Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

ferro10n · Joined: 15 Jun 2011 Posts: 106

***EDIT 8 JAN 2012***
I'm so sorry to say that the loss of sound in Lucid Puppy USB setups continues. No, it doesn't affect full install to hard disk, only pupsave@USB (not sure about full install to USB drive). It was also reported on Slacko Puppy, and I had the same problem in Wary 5.2.1. However, developers are working hard to solve the bug, they even released a new ISO of Lucid 5.2.8 (update 004) which seems to have no problems, it'll be of great help if you can test it. On the other hand, it's been said that Racy 5.2.2 and 3HD don't have the bug, you can try them, too. In fact, I edited this thread from Racy and sound is fine. I've also been using Lucid 5.28-004 and works flawless so far.

There are also some steps you can take to delay (if not prevent) the loss of sound in your pupsave@USB install:

Make the pupsave BEFORE making any changes to the system.

Choose the standard save-file (ext2).

Go to Menu > System > Puppy Event Manager. In the 'Save session' tab, set the save interval to 0 (zero) and click OK, then restart X. Note that this way when there's a power failure you'll lose anything you didn't save to your hard disk or flash drive, so make sure you save any documents, files, etc. on the go. Your session will still be saved at shutdown, along with the programs you've installed and the settings you've customized.

Make sure the applications you want to install are as compatible with the version of Puppy (Lucid, Slacko, Wary, etc.) as possible. For example, if you're using Wary and there's a PET of your favourite program specifically compiled for Wary, it's preferable to use that PET instead of a PET made for Lucid.

If you install big applications (LibreOffice, VLC, Chrome, etc) make sure you do it properly. Wait until the installation is complete to make any other changes to the system. Note that some applications require to restart X to be fully operative.

Idea

You can also make a customized ISO that includes your favourite applications and setups, burn it to a CD and boot directly from CD without pupsave. This way, every time you boot Puppy it'll be a fresh start, but with the tools you need for your activities.

I had formerly written...

Videos become mute, by trying to play songs on Pmusic I get the 'Sound device not ready' error message (see screenshot). On new, fresh Lucid Puppy LiveCD+USB+savefile install, Lucid Puppy can 'bark', but after a couple of sessions soundcard is unespectedly undetected and in some cases Retrovol and its tray icon is missing. At first I thought it was one or two PETs I usually install (Opera, some eyecandy, etc.), but now I wonder what is it that causes this. Shocked

Please have in mind that I'm a complete beginner (although with errors haunting me so often I'm seriously thinking of learning some advanced skills Wink

)

valer · Joined: 07 Nov 2011 Posts: 7 Location: Southern Finland

Now, I know that this might not have anything to do with your situation, but I'm reporting this here anyway instead of opening a new thread.

My situation: frugal install of 5.3 Slacko on a USB stick. The system crashed and I had to do a dirty manual reboot. After that there was no sound and the system could not open the files in /dev/snd/. As a symptom, the volume adjustment icon was absent from the taskbar and music players gave similar errors to what ferro10n posted.

The reason was a corruption in aufs (the file system). Steps to recover:
1) Shut down the system normally.
2) Plug in the USB stick to another computer with Puppy or start another copy of Puppy on your computer.
3) Mount the stick (by clicking on its icon on the desktop).
4) Open a terminal window ("console") and use this command: auchk /mnt/sdb1 (Instead of sdb1, use the stick's actual device name.)
5) You should see a bunch of errors appear and auchk asks what to do in each case. I answered with "w" so it got rid of the so-called whiteout files that had been left on the filesystem.
6) Reboot from the stick, and sound works.

This is a bug a) beacause aufs seems to get corrupted on some people's systems for an unknown reason, and b) Puppy doesn't run auchk after a dirty shutdown as it should and as aufs' developer himself recommends (see here).

If you don't get sound working after repairing aufs, I recommend running the ALSA Sound Wizard in the Setup menu. I hope this helps someone.[/url]

playdayz · Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 3788

ferro10n, The first thing to try is to install the Instant Update 002 for Lucid 5.2.8. http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=70855 If you have installed it, then uninstall it and try that. There have been similar reports to yours, but the cause is still unknown.

Since you are new to Puppy, you might consider trying Slacko which is the newest Puppy and the one recommended as the "First Stop" in the Puppy World for newcomers. http://bkhome.org/blog/?viewDetailed=02556

And finally, there is a variation of Lucid 5.2.8 named Three-headed Dog that may be of interest. http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=70736

valer · Joined: 07 Nov 2011 Posts: 7 Location: Southern Finland

I'll have to add that I used the whole stick as (a part of) the filesystem, not a savefile. So I have no idea how to run auchk on a filesystem in a file. I guess you'd mount it in some directory (using a loop device).

I'm guessing that in some cases aufs can get corrupted if the fileystem is not unmounted cleanly during shutdown, because of some bug in the shutdown routine.

valer · Joined: 07 Nov 2011 Posts: 7 Location: Southern Finland

By the way, if there's something like the following in /var/log/messages, you know that there are leftover whiteout files on your filesystem:

shinobar · Joined: 28 May 2009 Posts: 2598 Location: Japan

Karl Godt · Joined: 20 Jun 2010 Posts: 3956 Location: Kiel,Germany

shinobar · Joined: 28 May 2009 Posts: 2598 Location: Japan

ferro10n · Joined: 15 Jun 2011 Posts: 106

Thank you, guys. I've read in another post that I should also make the save file before making any changes to the system. Also, I usually set my install to copy the main lupu528.sfs file into my flash drive, can this file get corrupted too?

bigpup · Posted: Fri 18 Nov 2011, 15:50 Post subject:

playdayz · Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 3788

If you can, ferro10n I would be interested to know if you have the same problem with Three-Headed Dog. It has the same features as Lucid 5.2.8 but with a newer kernel (from slacko). http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=70736

Since you are just starting you might also want to give Slacko itself a try.

If you like some of the features of Lucid, there is a way to install them easily into Slacko. http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=73580

ferro10n · Joined: 15 Jun 2011 Posts: 106

playdayz · Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 3788

ferro10n · Joined: 15 Jun 2011 Posts: 106

playdayz · Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 3788

Instant Update 002 and USB Installs

It appears that Instant Update 002 for Lucid 5.2.8 may cause a problem with sound disappearing in some USB installs. Therefore if you install to a USB drive or flash disk, or if you save files on a USB drive or flash disk, it is recommended that you do one of these three things: 1) do not install Instant Update 002; 21) use the Instant Update 002a -> http://diddywahdiddy.net/Puppy500/Instant_Update-Lucid528-002a.pet 3) use Three-Headed Dog. For a USB install with all of the latest updates, you might wish to try Three-Headed Dog which is based on Lucid 5.2.8 but with the newer 2.6.37.6 kernel from Slacko. Three-Headed Dog is not an update of Lucid 5.2.8 so you would need to start from scratch. -> http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=70736 If you are already using Instant Update 002 with no problems, then do nothing.