Various problems w/a Slacko Puppy install

[jhecht]

I'm using Slacko Puppy version 5.6.0, released Aug 2013.

I recently installed the above Puppy to a Lenovo Thinkpad laptop bought December 2011.

On the bottom of the computer are two lines of info:
Type: 1143-AFU S/N R9-H26L3 11/10
Product ID: 1143-AFU

Puppy installed (I think) correctly and I was able to get online with an Ethernet connection. But I have several problems with the install that I can’t figure out. Your help is gratefully appreciated!

I haven't played seriously with Puppy for over a year, so my Puppy chops are doggone rusty!

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*No sound

I have a speaker symbol in the lower right corner of the screen - it’s white with greyish-black “sound waves

[bigpup]

I suggest you try using the latest version of Slacko 6.3.0
http://slacko.eezy.xyz/index.php

[Sylvander]

I can send a job to the printer via CUPS and all looks OK, but it does not print.

That happens now and then with my USB-connected printer.
The cause?
The USB socket on the back of my PC is connecting poorly.
When I switch [the printer data connecting cable] to a different USB socket...
And also [if I work it out and in] when I switch it back...
The connection is made, and the printer begins printing as it begins receiving data from the PC.

[jhecht]

I suggest you try using the latest version of Slacko 6.3.0
http://slacko.eezy.xyz/index.php

Thanks - I'll try the newer version and see if that resolves my sound and printing problems.

UPDATE - I upgraded to Slacko 6.3.0 which got my sound working. Still having the printer issue, which I'll post more about in my reply to a later answer. Thanks for your tip.

[jhecht]

I can send a job to the printer via CUPS and all looks OK, but it does not print.

That happens now and then with my USB-connected printer.
The cause?
The USB socket on the back of my PC is connecting poorly.
When I switch [the printer data connecting cable] to a different USB socket...
And also [if I work it out and in] when I switch it back...
The connection is made, and the printer begins printing as it begins receiving data from the PC.

Thanks, but my issue is a little different. I should have given more details. The USB connection is solid - plus, I tried 2 different USB ports on the computer. And when I try and print, the printer screen shows a connection, but does not print. Likely because the debbi file set it up as the wrong printer. I'll try (as suggested) Slacko 6.3.0 and see if that helps.

If not, I have a Zorin Linux, and a Mint Linux bootable (tested) CD ready - in case I have to jump ship and use a different distro for the sound and printing problems

[boof]

If a laser printer, make sure the resolution in printer setting matches the printer s' capacity. too low and it can't print. in cups, where it shows all the printer settings, does it say <recommended> in the driver ID?

[Mike Walsh]

Hello, John.

Don't give up on Puppy just yet! Most of these are easily remedied. I'm running (amongst others) Slacko 570, the follow-up to 560. I don't believe that much has changed.

Let's see if we can work through these in order.

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a) SOUND.

I've had this same thing happen in every single Puppy I've ever used, and it's to do with the default 'Retrovol' settings. (Retrovol is the Puppy sound configuration utility.....different to the sound manager, which is Alsa-Mixer.)

If you right-click on the volume icon in the tray, you should get the options for 'Config Window' and 'Full Window'. Click on 'Full window'.

You'll get the Retrovol settings window come up. Look for the slider for 'PCM'. I'll bet you pounds to peanuts it's all the way over on the left; 'muted', in other words. I usually set this to about 80-90% of the way up the scale. Don't ask me what 'PCM' stands for, but it controls the sound mixer's output to the pre-amplifier stage. All things being equal, you should now find your sound works properly.

If you look at the attached screen shot, you'll see I've made my own volume control far wider, and much, much taller (as well as changing the colours). This gives me far more accurate control of the sound output. Not only that, but it's a lot easier to keep the cursor on the control; the default slider is rather 'petite'! This can all be achieved in the right-click 'Config' window. I think I have it set at 100 pixels wide, by about 500 pixels high, or something like that. You can also change the thickness of the individual segments, the outlines, and all sorts of stuff. I would recommend one thing, however. On the 'Tray' tab, set the volume scaling to 'Logarithmic', rather than 'Linear'. Again, it gives better, more accurate response.

