What are the minimum requirements for running Puppy?

What works, and doesn't, for you. Be specific, and please include Puppy version.
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Linux NOOB
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What are the minimum requirements for running Puppy?

#1 Post by Linux NOOB »

There have been questions asked about the size of processor required but in my case it is RAM. I have an HP OmniBook XE3 with an Intel PIII800 which should exceed what I need for a lite OS but currently only 128 gigs of RAM is in this laptop and possibly only 512 is maximum. The specs are sketchy and it is difficult to determine whether 512 (256x2) is max or whether 512 is max per slot?? I don't know so I ordered a pair of 256 and one 512 to experiment. This is not my only computer but is the test mule for learning Linux and finding a version that runs great on this laptop so performance could possibly be fantastic on my other laptop. Now the problem I'm facing with 128 megs is most lite versions can only be installed "live" and even though they are designed to run on 128?, 256, etc. live requires the entire OS to be loaded on the RAM to the point of 1 gig being required and unless it is run live I cannot install :( There has to be a way around this? As it is the BIOS only allows booting from a floppy, CD ROM or HDD but PLoP got me around this so booting from a USB is possible but again we have the anemic RAM situation. Apparently this can be remedied by a swap partition but we have to get there first with what we have here. What are my options and I am more than willing to install by installing off a CD or USB like I used to in the past when I first tried Linux back about 2004-2006 and not the current "live" option. This HP will run Win2000 as is and currently has Linux XP Desktop 2006 a Russian distro of which nobody can obtain activation keys for but other than looking very much like XP runs quite well and this isn't a lite distro.

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bigpup
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#2 Post by bigpup »

BIOS only allows booting from a floppy, CD ROM or HDD
I suggest you burn a Puppy version iso image to a CD and boot with that.
(just make sure you choose burn iso image in whatever program you use to do the burn. Will have a bunch of files on the CD if you did it correctly)

Installing to the Hard drive can be done after you get Puppy booted using the Puppy Universal Installer.

When booting from the Puppy CD.
At the Puppy boot screen quickly press and hold the F2 key.
Release F2 when the option screen pops up.
Here you can enter boot options.
Enter this option:

Code: Select all

puppy pfix=nocopy

This will stop all of Puppy from loading into RAM.
Only what is needed to get booted will load.
This will make starting programs slower, because it has to access the CD to load the program.
But it will use the smallest amount of RAM to run.

Now for what version of Puppy to use.
That is some very old hardware, so try some of the older versions of Puppy. They where smaller and fully supported that old stuff.

You are going to have to just try some to see what likes your hardware.

Puppy 4.3.1
http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/puppy-4.3.1/

Wary 5.5
http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/wary-5.5/

Precise 5.7.1
http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/precise-5.7.1/

Puppy 5.2.8 which is Lupu 5.2.8.005
http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/puppy-5.2.8/

Now if you can get 512MB of RAM
That will work for normal booting not using the nocopy option.
Some of the newer versions of Puppy can work with that. Tahrpup 6.0.5, Slacko 5.7, Slacko 6.3.2.

Understand that the other limiting factor is going to be the PIII processor.
A web browser just wants more power for the way web site are these days.

Get a Puppy you like working for you and those problems can be worked out.

Step 2 will be getting installed to the hard drive and setting up a swap partition.
That really needs to be a new topic for you to start where the discussion is about one specific version of Puppy.

Good luck. :!:

We are Puppy.
Resistance is futile!
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

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bigpup
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Location: S.C. USA

#3 Post by bigpup »

it is difficult to determine whether 512 (256x2) is max or whether 512 is max per slot??
If you have 2 slots.
The specs say max 512MB

Usually that indicates it can be a 256 stick of memory in each slot or a single 512 in one slot.
However, it could only be able to handle up to 256MB in each slot.
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

Linux NOOB
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat 03 Mar 2018, 03:12

#4 Post by Linux NOOB »

Many thanks!Actually PLoP (my recent discovery) allows both CD and USB booting and is a very nice tool! This PIII 800 is actually quite good and in the past I have used a PIII 450 all the time on XP professional which was my first new computer back in 99 and with not much RAM back then because it was many dollars to purchase! Thanks for the commands and at least I can do an installation from CD or USB and not with the OS fully loaded on RAM. This OS looks very promising and my brother who uses Linux figures this is a small computer that isn't very usable anymore. After seeing that reply I sent a link to Puppy where they mentioned make use of older hardware instead of throwing it out! Most OS are getting more and more demanding on the hardware and force one to upgrade perhaps needlessly. I also have an Athlon I purchased in 2004 with a 3500+ and recently upgraded it with a 4800+x2 processor and it was extremely fast on XP but occasionally has the blue circles of sloth on Win 7 and my feeling is a simple version of Linux seems more practical! I will eventually dual boot this AMD to a new version of Linux but for now I'm using the HP for learning because in the past oh about 2003-2006 I was trying a number of Linux distros but chickened out on the CLI but now I'm motivated to attempt to learn and convert for good. Also I might add I also will consider an advanced partition layout instead of a very basic quick install as part of the learning process. A better layout making it harder to lose or damage files.

