Just about that unmount subject slax does indeed unmount/shutdown cleanly...they have the magic that can add and remove sfs modules at will though there was /is a project to do the same with puppy.
My test is that I use IFS to mount ext2/3 from XP. It will not do so after a unclean shutdown for safety reasons.
After a puppy frugal session it will not mount ...after a tidied up full puppy install and slax it will
mike
Newbies - Puppy needs YOUR help too!
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saltsprung
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon 07 Dec 2009, 06:55
New2Puppy
Feedback from a newbie to Puppy Linux. So far I am very impressed.
I have used various versions of Fedora on old desktop computers, but it was not suitable for the old laptop (i.e problems with installation).
I have experimented with DSL (Damn Small Linux). It loaded, but did not recognize the sound or pcmcia network card and I could not find the appropriate drivers.
I experimented with Ubuntu. It loaded, but did not recognize the sound hardware and I could not find the appropriate drivers.
Then I loaded Puppy Linux. It loaded, but did not recognize the sound hardware or network card. Not surprising, since the others did not either. However, with a little tweaking I was able to get the Linksys WPC11v.4 pcmcia card operating with the rtl8180 driver to connect to my WEP encryted home network. However, the Network Wizard would not reliably connect, so I ended up using the Pwireless to connect. I am not sure why the wizard would not work. I then set to work on setting up my sound hardware and was pleased to get it working by trying the second choice on the ALSA list (i.e. the snd-opl3sa2 driver).
KUDOS to the Puppy Linux programmers for incorporating the necessary hardware probing and drivers for such an old system. I decided to experiment with a full HD installation to improve performance. It boots and runs with some issues (see below).
Open items I am still working on include:
(1) Grub boot loader requires manual changes for each load. It looks like the old Grub booter from Ubuntu was not overwritten even though I have attempted this in Puppy Linux several times. I don't even need it, since I am only running Puppy Linux on the system. How do you delete an old Grub boot loader?
(2) Since I am editing the Grub boot loader anyway, I would like to pass the proper configuration to the kernel to bypass the startup screen questions and configure my sound hardware and network pcmcia card. Is this possible?
Overall, it is a great OS! Keep up the good work.
I have used various versions of Fedora on old desktop computers, but it was not suitable for the old laptop (i.e problems with installation).
I have experimented with DSL (Damn Small Linux). It loaded, but did not recognize the sound or pcmcia network card and I could not find the appropriate drivers.
I experimented with Ubuntu. It loaded, but did not recognize the sound hardware and I could not find the appropriate drivers.
Then I loaded Puppy Linux. It loaded, but did not recognize the sound hardware or network card. Not surprising, since the others did not either. However, with a little tweaking I was able to get the Linksys WPC11v.4 pcmcia card operating with the rtl8180 driver to connect to my WEP encryted home network. However, the Network Wizard would not reliably connect, so I ended up using the Pwireless to connect. I am not sure why the wizard would not work. I then set to work on setting up my sound hardware and was pleased to get it working by trying the second choice on the ALSA list (i.e. the snd-opl3sa2 driver).
KUDOS to the Puppy Linux programmers for incorporating the necessary hardware probing and drivers for such an old system. I decided to experiment with a full HD installation to improve performance. It boots and runs with some issues (see below).
Open items I am still working on include:
(1) Grub boot loader requires manual changes for each load. It looks like the old Grub booter from Ubuntu was not overwritten even though I have attempted this in Puppy Linux several times. I don't even need it, since I am only running Puppy Linux on the system. How do you delete an old Grub boot loader?
(2) Since I am editing the Grub boot loader anyway, I would like to pass the proper configuration to the kernel to bypass the startup screen questions and configure my sound hardware and network pcmcia card. Is this possible?
Overall, it is a great OS! Keep up the good work.
second boot
Downloaded puppy yesterday on my PentIV ubuntu rig.
twenty minutes to play before work, I make my second attempt with live CD.
It would be easy to know the screen resolution if I was logged into ubuntu, but I can't see that from here, so I choose the lowest screen resolution available.
I like the art work and the puppy logo, this looks very nice.
The screen looks crowded, but that is because I chose screen resolution of 100X50 (or something) and I have a 22 inch screen. I search for the settings window where I can change the resolution and find I can change the configuration file directly but disappointed to find that the configuration does not change immedicately...maybe next login.
Now I am in, the next obvious task is an internet connection.
I love the concept of wizard wizard.
I find the connection window. I can't see the bottom of the window because I chose the wrong screen resolution and the window does not fit.
