Full install: Bootloader - menu.lst issue

[PeacebyJesus]

I had an old but nice Acer 2480 laptop (1.73ghz CPU; 2gb RAM) which i had installed Xubuntu (sda5)on alongside XP (sda2), but Xubuntu would not detect the default Broadcom wireless or a USB wireless I had plugged in, and neither would any other Linux distro I tried.

So giving it another try, i installed Xenial Puppy (32 bit) to USB and ran it live, and while being minimal as it is in size (325 MB), yet it detected both the internal modem as well as a USB wireless modem.

So I used the provided GParted to delete Xubuntu in sda5 and formatted it to ext4 and installed (Full, to save RAM) Xenial Puppy in in sda5, and also created a small swap file.

However, I found the bootloader configuration somewhat confusing but used Grub4DOS to install the bootloader in sda2, the XP partition, and I thought I followed the directions except that after it said it was done (or I said I was) it told me to edit the the menu.lst file. But since I thought that was already accomplished then I did not do it.

However, upon reboot I have 2 identical Puppy options (Xenialpup 7.5 (sda5/boot) plus Advanced, and one for XP. But while XP boots, and decompresses, it ends up saying sda5 /puppy_xenialpup_7.5 not found.

I will work if the USB drive is plugged in which I saved the config file it asks if you want to save, but then it runs off the live version of Puppy on the USB.

If y'all could tell me what I need to do to edit this I would appreciate it. I am normally a Windows 10 user.

The menu.lst context are below:

# menu.lst produced by grub4dosconfig-v1.9.2
color white/green yellow/blue white/black green/black
#splashimage=/splash.xpm
timeout 10
default 0

# Full installed Linux

title Xenialpup 7.5 (sda5/boot)
uuid 47fedddb-1d82-48fe-af89-9e0ae5226559
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda5 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

title Xenialpup 7.5 (sda5/boot)
uuid 47fedddb-1d82-48fe-af89-9e0ae5226559
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda5 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

# Windows
# this entry searches Windows on the HDD and boot it up
title Windows\nBoot up Windows if installed
errorcheck off
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /bootmgr
chainloader /bootmgr
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /ntldr
chainloader /ntldr
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /io.sys
chainloader /io.sys
errorcheck on

# Advanced Menu
title Advanced menu
configfile /menu-advanced.lst
commandline

There is also a menu-2018-01-26-044355.lst file:

# menu.lst produced by grub4dosconfig-v1.9.2
color white/green yellow/blue white/black green/black
#splashimage=/splash.xpm
timeout 10
default 0

# Frugal installed Puppy

title Puppy xenialpup 7.5 (sdb1)
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /puppy_xenialpup_7.5.sfs
kernel /vmlinuz pmedia=usbflash pfix=fsck
initrd /initrd.gz

# Full installed Linux

title Xenialpup 7.5 (sda5/boot)
uuid 47fedddb-1d82-48fe-af89-9e0ae5226559
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda5 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

title Xenialpup 7.5 (sda5/boot)
uuid 47fedddb-1d82-48fe-af89-9e0ae5226559
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda5 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

# Windows
# this entry searches Windows on the HDD and boot it up
title Windows\nBoot up Windows if installed
errorcheck off
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /bootmgr
chainloader /bootmgr
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /ntldr
chainloader /ntldr
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /io.sys
chainloader /io.sys
errorcheck on

# Advanced Menu
title Advanced menu
configfile /menu-advanced.lst
commandline


And the bootinit.log says,

0: PMEDIA= PDRV= PSUBDIR= pfix=
1: PDRV= P_BP_ID= P_BP_FN=
2: LOOK_PUP=yes LOOK_SAVE= PMEDIA=
3: PSUBDIR= P_BP_FN= P_DEF_FN=puppy_xenialpup_7.5.sfs
HAVE_PARTS='sda2|ntfs
sda4|ntfs
sda5|ext4'
TRY_PARTS='sda2|ntfs
sda4|ntfs
sda5|ext4'
4: ONE_PART=sda2
4: ONE_PART=sda4
4: ONE_PART=sda5
[WAIT4USB] TIMEOUT=4
- 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
2: USBDRVS= ->
3: PSUBDIR= P_BP_FN= P_DEF_FN=puppy_xenialpup_7.5.sfs
HAVE_PARTS='sda2|ntfs
sda4|ntfs
sda5|ext4'
TRY_PARTS='sda2|ntfs
sda4|ntfs
sda5|ext4'
4: ONE_PART=sda2
4: ONE_PART=sda4
4: ONE_PART=sda5
6: ONE_PART=sda5 ONE_TRY_FN=/puppy_xenialpup_7.5.sfs PDRV=

Thanks. Grace and peace thru Jesus the Lord.

