Which legacy Puppy is best for my project?

What works, and doesn't, for you. Be specific, and please include Puppy version.
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Senex
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Which legacy Puppy is best for my project?

#1 Post by Senex »

I'm doing a custom-build intended to run various legacy version distros, and need to look over list of hardware supported by kernel 2.6.25.16; change logs & .config files for Puppy 4.2.1, or anything else that can help me determine whether or not my intended parts-list will support this version, and that there are no incompatibilities. Help appreciated!

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Flash
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#2 Post by Flash »

First tell us your intended parts list -- at least how much RAM you intend to install. There is a Puppy for nearly anything that has more than 256 MB of RAM.

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mikeb
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#3 Post by mikeb »

Hmm a list...can't say I ever saw one of those...usually a suck it and see job though you could pile through the kernel modaliases and look up all the hardware id's !!.

Otherwise most drivers can be built on the kernel you are using if you are missing any. Also you will find extra drivers already built and petted on the forum.

Another suggestion might be to list the hardware here...might get a faster result from other users.

mike

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Karl Godt
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#4 Post by Karl Godt »

Puppy is quite capable to compile Linus Torvalds's kernels .
At least for full installs there are no patches needed .
Never had the pleasure of running kernel 2.6.25.x and former .
Ext4 is available since kernel 2.6.30 and Puppy kernel 2.6.30.5 is running quite well on my hardware up to year 2010 .

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Monsie
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Which legacy Puppy is best for my project?

#5 Post by Monsie »

Senex,

Since Debian 5 (Lenny) is based on kernel 2.6.25 it might be useful to look at the documentation for supported hardware as listed by the Debian 5 team: http://www.debian.org/releases/lenny/i3 ... 01.html.en
This documentation also provides links to other sites for further info regarding various systems and hardware peripherals.

Hope this helps,
Monsie

Edit: Actually, Debian 5 did use kernel 2.6.25 during testing, then moved to kernel 2.6.26 so although there was a slight upgrade, I feel the information might still be very useful.

Monsie
My [u]username[/u] is pronounced: "mun-see". Derived from my surname, it was my nickname throughout high school.

Senex
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#6 Post by Senex »

Flash wrote:First tell us your intended parts list -- at least how much RAM you intend to install. There is a Puppy for nearly anything that has more than 256 MB of RAM.
Please note this parts-list is tentative. I'm still trying to iron out the wrinkles, trim the fat, make sure there are no incompatibilities, and ensure this build will run all (or most) of the legacy distro releases I want to test drive.


*CPU-
Phenom II X6 1055T (95W)

MOTHERBOARD- in order of preference:
GA-MA770-UD3
GA-MA770T-UD3
GA-770T-UD3P
GA-770TA-UD3
GA-770T-USB3

MEMORY- Depends on board chosen, but I want the high end sort, and to fill all DIMM sockets...if anyone wants to recommend memory modules for the five boards above, please do!

NIC CARD- in order of preference:
DGE-528T
Intel EXPI9301CTBLK PRO/1000
Netgear GA302T
Startech ST1000BT32

*SOUND CARD-
Asus Xonar D2

*GRAPHICS CARD-
Either Geforce 6800GS or 6800GT (PCIe x16, 256 to 512MB)

VIDEO CAPTURE CARD- Must include 'framegrabber' function.
No idea! Suggestions welcomed for PCI or PCIe card type.

SATA DVD (3Gb/s) BURNER- I'm considering Plextor PX-880SA, but welcome suggestions, just no Sony brand.

