How do you use pfix=ram with a frugal install?

[bostonvaulter]

Here is the applicable part of my grub menu.lst drive. I'm using Puppy 2.15CE. Grub is installed on /dev/hda5 and that is also where puppy is installed.

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  title PL 2.15 pfix=ram
  rootnoverify (hd0,4)
  kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/ram0 pfix=ram PMEDIA=idehd
  initrd /initrd.gz

Also, is it better to use "root" or "rootnoverify"? So Does anyone know why it's still loading my pupsave.2fs file? Does the order of the options matter?

Jason

[edit: /dev/hda5 is formatted as ext2]

[Pizzasgood]

You did it right, but you need to remove the PMEDIA tag. Otherwise it conflicts with pfix=ram and makes it search the drive anyway.

I don't know about the rootnoverify stuff. Mine has the rootnoverify too though.

[bostonvaulter]

ah, that makes sense. I'll try it in a sec.

The wiki page has this to say about PMEDIA http://www.puppylinux.org/wikka/BootParms

PMEDIA
Not specifying this should automatically detect the boot media. Manually specify the boot media and interface using one of the following: usbflash usbhd usbcd ideflash idehd idecd idezip satahd satacd scsihd. This would be where USB, IDE, SATA, SCSI are the accepted interfaces and flash memory, hard drive, CD/DVD drive, ZIP drive are the accepted drives, e.g. PMEDIA=idehd.

That makes it seem like it is needed for boot. And what you're saying is that it is only needed to find the pup_save file? Later I will update that wiki page.

Thanks for the quick and helpful reply,
Jason

[edit] alas, it did not work. It says something like looking for puppy in hda1...hda2....hda3...hda4

It doesn't seem to find the pup_215.sfs file and gives me Lots of red text, then pauses for 60 seconds, and then more red text, and pauses for 60 seconds, then i turned it off.[/edit]

[pcguru]

in the past I did what you are wanting to (boot a frugal install without save file loading) by creating a file in the same place as the savefile and calling it something like pup_save-Zfake.3fs - if in XP I just created an empty text file
-
I have learned there are other (better?) ways of doing this - and at-the-mo if in puppy I use the save_file_wizard
anyways - the point is if puppy sees two files named pup_save*.3fs (or.2fs) you'll be asked which to load ...
just select the option to load none - and there ya go.
(not the prettyiest work-around, I know, but it works - is there a better way to do it? - anyone ?)

[HairyWill]

i if puppy sees two files named pup_save*.3fs (or.2fs) you'll be asked which to load ...
just select the option to load none - and there ya go.

Be warned the load none option actually just moves on to scan the next partition. So you need to ensure that every visible partition with a pup_save on has at least two of them. You have to keep saying none until it has scanned all the visible partitions. Last time I tried this puppy even scanned some of them twice.

[bostonvaulter]

Well, I tried to boot when there were more than one pup_save*.2fs files and it failed. All I did was

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touch pup_save2.2fs
touch pup_save3.2fs

However, when I booted up it tried to load one of the empty pup_saves and gave a bunch of errors.

Do they have to be valid pup_save files?

Jason

[wow]

Is a Puppy-2.14 bug. The next dialog was never shown in my frugal install:

[Read more]

And Puppy-2.15CE is another 2.14 puplet . . .

[bostonvaulter]

has anyone had any luck getting this to work with puppy 2.15CE? or maybe 2.16

Either way would be okay.

and to clarify, when I didn't use PMEDIA, puppy was unable to find my pup_215.sfs file.

[pcguru]

sorry took me so long tae get back here (personal life isa bit busy ATM)
anyways - I've heard o' these difficulties with 2.14+
seems to me though if the 'fake' (or any of the real) save files ends with a .3fs that it works as usual - that is ; the problem is only with multiple .2fs save files.
and nope - the 'fake' save file can be anything as far s I can tell - it appears to be (to me) only the name that matters.

[helios]

How to save a pup_save with .3fs extension? The default file type is .2fs only!

Can I just rename it from .2fs to .3fs?

pfix=ram command doesn't seem to work for me. Puppy still use pup_save as if it's a bone.

Are there any command at boot up to make Puppy ignore pup_save and don't use swap on the harddisk?

Finally, may I ask wow how could you take that screenshot?

Sorry to have so many questions .............

[Pizzasgood]

pfix=ram command doesn't seem to work for me. Puppy still use pup_save as if it's a bone.

Are there any command at boot up to make Puppy ignore pup_save and don't use swap on the harddisk?

That's the problem. pfix=ram is the command at bootup to make it ignore the pup_save.2fs. You're supposed to be able to just tack it onto the kernel line in GRUB with a Frugal Install, or type puppy pfix=ram when booting from LiveCD. A temporary solution is to just rename the savefile, but that's a pain in the neck.


For screenshots, you can either run mtpaint -s from the commandline, or use the screenshot menu entry under Start -> Graphics. Some versions of IceWM have that mapped to the ctrl+alt+p key sequence, and I've heard that some people have it mapped to the print screen key, though I haven't bothered figuring out how yet.