[bigpup]

However, I found the bootloader configuration somewhat confusing but used Grub4DOS to install the bootloader in sda2, the XP partition, and I thought I followed the directions except that after it said it was done (or I said I was) it told me to edit the the menu.lst file. But since I thought that was already accomplished then I did not do it.

That edit message is kind of confusing.
It is just letting you know you can edit the menu if you want to.
I usually do and remove all windows entries, because I do not need them.

So you did it correctly.

One tip.
After selecting the device to install Grub4dos on.
You can select to search only within this device.
The boot menu will only have what is on that selected device.

If not selected.
It will search every storage device on the computer or hooked up to it.

[bigpup]

There is also a menu-2018-01-26-044355.lst file:

That looks like a backup menu.lst.
Indicates you ran Grub4dos config more than one time.
If there is already a menu.lst file. It will turn it into a backup and make the new one.

[bigpup]

This could be an ext 4 format problem with Grub4dos.

Try redoing the format to ext 3.
Redo the full install.

How did you do the full install????
Specific details?????
You do what?
You see what?

Those double full install entries are a bug in Grub4dos config, but they should work to boot the full install if the install is correct.

Note:
About all a full install does is save a little ram usage.
However, some of the features of Puppy only work with a frugal install.

Frugal installs:

Can be put on any partition any format, any type storage device.

They load more of Puppy into RAM.

Easier to backup, because all changes, settings are in the save. The core Puppy files never change. Only what is in the save changes. All you have to do is copy the save to have a backup.
If Puppy really gets messed up. Just delete the save and replace it with the backup save.

You can easily load or unload SFS program packages.
This lets you use a program without actually installing it to Puppy. You will have to use this option to fully understand it.

All of Puppy is placed in a directory (folder).
You can have many Puppies on one partition.
All completely separate from the other.
All in different directories (Linux term for folder).

Full installs:
Must be installed to a Linux formatted partition.
Uses the entire partition.
Main advantage is it uses less memory to boot to desktop.
Does not use layered file system.
Works best for compiling.
Does not run into size limit that a save file has on a fat32 format.

[Sailor Enceladus]

@PeacebyJesus: I don't know how you got that menu entry. Using Puppy Universal Installer -> Full Install in Xenialpup 7.5, and selecting "use initrd.gz for more stability" at the last step, this is the entry it gave me in a text popup at the end (which works):

Code: Select all

title Puppy Linux - xenialpup 7.5 full install in sda3
uuid d7ed9ae6-2aee-492f-89dc-5c110c0c43a8
kernel /boot/vmlinuz fullinstall root=UUID=d7ed9ae6-2aee-492f-89dc-5c110c0c43a8 pmedia=atahd 
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

Changing it to something like yours does indeed break it:

Code: Select all

title Xenialpup 7.5 (sda3/boot)
uuid d7ed9ae6-2aee-492f-89dc-5c110c0c43a8
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda3 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.gz 

The 2nd one said "Waiting for USB Storage" then tried to find a puppy.sfs file on sda4 unsuccessfully.

[PeacebyJesus]

However, I found the bootloader configuration somewhat confusing but used Grub4DOS to install the bootloader in sda2, the XP partition, and I thought I followed the directions except that after it said it was done (or I said I was) it told me to edit the the menu.lst file. But since I thought that was already accomplished then I did not do it.

That edit message is kind of confusing.
It is just letting you know you can edit the menu if you want to.
I usually do and remove all windows entries, because I do not need them.

So you did it correctly.

One tip.
After selecting the device to install Grub4dos on.
You can select to search only within this device.
The boot menu will only have what is on that selected device.

If not selected.
It will search every storage device on the computer or hooked up to it.

No, it actually told me what to edit as, while what it resulted in by not doing so is not correct since it cannot find sda5 /puppy_xenialpup_7.5

[PeacebyJesus]

This could be an ext 4 format problem with Grub4dos.

Try redoing the format to ext 3.
Redo the full install.

How did you do the full install????
Specific details?????
You do what?
You see what?

