EasyOS version 2.3.2, June 22, 2020

[Billtoo]

I added the xenialpup container and added some applications including
smplayer/smtube,vcl,kodi,firfox,and a few more.
It's working well.
It's an older version of Kodi,15.4 I think,latest Firefox I think.

Anyway,
It's very cool

[peebee]

EasyOS Pyro 0.9.10 boots from frugal install using manual editing of BOOT_SPECS in initrd....

[belham2]

Hi Barry & everyone,

Thanks, Barry, for this latest release. Made the mistake of burning the ISO immediately after download, and then wondering why it wouldn't boot on any machine of mine (laptop and/or desktop, kept throwing "Finding Drives....Creating compressed zram.....sda sr0 written 20 times)...then..ERROR:Boot drive not found...Have now dropped into a shell in the initramfs." Then it hit me, I needed to cpio the initrd, fix the boot_specs and then all was fine booting up the ISO. Thought maybe the ISO got past this BOOT_SPEC messing around and/or having the restriction of having to be in a booted Easy install to manipulate it. I think a lot of other who run "frugal" are going to fall victim to this, and then, once again, turn away because of the restrictions (not me, I don't mind it, but others will...).


Anyhow, I have a question:

In Billtoo's post above, he writes:

I added the xenialpup container ...

Can I be a dunderhead here....what does he mean? Is Xenialpup as an OS running in Virtualbox (inside Easy) and then that Virtualbox itself is inside a Container? Sorry, it's Friday, been a long week and the synapses aren't firing on that sentence.

Thanks for any simpleton explanations a Friday weary traveler can understand.

[rufwoof]

Is Xenialpup as an OS running in Virtualbox (inside Easy) and then that Virtualbox itself is inside a Container?

http://bkhome.org/news/201811/xenialpup ... asyos.html

[BarryK]

Hi Barry & everyone,

Thanks, Barry, for this latest release. Made the mistake of burning the ISO immediately after download, and then wondering why it wouldn't boot on any machine of mine (laptop and/or desktop, kept throwing "Finding Drives....Creating compressed zram.....sda sr0 written 20 times)...then..ERROR:Boot drive not found...Have now dropped into a shell in the initramfs." Then it hit me, I needed to cpio the initrd, fix the boot_specs and then all was fine booting up the ISO. Thought maybe the ISO got past this BOOT_SPEC messing around and/or having the restriction of having to be in a booted Easy install to manipulate it. I think a lot of other who run "frugal" are going to fall victim to this, and then, once again, turn away because of the restrictions (not me, I don't mind it, but others will...).

The CD boots up and runs in ram, there should not be any error about missing boot drive.

In other words, you downloaded the iso, burnt it to CD, booted, and it should work. It defaults to looking for /dev/sr* with iso9660 filesystem and that is the boot drive.

You had me worried for a moment there. Just checked on the Compaq Presario, booted the CD, it found sr0 as the boot-drive and zram0 as working-partition.

It is a bit slow at first bootup, as copies easy.sfs off the CD to zram, but gets to desktop OK. Reminds me just how incredibly slow data transfer is from CDs.

[BarryK]

Hi Barry & everyone,

Thanks, Barry, for this latest release. Made the mistake of burning the ISO immediately after download, and then wondering why it wouldn't boot on any machine of mine (laptop and/or desktop, kept throwing "Finding Drives....Creating compressed zram.....sda sr0 written 20 times)...then..ERROR:Boot drive not found...Have now dropped into a shell in the initramfs." Then it hit me, I needed to cpio the initrd, fix the boot_specs and then all was fine booting up the ISO. Thought maybe the ISO got past this BOOT_SPEC messing around and/or having the restriction of having to be in a booted Easy install to manipulate it. I think a lot of other who run "frugal" are going to fall victim to this, and then, once again, turn away because of the restrictions (not me, I don't mind it, but others will...).

The CD boots up and runs in ram, there should not be any error about missing boot drive.

In other words, you downloaded the iso, burnt it to CD, booted, and it should work. It defaults to looking for /dev/sr* with iso9660 filesystem and that is the boot drive.

You had me worried for a moment there. Just checked on the Compaq Presario, booted the CD, it found sr0 as the boot-drive and zram0 as working-partition.

It is a bit slow at first bootup, as copies easy.sfs off the CD to zram, but gets to desktop OK. Reminds me just how incredibly slow data transfer is from CDs.

A thought just occurred to me. The BOOT_SPECS file in the CD looks for BOOT_DISKID='0xf95ae985', which can confirm is correct:

Code: Select all

# fdisk -l /dev/sr0
Disk /dev/sr0: 425.3 MiB, 445952000 bytes, 217750 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 2048 = 2048 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 2048 bytes / 2048 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 2048 bytes / 2048 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xf95ae985

Device     Boot Start    End Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sr0p1 *        0 870399  870400  1.7G  0 Empty
/dev/sr0p2        224  24799   24576   48M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)

I only tested burning to CD-R. I wonder if the disk-id is still ok if burn to DVD? I would have thought so, but obviously you have discovered some problem, which most likely is the disk-id being somehow wrong.