I see the magic word eth0 which seems similar to the connection that was working in ubuntu.
There are four wireless connection options but I am on a wired machine.
Fail to establish a connection.
Time for work...maybe tomorrow!
twenty minutes to play before work, I make my second attempt with live CD.
It would be easy to know the screen resolution if I was logged into ubuntu, but I can't see that from here, so I choose the lowest screen resolution available.
I like the art work and the puppy logo, this looks very nice.
The screen looks crowded, but that is because I chose screen resolution of 100X50 (or something) and I have a 22 inch screen. I search for the settings window where I can change the resolution and find I can change the configuration file directly but disappointed to find that the configuration does not change immedicately...maybe next login.
Now I am in, the next obvious task is an internet connection.
I love the concept of wizard wizard.
I find the connection window. I can't see the bottom of the window because I chose the wrong screen resolution and the window does not fit.
I see the magic word eth0 which seems similar to the connection that was working in ubuntu.
There are four wireless connection options but I am on a wired machine.
Fail to establish a connection.
Time for work...maybe tomorrow!
Impressions
I wanted to install a light linux distribution on my usb pendrive and so i started to look for the best one.
I'd heard about puppy as a very small linux iso so i chose it because what i was looking for was somthing that would allow me to use basic tools wherever i were and whatever the computer i was using was.
I'm spanish and i dind't found a lot of information in my language but that wasn't a problem.
The troubles started when doubts came up and the information i found was spread.
I think puppy has a lot of potential but a better organized information, tutorials and manual is needed. ( i think this forum is great and it has helped me a lot)
I would like to help in translating or whatever is on my hands. I have 2 years of linux (ubuntu) experience and i'm delighted with puppy.
Thank you very much.
I'd heard about puppy as a very small linux iso so i chose it because what i was looking for was somthing that would allow me to use basic tools wherever i were and whatever the computer i was using was.
I'm spanish and i dind't found a lot of information in my language but that wasn't a problem.
The troubles started when doubts came up and the information i found was spread.
I think puppy has a lot of potential but a better organized information, tutorials and manual is needed. ( i think this forum is great and it has helped me a lot)
I would like to help in translating or whatever is on my hands. I have 2 years of linux (ubuntu) experience and i'm delighted with puppy.
Thank you very much.
puppies toolbox
i started using linux about 3 weeks ago. puppy 4.3.1 linux was my first linux. I love the name seaMonkey for the browser. You could write a book like the ubuntu linux TOOLBOX, suse linux TOOLBOX, fedora linux TOOLBOX. As of now, the TOOLBOX series has been the most helpful in beginning to understand linux. It the way the information is presented. I like reading from a book or printed paper in addition to online information. I started but didn't finish two books i recently obtained because they were out of date. You could suggested a list of books to read for those that are interested. You could make a list of 10 things every puppy linux administrator needs to know and explain why it is useful to know them and give examples how this information is useful. It seem like most of the information is howto , personally i would be interested in how it works in conjunction to howto. I just don't see any of my friends being interested enough in using linux to learn the curve. So that leaves me to set up their computers. which i feel im not ready to fine tune linux on their computer. Currently, i only have to fix my friends computer about once every two years because of hardware failure or wipe out the harddrive with a dod drivescruber, and reinstall windows.
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Bronco Billy
- Posts: 122
- Joined: Sun 27 Dec 2009, 05:51
You and Me are in the Same Boat.....
I Have a Fairly Extensive BackGround in DOS and Windows Nothing in Linux.... In My Opinion the Only Way to Learn ANY Computer System is Thru Experimentation..... In the Last Few Weeks I Have Tried Every Puppy Install and Tried to Break the different Installs in Most Every Possible Way.....I Have Built and Busted Puppy at Least 50 Times.... I Now KNOW the Basics of Puppy Including it's Strengths and Weaknesss..... You Can Read Books Till Your Eyes Fall Out..... But You will Get 10 Fold or More Return from Your Time Spent by EXPERIMENTATION.....Failing is a Virtue in Learning....Learn from Your Failures and You will Master Any Subject....Have a Great Day With Your New Found Information.....runpuprun wrote:i started using linux about 3 weeks ago. puppy 4.3.1 linux was my first linux. I love the name seaMonkey for the browser. You could write a book like the ubuntu linux TOOLBOX, suse linux TOOLBOX, fedora linux TOOLBOX. As of now, the TOOLBOX series has been the most helpful in beginning to understand linux. It the way the information is presented. I like reading from a book or printed paper in addition to online information. I started but didn't finish two books i recently obtained because they were out of date. You could suggested a list of books to read for those that are interested. You could make a list of 10 things every puppy linux administrator needs to know and explain why it is useful to know them and give examples how this information is useful. It seem like most of the information is howto , personally i would be interested in how it works in conjunction to howto. I just don't see any of my friends being interested enough in using linux to learn the curve. So that leaves me to set up their computers. which i feel im not ready to fine tune linux on their computer. Currently, i only have to fix my friends computer about once every two years because of hardware failure or wipe out the harddrive with a dod drivescruber, and reinstall windows.
zake_ajl, runpuprun, thanks and welcome to the Kennels.
