(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Either that or please make some sort of way to make Puppy or Dog Linux make an automatically expandable and default changes.dat file like Slax does. That is what I enjoy most about Slax, because the changes don't have to be manually saved or expanded.

-- OR --

How can I update GRUB or Sys/Isolinux to make it so?

cochranizer wrote:Either that or please make some sort of way to make Puppy or Dog Linux make an automatically expandable and default changes.dat file like Slax does. That is what I enjoy most about Slax, because the changes don't have to be manually saved or expanded.

Please clarify what you're trying to achieve.
Is the save-file changes.dat you use in Slax expandable ?
Or do you mean save-folder ?
(which is expandable and most modern puppies and dogs are supporting it)

Fred

fredx181 wrote:

cochranizer wrote:Either that or please make some sort of way to make Puppy or Dog Linux make an automatically expandable and default changes.dat file like Slax does. That is what I enjoy most about Slax, because the changes don't have to be manually saved or expanded.

Please clarify what you're trying to achieve.
Is the save-file changes.dat you use in Slax expandable ?
Or do you mean save-folder ?
(which is expandable and most modern puppies and dogs are supporting it)

Fred

A save-file, because I want to use my flash drive in Windows as well in the case need be, as a folder would require it (EDIT: the file system) to be ext4.

Ok, save-file, still I don't understand: what's so special then using a savefile with Slax that you cannot do with Puppy or Dog ?

Fred

If a full install was made then there would be no save-file! If a frugal install was made then the option to create a save-file usually appears at first shutdown, it isn't automatically created, unless specified as a commandline argument in some dogs, if I understand correctly.

Hi cochranizer,

Basically, you want a USB-Key which has two partitions.

For computers which DO NOT use UEFI for booting. I do this all the time. USB-Keys are factory formatted as Fat32. I reformat them to have two partitions: an initial Fat32 partition and a 2nd Linux Ext3 partition.

The initial partition has to be Fat32 so that Windows can read/write to it without your having to install Windows programs able to read Linux partitions. It will hold grub4dos as bootloader [that takes less than 100 Mbs] plus sufficient space for files I may later want to transfer between Windows and my Dogs/Puppies. To keep things organized, I create a folder named Transfer on that partition into which files being transfered will be copied.

I unpack the Dog or Puppy into a folder on the 2nd, Linux Ext3 partition. Since it is a Linux Partition a Dog or Puppy can use a SaveFolder which will automatically expand as needed. Grub4Dos will create a bootloader on the 1st Fat32 partition with a Listing for your Puppy on the 2nd Partition. For Dogs, after installing Grub4dos, you'll have to manually create menu.lst.

Computers which require UEFI to boot. Untested, but this should work. Install LICK into Windows. http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 720#462720. From Window, use Lick to install your Puppy onto the USB-Key. Boot into Puppy. Run Gparted and shrink the 1st partition so that you can create a 2nd Linux Ext3 Partition before shutting down. On 1st Shut-down, select the 2nd Linux Ext3 Partition as the location for your SaveFolder.

Someone more familiar with the Debian Dogs may be able to help if you have a UEFI computer.

mikeslr wrote:Basically, you want a USB-Key which has two partitions.

For computers which DO NOT use UEFI for booting. I do this all the time. USB-Keys are factory formatted as Fat32. I reformat them to have two partitions: an initial Fat32 partition and a 2nd Linux Ext3 partition.

The initial partition has to be Fat32 so that Windows can read/write to it without your having to install Windows programs able to read Linux partitions. It will hold grub4dos as bootloader [that takes less than 100 Mbs] plus sufficient space for files I may later want to transfer between Windows and my Dogs/Puppies.

I prefer the whole usb to be a single ext3 format partition, with grub4dos installed to that. Malware Software (MS) Windows not being able to read/write to it is a good thing IMO Keep/use separate usb's entirely for that (that of course Linux can mount/read/write). But then I've not really used Windows since XP was retired. But of course to set that up you do need one Linux version already available/running.

By default Windows does not include a program to manage Linux partitions. One can be installed. But I don't. When running Windows it can neither see nor access the 2nd partition which is formatted Linux.

With a Puppy or Dog --including its SaveFile/Folder-- on the 2nd Partition, after the bootloader on the 1st partition does its job the 1st partition is automatically unmounted.

I suppose that it is possible for someone to create malware running under Windows which could be injected into a Linux partition and run under Linux. But with the only application on the Fat32 partition which relates to a Puppy or Dog being the bootloader and that only active during booting the malware would have to be written to the bootloader, itself.

If UEFI isn't an entire waste of time and resources, I would have expected it's creators to have considered that possibility and taken prospective counter-measures. With grub4dos, once it has been written to the 1st partition and its menu.lst created, all its components can be configured to remove WRITE-permissions.

But frankly, excessive precautions against theoretical problems can reach the stage of being a waste of human time and resources.