Those double full install entries are a bug in Grub4dos config, but they should work to boot the full install if the install is correct.

Note:
About all a full install does is save a little ram usage.
However, some of the features of Puppy only work with a frugal install.

Frugal installs:

Can be put on any partition any format, any type storage device.

They load more of Puppy into RAM.

Easier to backup, because all changes, settings are in the save. The core Puppy files never change. Only what is in the save changes. All you have to do is copy the save to have a backup.
If Puppy really gets messed up. Just delete the save and replace it with the backup save.

You can easily load or unload SFS program packages.
This lets you use a program without actually installing it to Puppy. You will have to use this option to fully understand it.

All of Puppy is placed in a directory (folder).
You can have many Puppies on one partition.
All completely separate from the other.
All in different directories (Linux term for folder).

Full installs:
Must be installed to a Linux formatted partition.
Uses the entire partition.
Main advantage is it uses less memory to boot to desktop.
Does not use layered file system.
Works best for compiling.
Does not run into size limit that a save file has on a fat32 format.

OK. I will reinstall it and post back.

[PeacebyJesus]

However, I found the bootloader configuration somewhat confusing but used Grub4DOS to install the bootloader in sda2, the XP partition, and I thought I followed the directions except that after it said it was done (or I said I was) it told me to edit the the menu.lst file. But since I thought that was already accomplished then I did not do it.

That edit message is kind of confusing.
It is just letting you know you can edit the menu if you want to.
I usually do and remove all windows entries, because I do not need them.

So you did it correctly.

One tip.
After selecting the device to install Grub4dos on.
You can select to search only within this device.
The boot menu will only have what is on that selected device.

If not selected.
It will search every storage device on the computer or hooked up to it.

Deleted sda5, and formatted to ext3
Choose Universal Installer.
Choose Internal IDE HD
Choose install Puppy to sda5
Choose Full
Choose CD as source, but only option was CD drive.
Cancelled and when faced with above choice choose Directory as source but could not navigate to USB drive.
Cancelled and after choosing Full then Puppy copied files
Choose to create RAM drive
Choose to install bootloader (Grub4DOS) on MBR of Windows partition (sdb1)
Deleted USB option
Grub4DO install confirmed, with offer to edit menu.1st. Old menu.1st was renamed,
Windows says press OK to quit this program and I do.
Two windows then pop up: the first one tells me ,

If you have GRUB installed, find the 'menu.lst' file (usually in /boot
in the partition in which GRUB is installed) and insert the text,
or, if you have GRUB4DOS installed, find the 'menu.lst' file (usually
in / in the partition in which GRUB4DOS is installed) and insert this:

title Puppy Linux - xenialpup 7.5 full install in sda5
#root (hd0,0) <-- GRUB legacy, ex: (hd1,0)
uuid 18607902-749e-4bf3-a7ff-21f645b9c15b
kernel /boot/vmlinuz fullinstall root=UUID=18607902-749e-4bf3-a7ff-21f645b9c15b pmedia=atahd
# root=/dev/sda5
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

-----
For GRUB you must set root (hdX,X) to the correct values and comment/remove uuid. root (hdX,X) is also supported by grub4dos..

The second pop up window that came with the first one informs me that

"if all went well, Puppy is installed to sda5. The text-editor window shows text that you can insert into the menu.1st file if you have grub or grub4dos installed.

If your PC does not have grub, grub4dos, lilo... installed, or if you want to do a reinstallation, just click on the OK button to finish the universal installer, then go to the System menu and run the grub or grub4dos installer...this will probe your PC, so you probably won't needed to read the contexts of the text-editor.

Anyway, I choose to restart, and did not save session and upon restart I was faced with a window with an option to for Puppy xenialpup 7.5 (sdb1) and which results in File not found, and then there are two more entries for grub4dos (sda5/boot).

Choosing either one results in Decompressing Linux, Waiting for USB storage, and then Finding puppy main sfc file but then...sda5 /puppy_xenialpup_7.5 not found - unless the USB is inserted.

I can boot into Windows though. So i went into XP, and edited the menu.st file and replaced the two Puppy entries with text from the editor, and saved it and tried to run Puppy again. This time the top entry was still Puppy xenialpup 7.5 (sdb1) and which results in File not found.

However, the second option is Puppy Linux xenialpup 7.5 full install in sda5m and which works! Thank God for viable options.

