Hiding previous multi-session saves on a live disc

Discuss anything specific to using Puppy on a multi-session disk
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Flash
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#31 Post by Flash »

As I evidently failed to make clear in my previous post, the order that sessions are loaded from the DVD into RAM when Puppy boots doesn't seem to matter. Puppy's layered filesystem combines everything correctly no matter what. So that, for instance, if a file from an earlier session is deleted in a later session, that file does not show up after multisession Puppy boots.

Exactly how the layered filesystem works its magic I do not know. I believe there are several threads in the forum that discuss it in some detail. Good luck finding them. :lol: They are several years old. I think Puppy originally used Aufs for its layered filesystem, but then that was dropped in favor of a simpler method. I could be wrong. There may be something in Barry's blog about it. Look in his blog's archives.

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8-bit
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#32 Post by 8-bit »

Flash,

But what about a system configuration file that was edited and saved in two separate sessions.

If the order of loading the sessions does not make any difference, then it is feasible that an earlier not wanted version of the file could replace the wanted version of the file.

I am still trying to get the multi-session DVD with Slacko 5.4 to remember and use my WIFI settings that I am using ndiswrapper with.

When I set it up, it works. I save the settings. But on the next boot, the wifi hardware is not seen and not set up automatically.

I have to set it up each time and that does not seem right to me.

So do I have to make a new multi-session DVD and set up everything all at once before it saves the first session?

This is bugging me as it does not seem to work at all like a hard drive frugal install with use of a pupsave file.

Jasper

#33 Post by Jasper »

Hi 8-bit,

Open your DVD and post a screen shot.

My regards

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8-bit
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#34 Post by 8-bit »

I think the mind is the first thing to go!
I stated the multi-session DVD was Slacko 5.4 when it instead was Puppy Lupu 528.

But you asked for a screen shot, so here it is.
Attachments
capture23400.png
My multi-session DVD contents as a screen shot.
(27.22 KiB) Downloaded 959 times

Jasper

#35 Post by Jasper »

Hi 8-bit,

Your screen shot looks fine and there is no problem with
cumulative loading sequence, whatever and whenever you added
or deleted anything. Trust BarryK - it works.

With "puppy pfix=1" you will have the cumulative effect of
your first three files - pfix=2 your first two November files
and pfix=3 your original file - pfix=4 would be pointless, and
ordinary mortals should accept this order,

You might see how big your December folders are and you
could click to open them and check if your nds wrapper
details are as you expect them to be.

We can explain how to start again from any of your
existing four (or any subsequent) saves. However I have
never used an nds wrapper, so I'm out of touch there, at
least for now.

The whole multisession system works superbly for Flash and
myself and I have some 40 sfs files stored in a flash stick,
but with your 4 GB RAM (just over 3 GB usable) you
could use pets galore.

See if you can see or think of anything which might help us
to help you.

My regards

gcmartin

#36 Post by gcmartin »

I have and cintinue to use live media where I save back to the media versus to the USB/HDD.

Questions
  • Is the problem you share unique to 528, unique to Slacko54 or is it happening to all PUPs you use?
  • Is this where the system is NOT remembering the wireless SSID requiring re-running of "Setup Networking (task bar)" or is it requiring re-install of the driver PET for the wireless support?
  • Do you see prior session save files on your LIve media?
  • Does all of the other PETs you install behave as you expect when you reboot (for example you browser add-ons, etc.)?
Here to help.

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Flash
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#37 Post by Flash »

8-bit wrote:...I am still trying to get the multi-session DVD with Slacko 5.4 to remember and use my WIFI settings that I am using ndiswrapper with.

When I set it up, it works. I save the settings. But on the next boot, the wifi hardware is not seen and not set up automatically...
I'm no expert in using wireless. I toyed with it for a while but then lost interest. My WAG (Wild-Ass Guess) is that the problem is not in the settings you are saving, but rather is something more subtle. Perhaps the connection wizard is not being given enough time to establish the wireless connection when it boots? I really don't know. :?

Maybe you'd get more competent advice if you started a new thread with the title something like "Multisession Lupu 528 doesn't restore wireless settings." Or whatever is most appropriate for your problem.

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tallboy
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#38 Post by tallboy »

This thread is old, and it started with a question:
Brown Mouse wrote:Could anybody please remind me how to go about hiding/deleting previous multi-sessions save directory's on a live disc?
The use of a .badfolders file has been mentioned, and here are some pics of how it looks on a dpup485 DVD-R that I play with.

I accidentally forgot to remove a 240 Mb .iso image from /root before saving the session to the DVD, so I blocked that session from loading at next bootup with 'puppy pfix=1' as boot message.

When saving that session containing a blocked savefile, I actually forgot that a .badfolders file was created in /, so that was saved too - an important issue to remember if you only want a savefile blocked for one session! If you want to access the blocked file again, you have to remove the lines from the .badfolders file and save another session, or you have to block the file containg the badfolders file from loading with 'puppy pfix=1'.
The problem then is that you also omit all the other saved files from that session!

Are there any other boot messages that can be used to block a savefile from being read at bootup? I tried using a savefile's 'name', i.e. it's creation date&time, but that did not help. A list of savefiles that could be blocked for the session, appearing in the boot dialog, would be nice...

There are also other ways to save files, so that they don't turn up at boot time, see this link: Save directories to DVD+RW as sessions, using growisofs

tallboy
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True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

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8-bit
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#39 Post by 8-bit »

I have a number of session folders on my Lupu DVD disk and thought I would try booting with "pfix=4" to blacklist the last four sessions.
That worked fine other than since only changed and new files get saved when saving a session, files or pets that were added/installed in previous sessions that you blacklist may not appear.
But, I also found that unless you save the newly created .blacklist file by saving the current session, the .blacklist file disappears on the next boot.
So in some ways, this answers anothers question about if the blacklisted sessions would be temporary and only for the current session.

