Ever GROWING pup save file - a solution

[Wally]

Hi,

Is there a way to help/combat the ever growing pup save file in Puppy 4.3.1?

I am using a USB install.

A simple, effective way.

Thanks

Yes, run without one.

EDIT: (9/7/2010) -- I use two USB flash drives to boot from. The one I use more of the time has no pup.sav and it is for internet use. The other does have a pup.sav and it is for Apps and Games.

[rjbrewer]

Hi,

Is there a way to help/combat the ever diminishing pup save file in Puppy 4.3.1?

A simple, effective way.

Thanks

It's a problem that doesn't happen with a full install.

[Wheres One]

@Wally

You may already know this, but saving documents and other files outside of the save-file can keep your space from seemingly disappearing.

Also, SeaMonkey, if you use it, can chew up a good bit of space over time. There are some posts about this; no links to mind, however. A search should quickly turn over some good information, though.

[Wally]

Hi,

And thank you, both.

How does USB install differ from full install?

I do save ordinary downloaded documents and such, but to 'my documents' folder - the default destination.

How exactly is this done - to save outside of pup save?

I'm not sure what you mean.

And I do use Seamonkey. I clear cache and history, it helped once to increase free ram - pup save.

Couldn't find any info about Seamonkey being memory hungry, though.

[Wheres One]

@ Wally

It sounds like that is your problem. The "my-documents" folder is inside the save-file, so when you add files to "my-documents" you are adding to the size of your save file.

To store your documents outside the save-file, do the following

• 1. Navigate to /mnt/home
  2. Create a folder there and name it "my-documents"
  3. Move the files from /root/my-documents to /mnt/home/my-documents
  4. Delete the directory /root/my-documents
  5. Click on the directory /mnt/home/my-documents and drag it into the directory /root
  6. A dialog will then appear; click "link (relative)"

Now your documents will be outside the save-file, but you can work with them all the same through the link

[rjbrewer]

You can also check .mozilla/default/r3y1skkw....for mail being
saved, and check /temp.

Right clicking a folder and click properties shows its' size.

That link about frugal-full installs has a few major errors.

[Wheres One]

@ rjbrewer

The email caching (I.E. sent, trash, drafts, etc.) is what takes up space on my installation. Even after you delete them from within SeaMonkey, they still take up space. I looked around the interface and read some of SeaMonkey's documentation, but I still can't figure out how to get them to actually delete. If anyone does, I would be very grateful for an answer or a link, as it's quite an irritating problem.

Sorry about the link (that's what I get for making assumptions).

[rjbrewer]

@ rjbrewer

The email caching (I.E. sent, trash, drafts, etc.) is what takes up space on my installation. Even after you delete them from within SeaMonkey, they still take up space. I looked around the interface and read some of SeaMonkey's documentation, but I still can't figure out how to get them to actually delete. If anyone does, I would be very grateful for an answer or a link, as it's quite an irritating problem.

A while back, I created a symlink from mail to temp (don't remember
exactly) and it worked quite well. I really don't know how that would
work with a frugal install.

[Wheres One]

@ rjbrewer

I run a full installation, so I'll have to give that a try. I had thought about just deleting the files or linking them to /tmp, but I thought that might be a bit rough so I held off.

[Wally]

Thank you RJBrewer and WheresOne.

Good ideas.

[rjbrewer]

@ rjbrewer

I run a full installation, so I'll have to give that a try. I had thought about just deleting the files or linking them to /tmp, but I thought that might be a bit rough so I held off.

After 3 years I still haven't exceeded more than 1 percent of my
Gmail storage space, so I don't bother saving mail in Puppy.
Important photos, etc. I put on a flash drive.

[Sylvander]

Applies when the pupsave is on a Flash Drive.

1. How to stop "SAVING TO FILE" at shutdown?
...In a frugal install.
You can choose to save or not, as you please.

2. To prevent periodic [default is every 30 min] "saves" [actually a "copy"] back to a pupsave file on a [partition on a] Flash Drive.
If you want to save, you can click on the "SAVE" icon on the desktop to do it manually.

3. The idea is that you only save if there's good reason to do it, and at a time of your choosing.
By not saving the session back to the pupsave, all changes [causing the diminishment of the available space in the pupsave] would be discarded.
If you want to make changes [during a session] that SHOULD be saved back to the pupsave...
Avoid doing during the same session, all activities that tend to cause bloat.

[Wally]

Hi Sylvander,

I tried modifying the 'rc.shutdown' file as in the link you provided, to disable pup save at shutdown

and it works only one time. After that, somehow the file gets rewritten or restored and the save at shut down continues as usual.

