Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

[kcin]

Hello to all,

When I first tried Puppy (1.03?), I had my hard drive split up into several
partitions specifically for the purpose of installing multiple Linux
distributions to test. I installed Puppy on one of these partitions and
then used the command:

dd if=/dev/hda2 of=/mnt/cdrive/bootsect.pup bs=512 count=1

to capture a copy of the bootsector and save it in the Windows C:\ drive.
I was then able to boot Puppy from the Windows boot loader by adding the
line:

c:\bootsect.pup="Puppy Linux"

...to boot.ini

I had used the same technique with Vector and some other distros, so that
they were all conveniently available from the Windows boot loader.
However, I had to reclaim some HD space for some graphics files on C:\
under windows, and so I wiped all the linux partitions and C:\ to utilize
the whole drive.

Later, I decided I wanted Puppy back, and by this time, it was version 1.04
which now had the installation technique of the four files right to the C:\
drive of Windows (which, if it had existed previously, I had been unaware
of it until that point). I thought "Great, I can install Puppy without
having to repartition my drive" - which I then did, and used the floppy to
boot Puppy.

The only thing is, I dislike having to use the floppy to boot Puppy; It
seems like an inelegant technique to me. Since Puppy is installed on the
HD, I want to be able to boot it from the Windows boot loader just like I
did before, when I had Puppy in its own partition.

So I initially tried to accomplish this by copying the boot code from the
floppy to the HD, and referencing these files from boot.ini (of course this
won't work, I then realized, as boot.ini expects a boot sector and nothing
else).

So, I am unsure if this is even doable with Puppy installed as files on C:\,
and if it is, how to go about it. I don't think using autoexec.bat to run
the Puppy loader will work, as it will always execute, whenever the C:\
drive boot option is selected, thereby making Windows inaccessible.


Can any of you more experienced Puppy Masters out there point me in the
right direction on how to do this?

Best regards,

kcin

[MU]

search for wingrub.

It installs into a folder (not the bootsector) on C:\ ,and you can add an entry to it in C:\boot.ini

It is included here:
http://www.murga.org/%7Epuppy/viewtopic.php?p=15035#15035

Maybe I should make a zip containing only wingrub and the batchfiles, so you can run it with existing puppyfiles.

Mark

[Bruce B]

You do good work Mark.

[MU]

Thanks Bruce.

Here is an installer for Windows XP:

http://www.murga.org/%7Epuppy/viewtopic.php?t=2525

Greets, Mark

[kcin]

Mu, Thanks for the tip about GRLDR. I downloaded it and set it up and it worked but it created a new instance of Puppy - a Pup001 and did not boot to my old one which is still there but is named Pup1.

So I can now boot from the bootloader but am faced with a lengthy rebuild of all the packages I had installed before - Do you know if there is there a way around this? ...a way to have the new GRLDR find the old Pupfile?

Regards,

Kcin

[kcin]

Mu,

I figured it out - had to change the menu.lst file PFILE entry from

PFILE=pup001-none-262144

to

PFILE=pup1-none-524288

Back in business!

Thanks again for getting me pointed in the right direction,

Regards,

Kcin