Also, again, remember that blacklisting previous sessions may remove files and installed pets that were done in the blacklisted session.
Just remember NOT to save when rebooting if you want the .blacklist to be temporary.

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tallboy
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#40 Post by tallboy »

Just remember NOT to save when rebooting if you want the .blacklist to be temporary.
Yes, but also remember that /.badfolders is just another file that may be edited and modified or even removed, if you need to save the next session. That is part of the Linux advantage!

tallboy
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

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Flash
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#41 Post by Flash »

tallboy wrote:... That is part of the Linux advantage!
Actually, as far as I know, that particular trick is unique to multisession Puppy Linux. :)

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8-bit
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#42 Post by 8-bit »

I understand how the blacklist file works. And also that clicking on the Save icon saves a new session to the CD/DVD that contains changes made and also any added content.
But what I would like to be able to do without migrating to a new CD/DVD is to have the SAVE contain all the contents and additions of the previous saved sessions like one was migrating.
After all, loading many sessions on boot slows up the booting process.
So can one make a new session contain all the content of previous sessions along with blacklisting all the previous sessions?

Or am I stuck with migrating to a new disk?

I guess I will have to read up more on the workings of multisession Puppy CD/DVDs.
Got a link?

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Ted Dog
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#43 Post by Ted Dog »

working on this idea with a multisession update. Very simple, a on the fly method would save current setup as a multisession in a sfs file. Within a dated directory like now. so all normal pfix stuff works. But on next load the directory reading will end at the sfs files directory. It would be standard sfs file so that we could also reburn to a new disk. :wink:

gcmartin

Should multi-session changes be considered for extention(s)

#44 Post by gcmartin »

Let me see if I can put this into perspective.

We currently have methods of backup to a prior time in system's operation, when at boot time we add the parm to skip some 1 or more prior save-sessions that exist on the DVD.

And, there is a manner to make this "backup to ..." method permanent for future reboots via proper use and save-session at shutdown.

Further, it is noted that there is a file in the filesystem called ???/.badfolders which can be modified (how???) so that on the LIve media disc, when rebooted, would abandon use/loading of the content of things found in badfolders.

Is that correct?

Then this discussion and its items over the past couple days and Thanks to @Ted Dog, shows that the save-sessions or the system's folders can be saved, at session end, in a common ...sfs file on the DVD which would be embraced at reboot.

Is that correct?

Thus, this means that new ways of telling boot-time starts what it is that I want to be used when piecing together the system's needs for the user desktop experience...all via a single SFS.

Is that what we rounding this toward?

Seems like a simple benefits analysis is all that's needed to take this to a simple, yet logical solution making it obvious to even new users on boot options when using DVD/CD media.

And, this has some very obvious benefits to other removal media as well such that the need for frugal persistence requirements would also be embraced by this simple methods of save-session. Thus, the community would benefit in have ONLY ONE(1) common method of persistence instead of the obvious 2 where the frugal has some shortcomings that DVD save-session do not.

This would then provides common boot understanding no matter which of the removable media or frugal uses are selected. The benefits would be common to each.

Thoughts...

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#45 Post by Ted Dog »

yes you are describing the methodology correctly and only a stop here on the reloading of multisessions at the most resent rolled up sfs file. But I do like the any device methods of multisession found on fatdog. And will be testing code by multisession on a harddrive ( ext2,3, 4 partions )
next stage is to have a named saved mulisession folder instead of date-time ( date time availabe at the proberties of the directory )

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#46 Post by tallboy »

Ted Dog, good thinking! But, it also raises some questions. If I understand correct, puppy reads the latest save files first, because newer files are not written over by older files. But the older files still have to be read, to load saves that are not written over at a later stage, and that reading process is taking time. If all saves are made into a new .sfs, will not the code telling puppy to look for other puppy files at botup have to be altered? Wouldn't that limit the choises of which media the puppy is run from? I mean you may have to decide at first boot, that your puppy for example is limited to run from a live disc. If you later change your mind and want a frugal or full install, then you cannot use the same .sfs.

What I really would like to have, is an easy way to include/exclude what is saved in a multisession save. Sometimes you only want to save a small change made in a preferences file, not the entire session. At other times you may want to save the setup for a new windowmanager and all the connected files, but not the letter to grandma.

BTW, I fail to see the point in writing multisession to a harddisk, why would anyone need that?

tallboy
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

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Flash
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#47 Post by Flash »

One advantage of using multisession on a hard disk is that the original files are preserved. This would be useful for forensic purposes. Say you pick up some malware that alters your OS for nefarious purposes, multisession makes it easy to see just what it's changing.

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#48 Post by Ted Dog »

as gmartin pointed out the resulting sfs file could be reused as a type of frugal save session (just rerolled each time on save) the saved sfs would be a remaster fully usable customized same named as original sfs but in a saved session folder. pfix=ram would still use orginal unmodified version. and may add pfix=new as a flag to rollback to last sfs save session only.
I reroll my own remaster after customizing and use that as a base for my multisession dvds or Blurays. So I already do this and have for years just now since we can modify the codebase with wolfce, plan to upload my existing code mods for everybody else. :wink:

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#49 Post by Flash »

Ted, your multisession seems to be completely different from multisession as I meant it, where Aufs combines the sessions after loading them -- or, theoretically, as they're being loaded, though I don't think that's the way Puppy rolls.

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