How to start Puppy without a monitor?

[SBP]

Hi I want to be able to start puppy without monitor. But it stops during boot because it wants to know the screen/video driver and resolution.

Would it not be possible to design Puppy so it tries to detect the driver/screen (as it already do) and then if it detects that no screen is connected, then load a dummy driver (or skip loading anything) and continue booting?


I have found a work around which allows me to boot puppy without a monitor, but it seems like we just need puppy to do some easy selections when no monitor is connected.

The work around was found here: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 7ce8fa2bb9

" 22. If you want to remove the monitor, mouse and keyboard (a headless system) you have to do the following. Remove the monitor connection and reboot the computer. You will hear 1 long beep and 3 or 4 short beeps following. This will happen every time you reboot because the computer is trying to tell you there is no display connected to the computer.

- You need to wait 2 minutes for Puppy Linux O.S. to get to the section where it asks you to select you monitor.
- Then connect the cable and you have to choose a display resolution, default is 640 X 480. Once you choose one remove the monitor connection then hit Enter.
- Wait for 20 seconds then plug the cable in again. The O.S. need you to answer one more question. You need to disconnect the monitor then hit Enter then it will boot up and enter the gui all is good. "


But I think that it should be as simple as not connecting a monitor, and then Puppy should still be able to boot, and if we next time add a monitor Puppy should boot as it does now.

[gcmartin]

@SBP

Consider my answer here as non-authoritative and un-official.

BIOS
The ability of ANY PC to boot without keyboard/mouse is a BIOS option. When properly set, any PC will start-up after power-on ignoring detection of those devices you told it.

Once BIOS setting are done, Your PC will boot and start any OS that it can find in its boot order.

Puppy
As far as I know "official" PUPs require using a LiveCD or something to get to its desktop. Getting there allows Puppy to gather some things about your PC and its location-language to be used. Once this is completed and you have successfully navigated your desktop, you can Shutdown AND save your current session to "Live" media your HDD/USB. (The SAVE SESSION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS TO WORK!)

IFF you did a Shutdown and save as I mentioned, your PC is now turned off. You should, at this point, be able to disconnect all of your peripherals

Once the cables are removed, if you have left your LiveCD in the magazine, you should be able to power you PC on and you will NOT hear any beeps except the "normal" beeps all PCs start with. If you wait 2 minutes, and merely plug your monitor in, you may see Puppy pop on your monitor. (There are other ways to test to see if your PUP is up without doing this, of course)

Hope this helps.

[SBP]

Thanks for your reply.
Regarding the BIOS issue, this is solved, I can boot without keyboard and monitor.

Regarding the other part, I have Puppy installed on my HDD, and it saves my configuration fine. But everytime puppy starts it somehow check the connected monitor and resolution - so if I power down and then remove the monitor and reboots Puppy boot to a certain point, then waits - and if you then plug in your monitor you can see that it wait for you to choose if you want to "probe", "manuel" or "exit"
And it sits here forever until you give it some input.

It is here that I would suggest the developers to make Puppy a little smarter, so that if no input is given within 30 sec or so , then Puppy should asume that it should boot without any videodriver and continue booting.

[Bruce B]

But I think that it should be as simple as not connecting a
monitor, and then Puppy should still be able to boot, and if we next time add
a monitor Puppy should boot as it does now.

How will you turn it off? With the power button?

~

[SBP]

No I will turn it off by using a SSH connection.

At first I could not poweroff through SSH but with the suggestions by rcrsn51 - see this thread http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 4&start=60

it is simple to power off puppy through SSH.

He also helped with adding "pfix=nox,fsck" so that I actually can boot without monitor - but then I have to change this manually before I can booth with a monitor.

It woul be smarter if Puppy during booting could figure out to boot normaly if a monitor is present, and if it detects that a monitor is not present, then it would load a config file where "pfix=nox,fsck" is present.

[Bruce B]

I think the answer is simple. I tested after reading your post, no problem.

The install must be frugal. True?

Do you want X to start or not?

If so, I also want to know if you are using Xorg or Xvesa. I tested on Xorg.

~

[r1tz]

Maybe "pfix=nox" will do it.

[SBP]

I think the answer is simple. I tested after reading your post, no problem.

The install must be frugal. True?

Do you want X to start or not?

If so, I also want to know if you are using Xorg or Xvesa. I tested on Xorg.

~

Thank you for looking into this.

I installed on a flash HDD (Siemens Futro S400 thin client) - so it must be frugal - right?

As far as I remember I did not choose between Xorg or Xvesa (used default) - I think it is Xorg

I don't want X to start if no monitor is present during booting. BUT if a monitor is present during booting - I would realy like Puppy to boot into Xorg.


As the poster just above mentioned "pfix=nox" is working fine, but then it will not boot into GUI (Xorg) even if I plug a monitor.

So if you have a solution that automatically select the right circumstances dependent upon the detection of a monitor during booting it would be handy.

[Bruce B]

I don't like this one: pfix=nox

The reason why is I've had it start X when I was doing other things. Such
as alt-ctrl-del. This is an annoyance with a monitor. Without one, you
wouldn't know what's going on.

Puppy has a way of running /etc/profile more than
one time, by itself. Run profile once and X starts.

I tested it so you can startx without monitor. That's why I wanted to know
how you were going to shutdown.

I suggest remove the pfix=nox

Edit /etc/profile

change this line, near the bottom from
exec xwin
to
# exec xwin

This way X will never start behind your back.

When you run with a monitor, it will leave you at the prompt, then type

xwin to startx

If this isn't good. Be very specific about what you want. OK?

~

[SBP]

Hi, thank you for your suggestion

I think that this is a fine solution - that way it is easy to either start with or without loading X.

I havent tested it yet, but will report back later today.

Thank you

[rcrsn51]

Is that any different from booting with pfix=nox, then typing "xwin" at the console when you need X? In fact, you can even start X remotely through ssh.

[SBP]

Is that any different from booting with pfix=nox, then typing "xwin" at the console when you need X? In fact, you can even start X remotely through ssh.

I don't know if it is different - if I'm able to start X using your solution when I need it, then I will stick with that.
I just understood from your post yesterday, that I needed to boot from a CD in order to get to a GUI environment. But if I just can write xwin and be in the desktop then all is fine.

[rcrsn51]

I realize now that you don't need to boot off a CD or delete the pfix=nox argument from your bootloader to get X started on the server. My only question is whether Bruce's suggestion is a better way to do it. I will do some testing.

In any case "nohup poweroff &" looks like the answer for shutting down.

[Edit] OK. I understand Bruce's rationale for doing it his way. The only advantage to the pfix=nox way is that you control it outside of Puppy from the bootloader.

[Bruce B]

In any case "nohup poweroff &" looks like the answer for shutting down.

( I don't like disorderly shutdowns )

Suppose someone wants run X headless. Do you have an idea how to shut it
down? (I do but only with a keyboard)

If you do, will you please post?

~

[SBP]

Here is how I shut it down after a advice from 01micko. I installed acpid-1.0.8-20100603.pet and now I just press the power button once, then Puppy shut down nicely.

Sometimes I shut it down via SSh like rcrsn51 suggsted: "nohup poweroff &"

Steen

[abushcrafter]

Don't forget "xorgwizard". If you want to cornet a screen.