You are not alone! - there is heaps of Puppy information out there but the difficulty raw newcomers have in finding it is the most commonly voiced complaint by miles.
Certainly the 'Puppy's jumping-off page' is not working as well as intended. For instance, the links to Barry's excellent in-depth explanations 'How Puppy works' etc. are fairly well hidden behind the developers link - hardly an obvious first stop for a newbie!
Take a little time to explore all the links to which the jumping-off page leads you. You should find e.g. Grant Wilson's book (downloadable), written especially with windoze refugees in mind. Bookmark the Puppy search engine, it's a great boon.
http://wellminded.com/puppy/pupsearch.html
Before you know it, you'll be able to join in and help put things to rights.
You are not alone! - there is heaps of Puppy information out there but the difficulty raw newcomers have in finding it is the most commonly voiced complaint by miles.
Certainly the 'Puppy's jumping-off page' is not working as well as intended. For instance, the links to Barry's excellent in-depth explanations 'How Puppy works' etc. are fairly well hidden behind the developers link - hardly an obvious first stop for a newbie!
Take a little time to explore all the links to which the jumping-off page leads you. You should find e.g. Grant Wilson's book (downloadable), written especially with windoze refugees in mind. Bookmark the Puppy search engine, it's a great boon.
http://wellminded.com/puppy/pupsearch.html
Before you know it, you'll be able to join in and help put things to rights.
Aitch
Thanks for the tip
"You need to restart x after changing settings"
I don't know what that means yet.
"You can test each resolution is working and use cont alt backspace until it's OK, with a 22" you should be trying 1280x1024 or similar, maybe?"
Yep thanks for that one cont=control
Don't forget to save when rebooting/shutdown
I lost my big thumb drive yesterday and so I am unable to save my session on the 256MB thumb I still have. Need to buy a new thumb drive as I am not prepared yet to upset my working Ubuntu installation.
Will try again soon.
Thanks for the tip
"You need to restart x after changing settings"
I don't know what that means yet.
"You can test each resolution is working and use cont alt backspace until it's OK, with a 22" you should be trying 1280x1024 or similar, maybe?"
Yep thanks for that one cont=control
Don't forget to save when rebooting/shutdown
I lost my big thumb drive yesterday and so I am unable to save my session on the 256MB thumb I still have. Need to buy a new thumb drive as I am not prepared yet to upset my working Ubuntu installation.
Will try again soon.
Puppy lacks some of the menu customization I used to enjoy as an XP user. The simple color, style and font selection allowed me to create a great variety of style to enjoy while I used programs.
I've noticed Puppy has some nifty little themes, perhaps more than I've seen, but nothing simple that I can customize on a whim.
Maybe theres a way I could crack open the themes and customize them manually? A folder or something? Maybe a good Puppy site with a ton of themes? (PM me if you've got a solution, this one on of the few things that makes me even consider booting up my XP partition again.)
I downloaded Puppy, because of a google search for "USB linux".
Several sites implied that Puppy would install onto, launch from, and use a USB device as it's hard-drive.
It seems they lied. Puppy's installer informed me that a bug existed in the "combo-installer" (it was combo-something...) and that it would be a bad idea for me to do so...
Most unfortunate for the USB drive I had ordered for that very purpose that should be arriving any day now.
I've noticed Puppy has some nifty little themes, perhaps more than I've seen, but nothing simple that I can customize on a whim.
Maybe theres a way I could crack open the themes and customize them manually? A folder or something? Maybe a good Puppy site with a ton of themes? (PM me if you've got a solution, this one on of the few things that makes me even consider booting up my XP partition again.)
I downloaded Puppy, because of a google search for "USB linux".
Several sites implied that Puppy would install onto, launch from, and use a USB device as it's hard-drive.
It seems they lied. Puppy's installer informed me that a bug existed in the "combo-installer" (it was combo-something...) and that it would be a bad idea for me to do so...