I would post the contents of the menu.1st file but the copy command in Puppy does not allow navigation graphical, or a simply copy and paste. Instead it opens up a window with an address on it, and which i typed in the one for the USB but it did not copy it.

Edit: I went into XP and copied the menu.1st file which says,

0# menu.lst produced by grub4dosconfig-v1.9.2
color white/green yellow/blue white/black green/black
#splashimage=/splash.xpm
timeout 10
default 0

# Frugal installed Puppy

title Puppy xenialpup 7.5 (sdb1)
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /puppy_xenialpup_7.5.sfs
kernel /vmlinuz pmedia=usbflash
initrd /initrd.gz

# Full installed Linux

title Puppy Linux - xenialpup 7.5 full install in sda5
#root (hd0,0) <-- GRUB legacy, ex: (hd1,0)
uuid 18607902-749e-4bf3-a7ff-21f645b9c15b
kernel /boot/vmlinuz fullinstall root=UUID=18607902-749e-4bf3-a7ff-21f645b9c15b pmedia=atahd
# root=/dev/sda5
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

# Windows
# this entry searches Windows on the HDD and boot it up
title Windows\nBoot up Windows if installed
errorcheck off
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /bootmgr
chainloader /bootmgr
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /ntldr
chainloader /ntldr
find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd /io.sys
chainloader /io.sys
errorcheck on

# Advanced Menu
title Advanced menu
configfile /menu-advanced.lst
commandline


I subsequently edited out the Frugal entry and should probably edit the Advanced file, but as for now xenialpup 7.5 full install in sda5 is loading fine. Internet was easily set up and working through the Broadcom internal card, which Linux Mint, Fedora, Xubuntu, Debian etc. did not even list.

Thank God for all who help make this handy little OS.

[bigpup]

Sorry for the bad info.
It has been some time sense I did a full install.
I guess the Universal installer is doing things a little different for full installs.

That manual menu edit was not needed in the past.

I guess we both learned something new!

Grub4dos config seems to need an update on how to handle full installs.

Good to see you got it working!!

[bigpup]

Internet was easily set up and working through the Broadcom internal card,

That is good to see!

Broadcom hardware is usually the hardest to get working.
You must have the one that actually has a good working Linux driver.

[bigpup]

Code: Select all

title Puppy Linux - xenialpup 7.5 full install in sda5
#root (hd0,0) <-- GRUB legacy, ex: (hd1,0)
uuid 18607902-749e-4bf3-a7ff-21f645b9c15b
kernel /boot/vmlinuz fullinstall root=UUID=18607902-749e-4bf3-a7ff-21f645b9c15b pmedia=atahd
# root=/dev/sda5
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

Code: Select all

# root=/dev/sda5

Not sure why this is in the entry.
The # at the start of that line stops it from being used.
I guess it is just info for root location.

[PeacebyJesus]

Sorry for the bad info.
It has been some time sense I did a full install.
I guess the Universal installer is doing things a little different for full installs.

That manual menu edit was not needed in the past.

I guess we both learned something new!

Grub4dos config seems to need an update on how to handle full installs.

Good to see you got it working!!

One would think that edit would be what Grub4Dos would do by itself, but the notice afterwards that say to do it must be because it detected something, a built in feature, and thus the other window says you might want to edit it.

Thanks for trying to help. I likely will be back. In times past i have found Puppy forums to be helpful. They all like pets!

[PeacebyJesus]

Internet was easily set up and working through the Broadcom internal card,

That is good to see!

Broadcom hardware is usually the hardest to get working.
You must have the one that actually has a good working Linux driver.

Yes, I have https://askubuntu.com/questions/55868/i ... ers%20read that Broadcom cards are tough, yet even a USB wireless card was not detected in other Linux distors (all of which lack a real Windows-type Device Manager with all its features).

[PeacebyJesus]

Code: Select all

title Puppy Linux - xenialpup 7.5 full install in sda5
#root (hd0,0) <-- GRUB legacy, ex: (hd1,0)
uuid 18607902-749e-4bf3-a7ff-21f645b9c15b
kernel /boot/vmlinuz fullinstall root=UUID=18607902-749e-4bf3-a7ff-21f645b9c15b pmedia=atahd
# root=/dev/sda5
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

Code: Select all

# root=/dev/sda5

Not sure why this is in the entry.
The # at the start of that line stops it from being used.
I guess it is just info for root location.

Me neither.
As long as it works.