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b) FLASHPLAYER.

You might find it easier to do Flash the 'Puppy' way, using the built-in facilities. The Adobe site installer doesn't actually install it, like it does in Windows; the one you want is the tar.gz package, for 'other Linux'. You'll need to download this, unzip it, and then run it to install anyway.

If you go to Menu>Internet, you should find something called GetFlash:Install FlashPlayer. Now, in the normal course of things, you would simply run this, and use it to install Flash. But the older version no longer works, due to the fact that Adobe have changed the website's URL, so you'll need to update the installer first!

Go to this link, and download shinobar's getflash-1.5.6.pet:-

http://shino.pos.to/linux/puppy/

Then, install it. Once you've done that, run the utility, and install Flash. You'll want the newest version, 11.2.202.577 (unless you're using very old hardware, in which case you might find 10.3.183.90 works better. This version, so I understand, doesn't throw up errors on sites which would normally insist you update to the latest version).

Then, I would suggest installing Geoffrey's Update-Flash .pet. Geoff's written a utility which will check at boot for the newest version of Flash, and if it finds it, it will ask if you want to download it. Do so, and it will install it for you, so that you always have the newest, most up-to-date version of the Linux FlashPlayer.

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=100523

The newest version is 1.4, and you'll find it at the bottom of the first post. When you first run it, tick the 'Run FlashPlayer Updater at startup' check box. This will put a sym-linked entry into the /root/Startup folder, so that it runs automatically each time you boot.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

c) PRINTER.

I've not had any joy with this one, I'm afraid. Going to the Brother Support site, entering LC75/LC 71, and hitting 'Search', gives the response 'Model not found' From some of your previous posts, I gather you're some kind of field support engineer; is this printer by any chance a special, portable one?

Need more information! Hope the above helps, anyway. You might want to PM rcrsn51, our printer guru. He may be able to help out with this one better than I can.


Mike.

[jhecht]

If a laser printer, make sure the resolution in printer setting matches the printer s' capacity. too low and it can't print. in cups, where it shows all the printer settings, does it say <recommended> in the driver ID?

Thanks - but it's an inkjet printer - a Brother J825DW. More on the printer in a reply to a later post. Good tip though.

[jhecht]

Don't give up on Puppy just yet! Most of these are easily remedied. I'm running (amongst others) Slacko 570, the follow-up to 560. I don't believe that much has changed.

Let's see if we can work through these in order.

Hi Mike, and thanks for your detailed reply! For brevity, I'll edit it, and my replies into a shorter form.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

a) SOUND.

I've had this same thing happen in every single Puppy I've ever used, and it's to do with the default 'Retrovol' settings. (Retrovol is the Puppy sound configuration utility.....different to the sound manager, which is Alsa-Mixer.)

If you right-click on the volume icon in the tray, you should get the options for 'Config Window' and 'Full Window'. Click on 'Full window'.

You'll get the Retrovol settings window come up. Look for the slider for 'PCM'. I'll bet you pounds to peanuts it's all the way over on the left; 'muted', in other words. I usually set this to about 80-90% of the way up the scale. Don't ask me what 'PCM' stands for, but it controls the sound mixer's output to the pre-amplifier stage. All things being equal, you should now find your sound works properly.

If you look at the attached screen shot, you'll see I've made my own volume control far wider, and much, much taller (as well as changing the colours). This gives me far more accurate control of the sound output. Not only that, but it's a lot easier to keep the cursor on the control; the default slider is rather 'petite'! This can all be achieved in the right-click 'Config' window. I think I have it set at 100 pixels wide, by about 500 pixels high, or something like that. You can also change the thickness of the individual segments, the outlines, and all sorts of stuff. I would recommend one thing, however. On the 'Tray' tab, set the volume scaling to 'Logarithmic', rather than 'Linear'. Again, it gives better, more accurate response.