Most unfortunate for the USB drive I had ordered for that very purpose that should be arriving any day now.
unanswered issues
I liked the pitch that puppy is excellent for those who want to try Linux first, but i must say, as the weeks go by I am being more turned off by puppy. Let me state that I cannot stand Microsoft and Windows and the best thing about them is that over the past summer I made a lot of money fixing issues with Vista. I prefer MAC but don't have one at this time and I'm an Open Source enthusiast. I successfully installed puppy and it looked great. I was lost regarding the navigation and the answers I was looking for were hard to find. It seemed the manuals i did find "for beginners" didn't help much for true beginners and when I checked forums and saw other people having similar issues, the responses were condescending before any answers were given. Some assumptions being that it is only because of a persons reliance on Windows, which is not an issue for me as I usse Macs whenever possible and had no trouble when I first left Windows and moved to Macs. I also have issues with puppy and installing .pet, mounting drives which cause me to not be able to access any other files and my screen going black when I restart Xorg. I can find no solutions to this. When I see similar issues posted, either it is not answered after a matter of months or the thread consists of long scrpts to sift through and configure. I'm not a developer and i do not wish to be, but it seems that if the desire is to make this available to everyone, why is it that people who understand these scripts are also having problems? What hope do the rest of us have if we are just graphic artists, multimedia or software enthusiasts with more than adequate technical knowledge. Also, if the responses tend to alienate or degrade those who are seeking help, just because we don't know programming, how are we going to be encouraged to use the software? In closing I want to reiterate that I am not a fan of Windows, I love the concept of the Open Source community (I update friends, family and my employer on excellent alternatives all the time and try to get them to use OpenOffice.org GIMP and more whenever possible) and would love to say Linux is a good option. Is there a way for us common guys to enjoy Puppy the way the rest of you do without a degree in Computer Science?
hmm odd...about a third of users here run from usb flash sticks...indeed that is what puppy was created for.It seems they lied. Puppy's installer informed me that a bug existed in the "combo-installer" (it was combo-something...) and that it would be a bad idea for me to do so..
There was experimenting with using grub4dos but I've never seen that message before. The only one I have seen is about superfloppy formatting.
Perhaps a post in the bugs section might throw some light on the subject.
mike
It's not really a bug though.
It's just a message in the 4.2.1 universal puppy installer menu saying that "combo-format" has a bug and shouldn't be used.
Anywho, nevermind on that, I both noticed that right above that was a button for normal USB install, and even after that found out that all the computers I have access to still require the disc.
Hindsight is indeed 20/20.
And as for the menu customization, I've got a brilliant idea for a theme. I've got gimp now and I intend to crank out some themes to share.
Are there any other programs I need to make a functional theme?
It's just a message in the 4.2.1 universal puppy installer menu saying that "combo-format" has a bug and shouldn't be used.
Anywho, nevermind on that, I both noticed that right above that was a button for normal USB install, and even after that found out that all the computers I have access to still require the disc.
Hindsight is indeed 20/20.
And as for the menu customization, I've got a brilliant idea for a theme. I've got gimp now and I intend to crank out some themes to share.
Are there any other programs I need to make a functional theme?
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Mechoption
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed 20 Jan 2010, 04:18
Huzzah - "The Beast Lives". Kudos to the Puppy developers, a linux noob (me) managed to get it running on an old Toshiba Laptop (400 MHz, 192 Mb RAM, and a whopping 40 GB HD), including wireless and audio !! Now I can listen to BBC world service in the morning (my intent was to get an internet radio player out of it - ubuntu failed (too little ram), xubunto failed (too slow), DSL failed (lack of flash support), and then Puppy worked - finally (although I arguably wasn't as much of a noob by this point)
Installation was pretty straightforward, but after finding it struggling with read writes to the CD I used the in built installer (and GPartitioner) to slap it on the harddrive.
I had one issue with wireless in that it would all work, tell me I'm connected, and then not give me internet? I flipped about through all the settings and then found a signal to noise thing that read 42/1939885 - hmm. I then moved my wireless card and laptop away from the wireless transmitter and hey presto ! My suggestion is that the 'blinky' thing includes a weak/mild/strong (high signal-to-noise) message, rather than just 'connected'.
Installation was pretty straightforward, but after finding it struggling with read writes to the CD I used the in built installer (and GPartitioner) to slap it on the harddrive.
I had one issue with wireless in that it would all work, tell me I'm connected, and then not give me internet? I flipped about through all the settings and then found a signal to noise thing that read 42/1939885 - hmm. I then moved my wireless card and laptop away from the wireless transmitter and hey presto ! My suggestion is that the 'blinky' thing includes a weak/mild/strong (high signal-to-noise) message, rather than just 'connected'.