Finally, to change to a .3fs, I think you'd have to first convert the pup_save file to ext3. There's a commandline program to do that, but I don't remember the name. Once that's done, I think you should be able to just rename it to pup_save.3fs.



For the people trying to solve the pfix=ram problem, I don't know enough to help, sorry. But I'll post my grub configuration in case it helps any. This is for Pizzapup 3.0.1, which is based on Puppy 2.14. My files are all in /dev/sda5, which is a sata drive. The pfix=ram options works fine on it.

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# Pizzapup 3.1 RAM config begins
  title PizzaPup 3.1 - RAM
  lock
  rootnoverify (hd0,4)
  kernel /boot/pza-301/vmlinuz root=/dev/ram0 vga=normal loglevel=3 pfix=ram
  initrd /boot/pza-301/initrd.gz
# Pizzapup 3.1 RAM config ends

(note: the "lock" part just enables a bootloader password. It doesn't actually affect booting)

[GuestToo]

my Icewm packages have these lines in /root/.icewm/keys:

key "Alt+Ctrl+p" mtpaint -s
key "Print" mtpaint -s

this binds the screenshot program to both the Print key and the ctrl+alt+P key

one problem is that the Print key can be mapped to a different key symbol, depending on which keyboard map is being used ... also Xvesa might have a different keymap to the Xorg keymap ... and older versions of Puppy might have the Print key mapped differently too ... some older versions of Puppy had the Print key mapped to the Multi key symbols (though no one ever complained that they got a screenshot every time they tried to type an accented character)

also, even though the Print key seems to be mapped correctly to the Print key symbol, the Print key does not seem to work in some version of Puppy ... i'm not sure why ... xmodmap -pke should show you what the Print key is mapped to

so my Icewm packages have the Print key binding, but i also have the ctrl+alt+P binding, in case the other one doesn't work

[pcguru]

lets see ...
puppy has, as of version 2.13, returned to using the ext2 file system in the save file, previous was ext3 (and much previous was ext2 also)
dunno if this has anything to do with the current problem of 'ignoring' multiple save files etcetera, but anyways ...

my suggestion is NOT to create a pup_save.3fs ... it IS to create a 'FAKE' pup_save file ...
create a file, any file - preferably empty (no point in wasting space) - I don't care (and it seems neither does puppy) whether the file is intended to be text or any other darn thing ... the point here is to (re)NAME the file in the fashion of pup_save(anything_else_like_Zfake_for_example).3fs - then (apparently due to the '3fs' extension) it isn't ignored.
then too, you should have the option to pick one, or none, if it is in the same drive (root of) as another save file ....
if I'm not being clear enough, let me know ....
I'm pretty sure what I'm suggesting should/would work (it works for me) but not sure if I'm explaining it well enough.

[helios]

lets see ...
puppy has, as of version 2.13, returned to using the ext2 file system in the save file, previous was ext3 (and much previous was ext2 also)
dunno if this has anything to do with the current problem of 'ignoring' multiple save files etcetera, but anyways ...

my suggestion is NOT to create a pup_save.3fs ... it IS to create a 'FAKE' pup_save file ...
create a file, any file - preferably empty (no point in wasting space) - I don't care (and it seems neither does puppy) whether the file is intended to be text or any other darn thing ... the point here is to (re)NAME the file in the fashion of pup_save(anything_else_like_Zfake_for_example).3fs - then (apparently due to the '3fs' extension) it isn't ignored.
then too, you should have the option to pick one, or none, if it is in the same drive (root of) as another save file ....
if I'm not being clear enough, let me know ....
I'm pretty sure what I'm suggesting should/would work (it works for me) but not sure if I'm explaining it well enough.

hi pcguru,

I created a text file and renamed it as pup_save_Zfake.3fs along with my original pup_save.2fs in Puppy 2.14 frugal installed. Puppy tried to mount my pup_save_Zfake.3fs and returned with a lot of red lines during reboot. It didn't ask me to choose anything. I had to boot into other OS to delete the .3fs file so as to boot into Puppy again. Do you have any ideas about what's going on?

Thanks

[pcguru]

hi pcguru,

I created a text file and renamed it as pup_save_Zfake.3fs along with my original pup_save.2fs in Puppy 2.14 frugal installed. Puppy tried to mount my pup_save_Zfake.3fs and returned with a lot of red lines during reboot. It didn't ask me to choose anything. I had to boot into other OS to delete the .3fs file so as to boot into Puppy again. Do you have any ideas about what's going on?

Thanks

helios; ummm, I really don't know what to say, 'cept bugger :-/
I haven't duplicated what you have done - simply because what (I've quoted) you have done is actually a duplicate of what I have done (if you use w32grub)
I have frugal installs of puppy2.13 puppy2.14 and a couple of custom puppys ... and this method works fine with all of them - as it works for me then I simply have no idea why it is not working for you, sorry ...
(oh, just to be clear, the puppy 2.13 and 2.14 are completely vanilla (unaltered) soooo, ought be the same as what ye are using) ...
hopefully someone else might have some ideas ?!?!?
:-/
all I can do at this stage is wish you good luck
Ron.