USB-Mouse not working in Slacko 6.3 after HD install

[rimatheou]

Tahrpup 6.0.6 now is installed, but booting from USB is not possible

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Error 13: Invalid or unsupported executable format

I've tried 4.3.1 and 5.0. Now I think I have damaged both USB drives, I get an error from gparted:

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set partition type on /dev/sdb1  00:00:00    ( SUCCESS )
     	
new partition type: fat32
create new fat32 file system  00:00:00    ( ERROR )
     	
mkfs.fat -F32 -v -I -n " " /dev/sdb1  00:00:00    ( ERROR )
     	
mkfs.fat 3.0.28 (2015-05-16)
mkfs.fat: unable to open /dev/sdb1: Device or resource busy

But the device is unmounted and can't be busy.

Do i need a partition table on the usb drive?

[bigpup]

When installing Grub4Dos I have following options:
- Search within only this device
YES

- Do not rewrite 'menu.lst'
- Single page menu
- Legacy compatible 'menu.lst'
- Do not rewrite the existing boot record

Should I activate one of them?

Only the first one. All the boot menu needs is list of what is on the hard drive.

All others should be unchecked.

[bigpup]

Tahrpup 6.0.6 now is installed, but booting from USB is not possible

Code: Select all

Error 13: Invalid or unsupported executable format

I've tried 4.3.1 and 5.0. Now I think I have damaged both USB drives, I get an error from gparted:

Code: Select all

set partition type on /dev/sdb1  00:00:00    ( SUCCESS )
     	
new partition type: fat32
create new fat32 file system  00:00:00    ( ERROR )
     	
mkfs.fat -F32 -v -I -n " " /dev/sdb1  00:00:00    ( ERROR )
     	
mkfs.fat 3.0.28 (2015-05-16)
mkfs.fat: unable to open /dev/sdb1: Device or resource busy

But the device is unmounted and can't be busy.

Do i need a partition table on the usb drive?

To have a partition on it, it has to have a partition table, So, it has one.

This USB drive is definitely unmounted and nothing is running from it?

Note:
Need to be using the Gparted in one of the newer Puppies. (Slacko 6.3.0, Tahrpup 6.0.6, etc...)

Close Gparted.
Unplug the USB drive.
Plug the USB drive back in.
Start Gparted.
If it shows partitions on the drive.
Right click on the first one.
Select check.
If it found any errors.
Keep running the check until no errors reported.
Do this for any other partitions on the drive.

If still getting errors.

Delete all the partitions on the drive and start over partitioning and formatting.

Note:
Would not hurt anything if you made a new partition table before you partitioned and formatted.

Note:
With older Puppies ext 3 format is the best.
They may or may not have full support for ext 4.

YOU need to do this same check of the partitions on the hard drive!!!!!

[rimatheou]

Another thing is that the vmlinuz file (pup 4.3.1) on the usb drive and in the extracted folder is not detected from my xubuntu. It must be a dos executable or stuff like that.

[rimatheou]

I made a new partition with fdisk (http://ramiro.org/blog/usbdrive-unter-l ... rmatieren/), and a new filesystem with mkfs (fat32, i always used this filesystem). Then a dd with the puppy.iso. When I now open gparted, the partition and the filesystem are unallocated. There must be a more crucial command line way to restore the drive.

[bigpup]

If Gparted shows the partition unallocated.
It is not formatted.

If Gparted shows the drive unallocated.
It is not partitioned and formatted.

Just do it using Gparted.

[rimatheou]

So far, I think the USB drive is working with FAT 32. I used a different pc to format with gparted.
***
In pup-431.iso I changed the isolinux.cfg from pmedia=cd to pmedia=usbflash. But it is still not possible to boot:

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Booting boot from sdb (Kingston DataTraveler 2.0)
chainloader (hd0)+1
Error 13: Invalid or unsupported executable format

Hmm...

[bigpup]

Change it back to pmedia=cd and see what happens.

Understand a lot of stuff has changed in Puppy since Puppy 4.3.1

That isolinux.cfg is about as basic as one could be.

At that time in Puppy development, installs to a usb flash drive was a new thing and not that well supported.

[rimatheou]

Change it back to pmedia=cd and see what happens.

I think it will happen the same thing when I booted the first time with pmedia=cd: the above error.

What about the software god? Pray for a solution? There must be one.

[bigpup]

Are you booting from just the files on the USB as a live Puppy or are you booting from a boot loader menu, with an entry for Puppy 4.3.1?