Will Puppy work on a PowerPC G4?
Have an older Mac G4 with a PowerPC chip (not Intel). Will PL 4.3.1 work on this machine? Thanks.
Re: Will Puppy work on a PowerPC G4?
No; a few people are working on it but it hasn't happened yet.jacatone wrote:Have an older Mac G4 with a PowerPC chip (not Intel). Will PL 4.3.1 work on this machine? Thanks.
A couple other Linux distros do.....somewhat.
Inspiron 700m, Pent.M 1.6Ghz, 1Gb ram.
Msi Wind U100, N270 1.6>2.0Ghz, 1.5Gb ram.
Eeepc 8g 701, 900Mhz, 1Gb ram.
Full installs
Hey guys, great job. I'm on Macpuppy Foxy full install, no probs,...(no pick up in speed either so 'no install' is proven viable on my hardware)
I'm on full install for reasons that need not be gone into except to say that a full install of Ultimate Ubuntu has "dissappeared" my hard-drive for windows as well as all Ubuntu based distros. The only distros that even see my hard-drive come from the Mandiva family (and puppy) (wtf!?!)...
In other words I can't play until I wipe the drive (easiest for me...back geeks back!!! I gots dis my broheims...)
Anyway....
I'm used to apt-get in Mint.....I can pretty much tell what I have and can add a pot full more if I need to.
I looked at Puppy Package Manager...slim pickings...no big deal, I'm sure there are more out there. Perhaps a little loosening and adding might be in order. In particular I want Brasero and Gimp...no reason; I just like it...
So there's my input...and proposed solution....
1) Load the repos up with all ya got....
2) The Package Manager could display ALL you have with checkboxes beside each program to indicate at a glance what is installed on MY system...
3) Where is Gimp?...Brasero...etc...
A reply of "it's right here you idgit" won't be helpful...if it was intuitive I wouldn't have said it....
Cheers guys and esp. macpup...well done...
PS: LightHouse is next, with Slapt-Get
ooooh baby we might have gots summin here...we'll see...
I'm on full install for reasons that need not be gone into except to say that a full install of Ultimate Ubuntu has "dissappeared" my hard-drive for windows as well as all Ubuntu based distros. The only distros that even see my hard-drive come from the Mandiva family (and puppy) (wtf!?!)...
In other words I can't play until I wipe the drive (easiest for me...back geeks back!!! I gots dis my broheims...)
Anyway....
I'm used to apt-get in Mint.....I can pretty much tell what I have and can add a pot full more if I need to.
I looked at Puppy Package Manager...slim pickings...no big deal, I'm sure there are more out there. Perhaps a little loosening and adding might be in order. In particular I want Brasero and Gimp...no reason; I just like it...
So there's my input...and proposed solution....
1) Load the repos up with all ya got....
2) The Package Manager could display ALL you have with checkboxes beside each program to indicate at a glance what is installed on MY system...
3) Where is Gimp?...Brasero...etc...
A reply of "it's right here you idgit" won't be helpful...if it was intuitive I wouldn't have said it....
Cheers guys and esp. macpup...well done...
PS: LightHouse is next, with Slapt-Get
ooooh baby we might have gots summin here...we'll see...1 would be a computability nightmare as puppy changes significantly with each release. The best place to look is here in the 'additional software' section.....helps as its made pretty clear what version the package will work with .
So its more like windows with download and click to install approach.
Plus if you cannot find a particular program you can request for it to be made...within reason...
mike
So its more like windows with download and click to install approach.
Plus if you cannot find a particular program you can request for it to be made...within reason...
mike
Great fun - so far
Strong Windows skills/First time on Linux here.
Stumbled upon Puppy 2 weeks ago and am currently having fun repeatedly re-installing time after time as I climb the learning curve. None of it is through any fault of the distro by any means. Some from hardware issues & some from twitchy third party apps.
I've started a blog to detail my experiences and have great hopes for many happy years with my new puppy!
http://puppylinuxnoob.blogspot.com/
Thanks to the development team for a strong OS with great docs!
-Tim
Stumbled upon Puppy 2 weeks ago and am currently having fun repeatedly re-installing time after time as I climb the learning curve. None of it is through any fault of the distro by any means. Some from hardware issues & some from twitchy third party apps.
I've started a blog to detail my experiences and have great hopes for many happy years with my new puppy!
http://puppylinuxnoob.blogspot.com/
Thanks to the development team for a strong OS with great docs!
-Tim