Linux NOOB
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#5 Post by Linux NOOB »

A bit of an update here.
After looking at the sizes of these you mentioned I decided to use pup-431.
As suggested I used F2 and also the suggested command. It started to load but sat like a dead puppy :( . I guess I could have rebooted and retried but figured nothing ventured nothing gained so I went for the Live CD boot on my USB thanks to PLoP.
Surprisingly it loaded with all steps giving the green OK!
Next came the option for Graphics and reluctantly I chose the heavier more advanced interface instead of the simpler limited version and albeit slower did fully install and even GParted functions quite well so I will look at the online info for properly setting up partitions after I deleted ALL of the partitions which contained USSR and there is no going back to that unusable version. No I would think if it is running in my meager 128 megs it should most certainly run better installed on my massive 18.63 GB HHD :D
Otherwise it seems to be running just fine with a desktop looking like Windoze 95 vintage but it is a flicker of hope compared to nothing even attempting to boot!

Linux NOOB
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#6 Post by Linux NOOB »

Thanks for your suggestions bigpup!
It is working surprisingly well with 128 megs of RAM and after I installed it with a 300 meg swap it is surprisingly fast and snappy in performance. It takes between a second or two for SeaMonkey to open but is more responsive when totally open. It probed for my network card and the driver selected worked without any problems right away. It was meant for Win 2000 Prof. and is performing much better than the clean install of 2000. Just for laughs I will try the newer versions you suggested. :D

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bigpup
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#7 Post by bigpup »

Good to hear it is working for you.
As suggested I used F2 and also the suggested command. It started to load but sat like a dead puppy Sad .
Your very old CD drive is probably very slow.
I wonder if you just let it continue what would happen.
Could actually be something wrong with the CD drive.

Good to see the Plop setup worked.

Any future issues or problems.
Just ask.
Forum etiquette is to start a new topic for a specific problem, usually in the beginners section.

Take some time to work with Puppy and get to using it. It is different.
Learn you must.

Basics of installing program packages
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=59597

Various ways to install puppy
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=60302
A little wordy, but try to understand that frugal is the best install for Puppy to a internal hard drive.
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

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tallboy
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Location: Drøbak, Norway

#8 Post by tallboy »

There are a lot of old Linuxboxes used by forum members, according to surveys made over the years. I always run a live CD or DVD, currently with Lucid 5.2.8.7, on a 2001 model P4 with 512Mb RAM at home.
If you have reformatted your HDD, you should have set aside a Gb or two as a swap partition, which Puppy uses as memory when running programs that demand more space than you have in RAM.
There is a 4.31 with upgraded C libraries available. I have not used that Puppy earlier, but I found it to be an absolutely lovely and compact Puppy, the .iso is only 108MB.
https://archive.org/details/Stardustpup013glibc2.10
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

Linux NOOB
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Joined: Sat 03 Mar 2018, 03:12

#9 Post by Linux NOOB »

Thanks again!
Actually the CD ROM works quite well and this is how I installed the CCCP Linux XP Desktop 2006 and Win 2000 before I discovered PLoP. Perhaps the PIII was having a brain fart? Who knows and a reboot with PLoP again probably would have worked but I figured lets try live and it worked with my meager 128. Presently I'm only using a swap of 300 which is larger than suggested and correct me if I'm wrong but the system monitor indicated that I wasn't using all of the installed RAM plus I have the swap. This live attempt was also done using USB flash drive to install. I have a hard drive so why not use it instead of loading an entire OS on the RAM where essential and non essential including unused programs are loaded instead of sitting on the sideline in the hard drive?
Now I will try to figure out how to upgrade while 4.3.1 is running instead of a live boot upgrade if possible? Perhaps using the swap and HHD will allow use of a much newer version requiring more RAM due to the requirements of live?

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tallboy
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#10 Post by tallboy »

A full installation of Puppy is usually not recommended. See the instructions and wiki in puppylinux.com, linked to on top of this page.