SATA HARD DISC DRIVE- SATA 3Gb/s & 750GB required. Maybe:
WD7500AVCS
WD 7500AAKS-OOBA0

SATA HDD MOBILE RACKS- Maybe:
Kingwin KF-201-DF
" KF-1000-BK
SNT-SAS136B
Vantec MRK-300ST-BK
iStarUSA T5F-SS
iRack MRA300

5.25" BAY DEVICE-
Lian Li BZ-UO1

EXTERNAL HDD DOCKING STATION- For making backups. Prefer eSATA or firewire
Orico 6618SUS-BK
Rosewill RX-DUS100

FLOPPY DRIVE- For internal floppy drive connector.
Bytecc BT-145
NEC FD1231

PCI/PCIe EXPANSION CARDS- Depends on motherboard chosen, and which chips Linux rejects, but will likely need at least eSATA and Firewire cards that work with Linux:
Syba SD-SA2PEX-2E
Startech PEX1394B3 Firewire PCIE Card

LCD MONITOR- Require 1024x768. No touchscreen.
ViewEra V151HV-

WIRED ROUTER- Require NAT & SPI;gigabit WAN.
TP Link TL-R600VPN
Netgear FVS336G
Trendnet TWG-BRF114
Cisco Linksys RVS-4000

UPS- It must cover minimum 675W, and have quiet operation.
Cyberpower CP1350PFCLCD
APC BR1500 LCD

MEMORY CARD READER-
Plugable Technologies Plugable 2.0

SCANNER-
Canon Canoscan LIDE 30

COLOR INKJET PRINTER- Require each color to have separately replaceable ink cartridge; above average color graphics & photo print quality, & easy Linux setup. Much prefer single-function printers.
HP Officejet Pro 800 Enterprise
" " 6000 Wireless Printer
Epson WF7010

MONOCHROME LASER PRINTER- Require double sided printing (auto-duplex), use reasonably priced toner, have above average text print quality. Single-function printers much preferred.
Brother HL-2040
" HL-5370DW
Dell 2350D
" 3330DN
HP Laserjet Pro 400 M401DN
" " " " M401DNE
" " " P1606DN
Xerox Phaser 3250


* These components are already decided on, so its very unlikely I'll change them.
Last edited by Senex on Wed 04 Sep 2013, 20:50, edited 2 times in total.

Senex
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Re: Which legacy Puppy is best for my project?

#7 Post by Senex »

Many thanks! Site link does indeed look helpful. I'll study it.
Monsie wrote:Senex,

Since Debian 5 (Lenny) is based on kernel 2.6.25 it might be useful to look at the documentation for supported hardware as listed by the Debian 5 team: http://www.debian.org/releases/lenny/i3 ... 01.html.en
This documentation also provides links to other sites for further info regarding various systems and hardware peripherals.

Hope this helps,
Monsie

Edit: Actually, Debian 5 did use kernel 2.6.25 during testing, then moved to kernel 2.6.26 so although there was a slight upgrade, I feel the information might still be very useful.

Monsie

Senex
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Joined: Sat 26 Mar 2011, 21:28

#8 Post by Senex »

Unfortunately, once the parts-list is finalized, components acquired, and sent to the custom-build shop...its a case of too little too late. Any distro that does not work on the finished PC will have to be left by the wayside, so I'm doing my best to make sure Puppy is good to go. In short, I'm sorta reverse engineering this build- instead of picking OS and software to suit the hardware, I'm trying to do the opposite.


mikeb wrote:Hmm a list...can't say I ever saw one of those...usually a suck it and see job though you could pile through the kernel modaliases and look up all the hardware id's !!.

Otherwise most drivers can be built on the kernel you are using if you are missing any. Also you will find extra drivers already built and petted on the forum.

Another suggestion might be to list the hardware here...might get a faster result from other users.

mike

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mikeb
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#9 Post by mikeb »

Hmm something more like Lucid to cover that lot... unless you wanted to change the kernel in 4.21. eg would not work on eide but then not sure why that's in your list.
I guess electric is plentiful where you are lol

printer..I like epsons...have a b40w .. well supported in Linux and cheapest jettec cartridges and good performance for documents and piccies and wifi/wired networking.

Nothing strikes me as needing a bleeding edge OS...things like the vid cards are nicely covered by nvidia for example.