[greengeek]

Do you have access to a CD drive? I have found that the most reliable method for testing and troubleshooting on older computers is to boot Puppy 4.3.1 from a CD

In terms of identifying why your mouse is not functional I think 4.3.1 will be helpful in diagnosing this - if only you can find a method to boot it into ram.

USB formatting and installation is troublesome on newer puppies - especially when using older hardware. Puppy 4.3.1 contains utilities that are a good match for the boot requirements of older computers such as yours.

After 4.3.1 many puppies "upgraded" their version of "syslinux" and this adversely affects usb booting

I now only use syslinux 3.73 - which is the version that comes with Puppy 4.3.1

If you have no access to CD drive you could try setting up a fresh usb stick with only Puppy 4.3.1 on it.

Here is a good thread to help with this:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=54566

I also made myself a list of instructions based on that thread but also with some other steps/clarifications added. It might look complex but I found it more reliable across lots of different hardware than any other method.

My notes are in this post:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 996#902996

Maybe you have a bad copy of Puppy 4.3.1 - I would recommend downloading the iso again (from different location perhaps?) then building a new bootable usb stick.

[rimatheou]

I've now installed pup431 that way: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=54566

Now there is no bootloader on hard drive:

While booting:

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Try (hd0,0): EXT2: No grldr
Try (hd0,1): non-MS: skip
Try (hd0,2): Extended:
Try (hd0,3): invalid or null
Try (hd0,4): EXT2: No grldr
Try (hd0,5): Extended:
Try (hd0,5): non-MS: skip
BIOS: Drive = 0x0, H=2, S=18

Try (fd0): invalid or null
Cannot find grldr
...

... grueling...

[bigpup]

If you followed that posted topic and did what it said.
syslinux bootloader would be on the USB drive.
syslinux.cfg would be on it with settings for syslinux bootloader to use.

That message says it is looking for stuff for a grub boot loader like Grub4dos.
Did you ever have Grub4dos on the USB drive????????

Why is it looking at 6 different partitions for stuff?
How many partitions are on this USB drive?

Did you Use Gparted to make a new partition table, new partition, and format that partition fat32?

[greengeek]

It seems as if the bios will not look at the usb drive while the HDD is in that state.

Are you able to remove the HDD and see if the bios now sees a bootable usb stick?

Also - I would like to double check something you said earlier - I think you said that the usb mouse does not function if you boot from Slacko 6.3 installed on hard drive - is that correct?

Did you try unplugging then re-plugging the mouse?

[rimatheou]

@ bigpup

syslinux bootloader is on the usb drive. I think there is no bootloader on hd.
I never had Grub4Dos on usb, but on hd.
I have two primary partitions on hd, one extended, one logical and one swap.
I used Gparted to make a new partition table etc.

[rimatheou]

Did you try unplugging then re-plugging the mouse?

Of course I did. I checked out two different mouses, a wired and a wireless one.

[Fossil]

@rimatheou
I Still use Puppy 431 along with several other older Puppy's on equally ancient computers, all booting from a USB!
I'm with greengeek, try removing the hard drive and then booting from the USB. Have you made the USB bootable by ticking the flag in GParted?

If all else fails and the BIOS will not see the USB stick as a bootable device, try the boot manager, PLOP.
https://www.plop.at/en/bootmanagers.html
Enclosed an image of one of my USB sticks with various older Puppy's frugally installed using Grub4DOS. There is no need for multiple partitions.

[rimatheou]

lupu-500 is booting fine from hd, x-server works out of the box, mouse is working. After installing one has to setup grub manually and edit menu.lst.

[bigpup]

OK!

I think we are getting confused on what you are exactly doing and what your problem still is.

Need to be detailed and specific.
Booting from what device?
Using what boot loader?
You do what?
You see what?

At this point.

I do not know if booting from a hard drive is a problem.

Booting from a USB drive is a problem.

Mouse still not working when Puppy Slacko 6.3 is installed to the hard drive, and you are booting from that hard drive install.

Slacko 6.3 may just not be a good Puppy for your hardware.

[greengeek]

I checked out two different mouses, a wired and a wireless one.

OK - if you ever back to Slacko 6.3 and still get the mouse problem it would be interesting to see the output of the command: "#dmesg" after you replug the mouse.

All I can suggest is that the timing of usb bus initialisation is different between an HDD boot and a usb (or CD) boot - maybe if it fails to detect an external mouse during boot (from HDD) then it can never allow any other mouse to be plugged in via usb.

(I have a similar problem on a Toshiba where it sometimes boots without recognising the touchpad mouse which is a usb device - after failing to detect it at boot it seems to lock it out and will never see it again)