Any ideas?
I'm a USB, not frugal install.

thanks

[looseSCREWorTWO]

G'day Wally,
Follow these steps IN THIS ORDER:

1. make a Backup copy of the pup_save file, then if all this goes "pear-shaped" you can get back to where you started from.

2. click Menu > System > Puppy Event Manager

3. select Save Session tab

4. set Save Interval to 0 (number zero)

5. click OK


6. click File > "Up" arrow > etc > rc.d

7. right-click on rc.shutdown and select "Open As Text"

8. navigate to line starting with
#the above are in unionfs at /.

9. delete the 3 or 4 lines FROM AND INCLUDING
#the above are in unionfs at /.
to
;;

10. paste the below text in to replace what was deleted:

#the above are in unionfs at /.
dialog --yesno "Save this session?" 0 0 >/dev/console
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
echo "Saving session to $SAVEFILE (${SAVEPART})..." >/dev/console
/usr/sbin/snapmergepuppy /initrd/pup_ro1 /initrd/pup_rw
fi
;;

11. Reboot the computer. If asked, choose to Save this Session.

[Sylvander]

@Wally
1. "I'm a USB, not frugal install."
I'm no Puppy expert on these things.
e.g. What exactly is a "frugal" install, and a "USB" install?
Not sure of the differences.
I use it when booting a "live" Puppy CD-RW disk with a pupsave+SFS filepair held on a partition on a [USB] Flash Drive.

2. "...it works only one time. After that, somehow the file gets rewritten or restored and the save at shut down continues as usual."
Remember, that after you've made the changes THAT SESSION MUST BE SAVED so that the changes carry over to following sessions.
DUH, obvious or what?
If you save manually immediately prior to reboot/shutdown....
[You could do productive things (you don't want/need saved)(like browsing the web?) whilst this is ongoing]
There would be no need to save at shutdown.

3. Remember to make a copy of the original 'rc.shutdown' file prior to making any changes.
I save such things in a /00 folder I make.

[Wally]

Hi LooseScreworTwo,

I opted to just delete the lines that have 'snapmerge' routines.

This way, I will won't be asked to save session every time and I can decide on occasion to save manually.

Sylvander,

yeah, that's kind of funny. The changes I made to the file were not saved by the session itself, so how could it work?

I just tried it the right way and I got a message upon bootup, 'X did not shut down properly'.

I'll see if I get it again.



edit - yeah, i keep getting the error, hmm.

[Sylvander]

1. " The changes I made to the file were not saved by the session itself, so how could it work?"
The changes you made to the session became and remained a part of that session until it was closed.
But if you failed to SAVE those changes back to the pupsave prior to the completion of the shut-down of that session...
Then at the commencement of the following session, the changes wouldn't be included.

2. "I got a message upon bootup, 'X did not shut down properly'"
I frequently get that...
Usually after choosing to NOT-SAVE the session at shut-down of the previous session.
I just click the button to "IGNORE", and there are never any nasty consequences.
Don't know why it does that.
Would like to know.

[Wally]

Well anyways,

that error message made me try to restore the backup of rcshutdown, and I still got the message even after restoring.

So, I went ahead and did a fresh install of pup 4.3.1, (I know!).

I'm going to rely on saving files outside of pup.save (my-documents and such) as advised earlier in this post and simply clearing seamonkie's cache and history periodically.

So far, even that has been an improvement.

Thanks again!
Wally

p.s. have you seen the Loch Ness monster lately?

[nooby]

Oh and me had hoped we would make some real progress this time.

Just teasing. Still very valueable that we do try and tell what happens. Sooner or later somebody get motivated to find a good workaround or change of initrd or something that allow what we want.

[looseSCREWorTWO]

G'day Wally,
in Seamonkey 201 and later, if you click on Edit > Preferences, then select Browser > History, untick the box that says "Enable Form and Search History", then under "Browsing History" set all the numbers to 0 (zero).

This means Seamonkey won't remember websites you've visited, but that isn't a problem if you get in the habit of Bookmarking your favourite websites. I find this reduces most of the "bloat" in SM 201.

You can also click Privacy & Security > Passwords and uncheck the box that says "Remember Passwords". I write my passwords on a bit of paper I carry around, then copy them into an Open Office document that's part of my weekly Puppy Backup (just in case I lose the bit of paper).

With my memory, losing the bit of paper is an odds-on certainty. I'd forget my skull if it wasn't bolted-on to my neck

The other things in Puppy that "bloat" are Wine and Open Office, so I run both of them via SFS files, which means the "bloat" happens outside the pup_save.

Steve