Perhaps trim your list to only include OS dependent stuff...eg leave out the PSUs and then others can contribute their experience or suggestions.

mike

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Karl Godt
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#10 Post by Karl Godt »

Phenom II X6 1055T (95W) :
http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K10/AMD-P ... OX%29.html

AMD Phenom II X6 family, Socket AM3
  • Model Cores /Threads Freq. Turbofreq. L3cache TDP Features

    Phenom II X6 1035T 6 / 6 2.6 GHz 3.1 GHz 6 MB 95 Watt
    Phenom II X6 1045T 6 / 6 2.7 GHz 3.2 GHz 6 MB 95 Watt
    Phenom II X6 1055T (95W) 6 / 6 2.8 GHz 3.3 GHz 6 MB 95 Watt
    Phenom II X6 1055T (125W) 6 / 6 2.8 GHz 3.3 GHz 6 MB 125 Watt
    Phenom II X6 1065T 6 / 6 2.9 GHz 3.4 GHz 6 MB 95 Watt
    Phenom II X6 1075T (non-BE) 6 / 6 3 GHz 3.5 GHz 6 MB 125 Watt
    Phenom II X6 1090T 6 / 6 3.2 GHz 3.6 GHz 6 MB 125 Watt Unlock
    Phenom II X6 1100T 6 / 6 3.3 GHz 3.7 GHz 6 MB 125 Watt Unlock
Why not Puppy v1.x
:?:
«Give me GUI or Death» -- I give you [[Xx]term[inal]] [[Cc]on[s][ole]] .
Macpup user since 2010 on full installations.
People who want problems with Puppy boot frugal :P

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Karl Godt
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#11 Post by Karl Godt »

Just looked into Slacko 5.3.1 that has kernel 2.6.37.6 :

CONFIG_NR_CPUS=8

Puppy4 k2.6.30.5 and Lupu k2.6.33.2 has a max of 4 .
«Give me GUI or Death» -- I give you [[Xx]term[inal]] [[Cc]on[s][ole]] .
Macpup user since 2010 on full installations.
People who want problems with Puppy boot frugal :P

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mikeb
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#12 Post by mikeb »

CONFIG_NR_CPUS=32 2.6.24.5 slax kernel...yay :)... mean puppy..

Arn't those cpus built to handle the megabloat of vista and beyond.... or perhaps more likely high delivery servers... I see a little lost puppy wading around in the machine :D

mike

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Karl Godt
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#13 Post by Karl Godt »

mikeb wrote:CONFIG_NR_CPUS=32 2.6.24.5 slax kernel...yay :)... mean puppy..

Arn't those cpus built to handle the megabloat of vista and beyond.... or perhaps more likely high delivery servers... I see a little lost puppy wading around in the machine :D

mike
Yeah, Have two Core2Duo with 2cores with 1thread each , one atom 1core 2threads and one atom 2cores 2threads each .
So still in the older Pup-range .
The xload meter at bootup is best with the 2cores á 2threads atom .
k2.6.30 coretemp.ko does not want to load on it , but that's all .

Senex
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#14 Post by Senex »

I added the IDE/EIDE DVD burner & HDD to accomodate distros with older kernels (such as Damn Small Linux). Research indicated IDE/EIDE was supported long before SATA 3Gb/s. Am I off base?

Can you give me an idea of exactly what qualifies as "OS dependent stuff"? I'll gladly trim the list. Whatever it takes to ensure Puppy works!

mikeb wrote:Hmm something more like Lucid to cover that lot... unless you wanted to change the kernel in 4.21. eg would not work on eide but then not sure why that's in your list.
I guess electric is plentiful where you are lol

printer..I like epsons...have a b40w .. well supported in Linux and cheapest jettec cartridges and good performance for documents and piccies and wifi/wired networking.

Nothing strikes me as needing a bleeding edge OS...things like the vid cards are nicely covered by nvidia for example.

Perhaps trim your list to only include OS dependent stuff...eg leave out the PSUs and then others can contribute their experience or suggestions.

mike

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mikeb
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#15 Post by mikeb »

around the pups you mentioned eide / sata (libata) was a bit messed up so ended up with 2 kernels ...one to support each. I don't believe eide would affect you anyway as thats earlier than the ide you probably mean. As it happens lucid and perhaps others seem to be no problem in this respect.