[Sage]

Reminds me just how incredibly slow data transfer is from CDs

Not much difference between first run USB, which has to form part2, and CD which is always first run.

[Reneetje]

Sehr geehrter Herr Kauler,

Vielen dank für die neue distro Easy Pyro64 4.14.81
Es gab einige Probleme mit dem wireless configuration. Darum habe Ich Frisbee installiert und die Umschaltung zwischen drahtlos und verdrahtet internet war so gar einfach.

[FeodorF]

DVD burn boots well over here. Posting of the live-DVD right now.
Putting Easy to the usb stick works too. Tested with Intel Core 2 Duo processor 2.66 GHz and 2 GB of ram.

Following is the DVD burn

Code: Select all

Disk /dev/sr0: 425 MiB, 445644800 bytes, 217600 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 2048 = 2048 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 2048 bytes / 2048 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 2048 bytes / 2048 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xf95ae985

Device     Boot Start    End Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sr0p1 *        0 870399  870400  1.7G  0 Empty
/dev/sr0p2        224  24799   24576   48M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
# 

This one is my CD burn

Code: Select all

Disk /dev/sr0: 425 MiB, 445644800 bytes, 217600 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 2048 = 2048 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 2048 bytes / 2048 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 2048 bytes / 2048 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xf95ae985

Device     Boot Start    End Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sr0p1 *        0 870399  870400  1.7G  0 Empty
/dev/sr0p2        224  24799   24576   48M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
#

Bytes and sectors differ to what BarryK posted.
Can some one double check please!

Code: Select all

a062d7cb25163c404bb2ba9528a83683  boot.cat
bf5d542ecc91a7148681b20c8302b9fe  boot.msg
a4cab410601141a4d593e8850b4d7706  easy.sfs
189b1b39a15fced246310ce684602488  efiboot.img
e1a8baf0ec0dd106e5bc7dfc42361e2e  help.msg
3cf726926145fa51d7054aba79f95104  initrd
8a35222196ca8ae9c26a98e355d82ad4  isolinux.bin
7350c35d8b68933e76a49f0a53862c95  isolinux.cfg
92b12a15eb2a2ac9ef561c0cdb8aa616  ldlinux.c32
37b0732672d89069cdf8426af6c0c25c  logo.16
b5194a3d8533ceb605f67982bc3db7d9  vmlinuz

Test results: mounted 'easy-09.10.iso' files - burnt DVD/CD iso image files and test copied easy files are md5 identical. Hence my drive checks good.

[Billtoo]

I have a 27" curved widescreen monitor, I connected it via hdmi cable
to my Acer laptop,it's an HP monitor:
# report-video
VIDEO REPORT: Easy Pyro64, version 0.9.10

Chip description:
VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)

Requested by /etc/X11/xorg.conf:
Resolution (widthxheight, in pixels): 1920x1080
Depth (bits, or planes): 24
Modules requested to be loaded: synaptics dbe

Probing Xorg startup log file (/var/log/Xorg.0.log):
Driver loaded (and currently in use): modesetting
Loaded modules: dbe extmod fb fbdevhw glamoregl glx

Actual rendering on monitor:
Resolution: 1920x1080 pixels (508x285 millimeters)
Depth: 24 planes

...the above also recorded in /tmp/report-video
#
There is nothing displayed on the laptop screen.
When I alt-f6 to the xenialpup container it's 1920x1080 as well.

Laptop resolution is 1366x768 (something like that)(black screen at the moment).

EDIT: The laptop didn't poweroff properly, had to hold the power button down to get it so shutdown.

[Reneetje]

Easy Pyro64 0.9.10 - Liebe die vertraute grüne Farbe

[BarryK]

Reminds me just how incredibly slow data transfer is from CDs

Not much difference between first run USB, which has to form part2, and CD which is always first run.

I mean, compared with after you create a usb working-partition. easy.sfs gets copied onto that, then copied from usb to ram at every bootup.
With a good usb stick, that is very fast.

[BarryK]

Easy Pyro64 0.9.10 - Liebe die vertraute grüne Farbe

Ah yes, the green theme. Some of us really like it!

[BarryK]

DVD burn boots well over here. Posting of the live-DVD right now.
Putting Easy to the usb stick works too.

Yes, I also tested a burn to DVD-RW this morning, works fine.
I used 'burniso2cd' utility.

Incidentally, that 'burniso2cd' is offered when you right-click on an iso file, however when the file selection window comes up, have to navigate to where the iso is.

I have fixed the script, so the file-selection window opens where the iso file is.

[rufwoof]

ext3 boot first partition (frugal (grub4dos, menu.lst, easy)
swap second partition
ext2 third partition

When in the main session I click sda3 (sda1 is already active) desktop drive icon I'm presented with pmount easy drive mounter rather than it just automatically mounting and opening rox.

