How to install Puppy 1.0.8 on WinXP NTFS Partition?

[RogerS]

I've read everything in the forum and elsewhere, but I've not found a solution to my precise install dilemma. Using Grub and WinXP, I want to install Puppy 1.0.8 to a NTFS partition. My Dell PC has a large NTFS partition for its C: drive, and two FAT32 partitions that are used by Dell for recovery purposes. These partitions (one at the beginning and one at the end of the hard drive) are not assigned drive letters and don't have enough room for a Puppy install anyway. I don't want to create a new FAT32 partition. I just want to run Puppy from my C: drive (NTFS).

First, I need a pup001 file that's 512MB in size, hence I can't use the pup001.zip download that's available on the forum, and the absence of a pre-configured pup001 file for use on NTFS is the first of my problems.

The second problem relates to the loader's difficulty in finding some of my key files. My Menu.lst contents identify partition 1 (second partition) on the first (drive 0) hard drive.

default 0
timeout 10
title Puppy Linux 1.0.8
rootnoverify (hd0,1)
kernel(hd0,1) /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/ram0 PFILE=pup001-none
initrd(hd0,1) /boot/image.gz
boot

My pup001 file (currently 256MB) is located on the C: drive along with usr_cram.fs. With this setup, GRLDR loads vmlinuz and image.gz from the C:/boot folder and starts the boot process beautifully.

Then, two significant error messages appear toward the end of the unsuccessful boot: (1) Puppy can't locate the file usr_cram.fs even though it's on the C: drive, and (2) Puppy can't locate any space on the NTFS partition for "user configuration data." I thought this data was stored in the pup001 file, but I must be wrong.

So, I need help on the following:

1. How do I preconfigure a 512MB pup001 file for use on a NTFS system?
2. Why can't Puppy find user_cram.fs when it's right there?
3. What's the deal with the message about no space for user configuration data?

I sense from the posts that my problem is a common one because of the large number of WinXP machines with NTFS partitions as their C: drives, but additional partitions that may confuse the loader. I tried to use the PHOME variable to point to the hda2 partition, but no success.

I would be VERY grateful for any help, since Puppy is such a wonderful product that it deserves to be on my NTFS hard drive!

[MU]

Get presized pup001 here:
http://dotpups.de/files/pup001-different-sizes/

Get a patched image.gz here to force using hda1:
http://dotpups.de/puppy-releases/1.0.8r ... WindowsXP/
Replace your old image.gz with it.

More info:
http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?t=5117

This is just for info, you will not need the installer if Grub already works for you.
Mark

[RogerS]

Thanks Mark. I'm following your suggestions and have two questions:

1. I downloaded the presized pup001 zip file for 621MB and extracted it to a 657,255 KB file. In editing my Menu.Lst, don't I have to list the size of the pup file in the PFILE line, and if so, do I list the exact size of the extracted pup001 file, or do I use 524,288 - which is 512 x 1024?

I'm happy with a size of 657,255 KB, but I assumed that Puppy used a multiple of 128MB x 1024. For example, the usual PFILE description of 512MB is 524,288. (I neglected to mention in my post that my PFILE line is 262,144 because I was using a 256MB pup001 file.)

2. Concerning the patched image file, you said that it would force use of hda1. Given that my hard drive begins with a FAT32 partition that is not assigned a drive letter, followed by my NTFS partition (drive C:), will this patched image file be looking for the correct partition? Should I be looking for hda2 in my case?

Thanks so much for your assistance.
Roger S.

Get presized pup001 here:
http://dotpups.de/files/pup001-different-sizes/

Get a patched image.gz here to force using hda1:
http://dotpups.de/puppy-releases/1.0.8r ... WindowsXP/
Replace your old image.gz with it.

More info:
http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?t=5117

This is just for info, you will not need the installer if Grub already works for you.
Mark

[MU]

1.)
> extracted it to a 657,255 KB file. In editing my Menu.Lst, don't I have to list the size of the pup file in the PFILE line,

No, as I already resized the internal filesystem.

2.)
Just try.
I have no experience with these hidden partitions.
I extracted image.gz , mounted "image", and replaced 1 line in the mounted etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit :

Code: Select all

#m#ALLPARTITIONS="`probepart -k 2> /tmp/probefail.txt | grep "/dev/"`" 
  ALLPARTITIONS="/dev/hda1|none|20731851|OS/2 HPFS or NTFS" 

You might try that yourself, and use a partition-number you need instead of hda1.
The size seems to be ignored, so leave it as it is.

Here is an example, how to edit a image.gz -file:
http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?p=22195#22195

Mark