OS dependant...those things that need a driver basically...the psus do not and probably ok to onit mouse keyboard since they are generic types, the physical construction of the enclosure and fans, coolers...
Are you really including floppy drives?

mike

Senex
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#16 Post by Senex »

mikeb wrote:around the pups you mentioned eide / sata (libata) was a bit messed up so ended up with 2 kernels ...one to support each. I don't believe eide would affect you anyway as thats earlier than the ide you probably mean. As it happens lucid and perhaps others seem to be no problem in this respect.

OS dependant...those things that need a driver basically...the psus do not and probably ok to onit mouse keyboard since they are generic types, the physical construction of the enclosure and fans, coolers...
Are you really including floppy drives?

mike
I made the edits to the parts-list. Let me know if any slipped by me. Yes, on the floppy drive. I'll be using XP Pro on one dedicated HDD until such time as I'm confident enough to replace it with Linux. Despite a ton of Google searches, and asking questions on four or five forums, I'm unable to find conclusive answer as to whether or not a regular floppy drive is required, and whether or not USB FDD will do absolutely everything one on a floppy connector can. Only conclusive info is that there are certain possible situations in which XP Pro does requires a floppy drive. I've decided to err on side of caution and include one.

So are you saying I should use SATA DVD burner & HDD to install 4.2.1? Will the mere presence of the IDE/EIDE burner & HDD have adverse effect? If I can determine that none of the other distro releases require IDE/EIDE, I'm willing to ditch it, as it's there for no other reason.

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mikeb
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#17 Post by mikeb »

Well everything linuxy that you seem to be intending to use has SATA support so IDE is not needed for those. Even XP seems to cope ok...well never had a problem with it...I guess SP3 has a good collection of drivers in there. If you don't need it then go for a simple life.

Floppy for Xp...password cracking, bios? I lobbed floppy drives years ago.... bios updates seem to come in win32 form now... any floppy can be emulated and burnt to a Cd anyway. a windows 98 cd or freedos for a bootable DOS. I just considered floppies too unreliable anyway...but thats just my opinion.

4.21 could be installed from a cd or usb to wherever...hard drive most convenient I would say.

mike

Senex
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#18 Post by Senex »

So does this mean Puppy 4.2.1 will only use 4 of the six cores, or that it cannot handle Phenom II x6 1055t at all?

Karl Godt wrote:Just looked into Slacko 5.3.1 that has kernel 2.6.37.6 :

CONFIG_NR_CPUS=8

Puppy4 k2.6.30.5 and Lupu k2.6.33.2 has a max of 4 .

Senex
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#19 Post by Senex »

Best news I've had in awhile! IDE/EIDE is officially cut & edited from the parts-list.

Its my hope that I will never have any need for the floppy drive, and once I replace XP Pro with the winning Linux distro, I can send the floppy drive to the dumpster, and free up a bay. Its simply better safe than sorry. At worst, I waste a few bucks on a floppy drive that is never used. That is a gamble I can live with.

I have the Puppy 4.2.1 CD already...actually I have all the CDs/DVDs of distro versions I want to trial in storage.

So what about current version of parts-list? Any changes needed? Any potential problems or incompatibilities? Sorry if I sound overeager to finalize the list!
mikeb wrote:Well everything linuxy that you seem to be intending to use has SATA support so IDE is not needed for those. Even XP seems to cope ok...well never had a problem with it...I guess SP3 has a good collection of drivers in there. If you don't need it then go for a simple life.

Floppy for Xp...password cracking, bios? I lobbed floppy drives years ago.... bios updates seem to come in win32 form now... any floppy can be emulated and burnt to a Cd anyway. a windows 98 cd or freedos for a bootable DOS. I just considered floppies too unreliable anyway...but thats just my opinion.

4.21 could be installed from a cd or usb to wherever...hard drive most convenient I would say.

mike

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Karl Godt
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#20 Post by Karl Godt »

No Idea, Really !!

Never had a Puppy running with a kernel less than 2.6.30.5 .

Look into /etc/modules/DOTconfig* if some of your hardware is mentioned therein .

CONFIG_DRIVER_WHAT=m or "is not set" would be probably problematic for boot sequence .

Doubt that the 2.6.25 kernel would support more cores than the 2.6.30.5 kernel .

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