Good tips Mike! I got sound working.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

b) FLASHPLAYER.

You might find it easier to do Flash the 'Puppy' way, using the built-in facilities... <snip for brevity>

Go to this link, and download shinobar's getflash-1.5.6.pet:-

http://shino.pos.to/linux/puppy/

Then, install it. Once you've done that, run the utility, and install Flash. You'll want the newest version, 11.2.202.577 (unless you're using very old hardware, in which case you might find 10.3.183.90 works better. This version, so I understand, doesn't throw up errors on sites which would normally insist you update to the latest version).

Then, I would suggest installing Geoffrey's Update-Flash .pet. Geoff's written a utility which will check at boot for the newest version of Flash, and if it finds it, it will ask if you want to download it. Do so, and it will install it for you, so that you always have the newest, most up-to-date version of the Linux FlashPlayer.

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=100523

The newest version is 1.4, and you'll find it at the bottom of the first post. When you first run it, tick the 'Run FlashPlayer Updater at startup' check box. This will put a sym-linked entry into the /root/Startup folder, so that it runs automatically each time you boot.

Thanks - I'll try this when I go back to my client later today.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

c) PRINTER.

I've not had any joy with this one, I'm afraid. Going to the Brother Support site, entering LC75/LC 71, and hitting 'Search', gives the response 'Model not found' From some of your previous posts, I gather you're some kind of field support engineer; is this printer by any chance a special, portable one?

Need more information! Hope the above helps, anyway. You might want to PM rcrsn51, our printer guru. He may be able to help out with this one better than I can.

My bad - the LC75/LC71 is the Brother printer family, as per a big label on the front of the printer. The actual printer ID is a Brother MFC J825DW, as per a much less obvious label, and it's a typical desktop size inkjet.

And yes, I am a (sort of) field support engineer. I'm a freelancer, working on Win and Mac computers. When I get a Win computer that needs a re-load, and the EU does not have their factory restore disks (and can't get them), I advocate switching to Linux for all the obvious reasons.
Many thanks for your articulate reply!

And PS - I tried a number of Linux distros to fix the printer issue with no joy. When I go back, I'll bring a USB printer-to-computer cable and see if that improves my luck. 20-20 hindsight says I should have tried that on my first visit (sigh).

[Mike Walsh]

Hi, John.

Well, I'm glad to see we're getting somewhere! That Retrovol stuff, I figured it all out, piece by piece, through slow experimentation over the course of several days, many months ago. I've never yet found any documentation anywhere that explains this stuff. Raw 'noobs' would have no end of grief; what with me being a 'geek' ( ! ! ) of long-standing, it didn't take me long.....I like nothing better than a challenge. I've yet to come across anything really major that I can't solve, given the incentive. I guess I'm just a perfectionist...

You should find the Flash stuff is pretty straight-forward. Geoff's auto-updater was a brilliant idea on his part; it's one of those things Puppy's been missing for too long. And it works really well, too.

As for the printer; I thought it was odd that I couldn't locate it anywhere. Thanks for the extra info. I see from the Brother site that there's a .deb package and an .rpm one, too. In theory, the .deb packages should only work with the 'buntu-based Pups, though I run my Epson SX218 in all my Pups ('buntus and Slackos) from a .deb package without any problems.. So you should be OK to use that one.

rcrsn51 has done a 'generic' package for the Epsons. If I try to install the correct driver to start with, it refuses to work. If I load the generic driver first, then 'modify' it on the CUPS webpage 'Administration' tab, it's as happy as Larry..! I was wondering whether Bill's done something similar for the Brothers...I've never looked at the Brother page. I might go and do that shortly.

BTW, I take it you have had a look at the Brother-specific Forum page, yes?

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=42533

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EDIT: A few links about Retrovol you might find interesting (I have managed to track a few down, after all!):-

http://www.puppylinuxfaq.org/bundled-so ... ation.html

http://puppylinux.org/wikka/Retrovol

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=50744


Mike.