Hi
I may be being completely stupid but I cannot find an easy way to update the Linux kernel. I am on a full install of Puppy but don't know how to find the right kernel or how I should install it?
How to update the kernel in BionicPup 8?
Kyle,
Let me offer you a few considerations to ponder..
Kirk >> http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=112669
And a more general discussion >> http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=116812
You can omit OS references.
==
Should you wanna mess around, explore Quickpet in the menu.
Let me offer you a few considerations to ponder..
Kirk >> http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=112669
And a more general discussion >> http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=116812
You can omit OS references.
==
Should you wanna mess around, explore Quickpet in the menu.
Re: Update Kernel in BionicPup 8
Emphasis supplied.kyle1974 wrote:Hi
I may be being completely stupid but I cannot find an easy way to update the Linux kernel. I am on a full install...
Hi kyle, and welcome to the Forum. Regretfully, you've stumbled into the pit our Devs seem to leave open for newbies.
Puppies are not designed to be run as Full installs. See, http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 89#1023489 or any of the hundreds of similar posts written during the last 10 years. I can appreciate that there is nothing Devs can do about the untold number of ISO setting the trap which are in the wild; nor the many discussions about Puppy Linux other than on its dedicated Forum which fail to make it clear that Puppy, unlike almost every other Linux, is not supposed to be run as a Full Install. But I don't know why those Devs can't change the instructions in new publications, nor republish the approximately dozen or so Puppies which are actively being supported. 
The design of Puppies is modular. Two of the modules mentioned in the above post are vmlinuz (the kernel) and zdrv_YOUR-PUPPY-VERSION.sfs. The latter contains drivers compiled to work with that kernel and, often, firmware. As firmware is not kernel specific, some Devs publish a separate fdrv.sfs which can be used with any kernel.
Kernel packages consisting of a vmlinuz and an zdrv.sfs (usually named kernel-modules) are separately published. You can find some here, http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 414#894414. You can also substitute the vmlinuz and zdrv.sfs from any other recent Puppy's ISO.
Some Puppies, such as Bionicpup64 via Menu>Setup>Quickpet provide both alternate kernels and an easy way to change them. But frankly, because of Puppy's modular design it is just as easy to merely rename the two files contained in a Hugh Kernel Package and substitute them in. Substitution can be done from a running Frugal install, although a re-boot is necessary for the change to take affect. Renaming consists of (a) delete any description from the vmlinuz, leaving only that word; (b) edit the other file to read zdrv_NAME-OF-PUPPY_VERSION-NUMBER.sfs EXACTLY consistent with the name appearing on your Puppy's Puppy_XXX.sfs. For example, Bionicpup64's zdrv.sfs is named zdrv_bionicpup64-8.0.sfs.
Why do you think you need to update the kernel?
Normally it is never needed in Puppy.
Normally it is never needed in Puppy.
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected
YaPI(any iso installer)
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected
YaPI(any iso installer)
-
Mike Walsh
- Posts: 6351
- Joined: Sat 28 Jun 2014, 12:42
- Location: King's Lynn, UK.
@ Mikeslr:-
There are, of course, two issues going on here. Aside from the obvious one that new Puppies really need to have a warning/disclaimer about the 'perils' of attempting to run Puppy as a FULL install, there's the other 'elephant in the room':-
The fact of Puppy being modular is good for all concerned, no doubt about it. But of course, with the sole exception of jrb's excellent tutorial about kernel swaps - from quite some years ago, and which can be easily modified for a FULL install - every single piece of information regarding Puppy kernel swaps in recent years is predicated on the 'unspoken' assumption that the user is automatically using the recommended frugal install. There's also the other major one, that SFSs are a one-way street with the FULL install; once 'loaded', the only way to remove them is a tedious, manual slog.....because the 'layered filesystem' simply doesn't exist with this option.
I agree with you; surely it wouldn't be so hard to modify the 'first-run' stuff to put up up a BIG warning banner about this, complete with easy to understand explanations?
Mike.
There are, of course, two issues going on here. Aside from the obvious one that new Puppies really need to have a warning/disclaimer about the 'perils' of attempting to run Puppy as a FULL install, there's the other 'elephant in the room':-
The fact of Puppy being modular is good for all concerned, no doubt about it. But of course, with the sole exception of jrb's excellent tutorial about kernel swaps - from quite some years ago, and which can be easily modified for a FULL install - every single piece of information regarding Puppy kernel swaps in recent years is predicated on the 'unspoken' assumption that the user is automatically using the recommended frugal install. There's also the other major one, that SFSs are a one-way street with the FULL install; once 'loaded', the only way to remove them is a tedious, manual slog.....because the 'layered filesystem' simply doesn't exist with this option.
I agree with you; surely it wouldn't be so hard to modify the 'first-run' stuff to put up up a BIG warning banner about this, complete with easy to understand explanations?
Mike.
