go

This is to boot puppy2.17 directly by just typing pup217 at the command prompt.

BTW, it fails to boot puppy under the DOS prompt of running win 98 or WinXP.

Is there a way we can use it with WinME/WinXP without installing MS DOS or Free DOS or without modifying 'Boot.ini', or without using 'Win startup floopydisk'.

[vanchutr]

To dear puppynop,
From now I did't know other manner to boot frugal install - puppy without 'real DOS mode'.
Sorry abot that.
Be happy with puppy.

[puppynop]

I use Puppy2 XP-Installer to 'IDEHD frugal install' my puppies with WinXP. It uses Grub to dual boot XP and Puppy, But as much as possible I dont want to modify MBR or Boot.ini for easy and safe testing of new versions, avoiding a big headache if something went wrong.

[BigShpank]

I have teenpup 2.14 installed on several computers, harddrive install. If the system crashes or losses power the boot no longer works. it hangs on "etc/TZ no such directory"

not sure what to do. By the way I am very new to linux and well loving it.