'Looking inside' the sda3 drive and running AppRun and it auto mounts and opens rox as expected. Looking at sda3 run command and it shows arguments to pass 'drive vfat'

Both gparted and fdisk -l show sda3 as being linux ext2

i.e. something is setting up the sda3 desktop drive icon as though it was vfat instead of ext2

EDIT: Odd, but its corrected itself. Perhaps after a restart or closing of container ?? Rebooted and now it sees it as ext3 (and so goes gparted). Suspect it might be my GPT at fault. Running fsck -f /dev/sda3 and the drive icon is back to drive ext2 again.

[davids45]

G'day,

Is Easy suited to installing to a 64-bit frugals-dedicated partition on a hard-drive? The attached screenshot may help show my present set-up?

I have about 30 64-bit Pups already on this partition (sdb6) with a range of sfs files to provide the 64-bit apps I want for the various Pups. These sfs files include LibreOffice, Seamonkey and Gimp which are already in Easy so they won't be needed if I can install Easy . Are existing application sfs OK in Easy?

All these frugals were manually installed by me from their mounted iso and then editing the relevant menu.lst. What would an Easy menu.lst entry look like? I have made a new folder for Easy on sdb6 - in optimistic expectation .

My computer is a 'teenager' so the old style installation should be OK (no uefi)? The Live-Easy on a DVD boots and runs so my computer is not too old (yet).

Booting is via Grub with several sub-menus for the various Pups (some fulls, plus 32-bit & 64-bit groups of frugals on their own partitions).

I read the Easy Help links about editing initrd.q to enable a manual Easy frugal to boot but, without trying such a edit, did not understand what to do.
But is Easy the sort of Pup that can live on my frugals-partition anyway?

I don't want to boot with a usb-drive.
And don't understand what benefit 'containers' may be for me.

Thanks for any advice or help.

David S.

[Sage]

I mean, compared with after you create a usb working-partition. easy.sfs gets copied onto that, then copied from usb to ram at every bootup.
With a good usb stick, that is very fast.

Mostly working with older kit, retired (or semi-) folk, ditto PCs, time is illusory! Sometimes USB is less reliable between differing HW (esp. video cards and wifi) when the stored material seems to be adjusting itself? With CD .iso always know and can see what's happening, pick up any quirks as the boot ploughs through its detection steps, etc., and leaves NO record at shutdown. Other CD attributes as discussed...
Don't like the grune farbe - got to be a better default choice than grey to save punters resorting to the colour wheel. How about one of those soothing beach scene wallpapers that other OSes have - or, bring back the Guy on Bike?

[Billtoo]

I installed to a 64gb Sandisk Flash Drive, computer is a Compac Presario:

# report-video
VIDEO REPORT: Easy Pyro64, version 0.9.10

Chip description:
VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RV530 [Radeon X1600 PRO]
Display controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RV530 [Radeon X1600] (Secondary)

Requested by /etc/X11/xorg.conf:
Resolution (widthxheight, in pixels): 1024x768x16
Depth (bits, or planes): 24
Modules requested to be loaded: dbe

Probing Xorg startup log file (/var/log/Xorg.0.log):
Driver loaded (and currently in use): ati
Loaded modules: dbe dri2 exa extmod fb fbdevhw glx radeon ramdac

Actual rendering on monitor:
Resolution: 1920x1080 pixels (508x285 millimeters)
Depth: 24 planes

Working well,
Thanks.

[belham2]

Hi Barry & all,

Please disregard my post yesterday about getting the ISO to boot (totally my fault, burned it---twice, no less---to known bad CDs I have....ugh ). Anyhow, once I used good CDs, all was fine. And, thanks Rufwoof, for pointing me to the SFSGet on Barry's page about the ability to run Racy and/or Xenial in an SFS. Not sure how I've overlooked this all this time.

Regarding Easy 0.9.10, everything is running well. I've installed little things like redshift, lxterminal, and a few others. Using SFSGet, I installed Chromium, which went without a hitch & Chromium runs like a cheetah in Easy, imho.

But what really floored me, and made me smile like a kid in a candy store, was using SFSGet and downloading both the Racy and Xenial SFSes, and watching as SFSGet set them up, create Containers, and put the icon & shortcut on the Desktop. I mean, Racy was one of my all-time favorite distros, and to have it at my fingertips again without having to leave the convenience & safety of a modern, up-to-date OS, well, it is wonderful.

As I told Barry, this SFSGet created a great feeling inside and reminded of the creations of his in the olden days, long, long ago.

Thanks again for all your hard work, Barry! And many thanks for the SFSGet & Racy/Xenails SFSes.

[belham2]

Hi again Barry & all,

Just wanted to say I've got the latest 64-bit Firefox Quantum (64.b09) installed in an Easy Container & it's running great. Seriously am loving this new SFSGet.


P.S. [UPDATE] Also now have the latest 'buntu Chromium (71.0.3578.80) running in the Chromium Container and sprinting like the cheetah it is.