You may want to take a look at the various Lazy puppies too, they are relatively compact, and are designed to load/unload programs prepacked as .sfs (an .sfs version contains all necessary dependencies) when needed. There are many programs available as .sfs.

You actually have access to various .sfs packed programs in most puppies, ideal for large programs like Gimp or various office suits.

I have seen the same as you have, with my swap sizes. There is rarely any need for very large swap partitions.

The advantage of a live multisession Puppy, is that you can save to the Puppy CD/DVD if you want to, and if something goes wrong - perhaps a new installation of a program (to RAM) that refuses to act as intended, you chuck it out by simply rebooting!
It is also probably the safest way in existence, to run banking and other critical transactions.
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

Linux NOOB
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat 03 Mar 2018, 03:12

#11 Post by Linux NOOB »

Good suggestions tallboy and my goal is to eventually kick Windows out of the picture when I learn how to use CLI etc. otherwise due to the limitations the HP actually runs faster with a full install and a swap. I have an Acer Aspire One as mentioned earlier or possibly in another post in this forum and I purchased it with resource hog Win 7 Starter on it with only 1 gig of RAM and my upgrade to 2 helped but a pig is a pig and if Puppy runs this fast and well on my 2000 vintage HP it should run fantastic on my Atom N455 1.66 GHz processor and 2 gig of faster DDR3 RAM. I will be replacing the 250 GIG HHD with a 500, possibly 1TB SSD and when this happens I will dual boot 7 and Puppy with the future goal of punting out Windows. As for backups, one can use cloning software to make copies of my SSD on an external USB drive drive from time to time and or backup the home partition. Don't forget how much better Linux is and Viruses are less of a problem compared to Windows. Usually malware and viruses slow down Windows other than it being a resource hog.

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#12 Post by tallboy »

I have very limited experience with Windoze, the exceptions have been a few programs necessary to use to follow some courses at the Uni. I converted from Mac to Linux 17 years ago, and I have never looked back.
I have remastered my Lucid, and I usually save regular files to my HDD or a USB stick, and only use the CD/DVD multisession storage possibility for changes to prefs and setup files. Some programs, like my Palemoon browser, which are constantly upgraded, I keep on the HDD. I can install them from the HDD in just a few seconds, after a reboot. The point is to have less sessions that have to be read from the CD/DVD, to save time at bootup.
I also use 2 USB sticks for identical HDD backup to both, every day. (oh yes, I have learnt. The haaard way... :cry: )
True freedom is a live Puppy on a multisession CD/DVD.

Linux NOOB
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat 03 Mar 2018, 03:12

#13 Post by Linux NOOB »

Actually I still have a Tape Backup unit still in my Desktop computer. An Aiwa Bolt TD-AS10 identical to a Sony Super capable of 10GB compressed and what i liked about it is after you installed OS it would place everything back exactly as before and I see Linux still supports Tape Drives. Yes they are old technology but are still used today. The life of the backup if stored properly is in the decades. Ran great on XP but Win 7 doesn't like the backup software. If anything needs a backup it is Windows! Right now I'm setting up some USB and a spare hhd and I'm going to try puppy in my Athlon 4800+64x2 which struggles with Avira Anti Virus sucking 50% of my CPU capacity. I will soon rip it out by the roots because a 4800+ dual core is no slouch with 4 gig of RAM albeit 2004-2006 vintage should fly with puppy if my PIII 800 with 128 megs and 800MHz performs fairly well on 4.3.1


Linux NOOB
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#15 Post by Linux NOOB »

Again many thanks! The SSD made quite a difference to say the least. Now to start with booting multiple OS. Now I discovered Win 10S as well which is a so called lite version but can only be obtained if you have Pro or education versions so I will stick Pro on this little netbook to get the installer to work which I have already. I have an EMachine with 10 Pro 64 on and the installer started to work right away so I canceled it after I knew it was happy and accepted my CPU& OS. Perhaps it will sloth away on the Acer but it's only purpose is to get the install to work because I haven't discovered a way to get the ISO by itself. My uses are hopefully going to be limited as I attempt the learning curve of Linux. With a N455 1.66 GHz and 2Gb of Ram I can also try a newer version of Puppy as well. The RAM is maxed at 2 but it is also 64bit capable which is good because some flavors are only 64 bit now. As for the 10s it's that or attempt an NLite mod.

Papy

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#16 Post by Papy »

LICK puts puppy in the windows boot menu. I've done this many times on Win10 without any problems.
However use LICK as last solution, everyting broken CD player, no USB port.. Computer saved from trash.

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