Another way of distributing Puppy?

Under development: PCMCIA, wireless, etc.
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gyro
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#16 Post by gyro »

This release returns to a multiple download and extraction mechanism, but it now supports mbr/bios/legacy boots.

Windows method:

1. Download files:
The main thing, http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/zipboot/pupboot.zip.
[optional] If you want the stick to support mbr boots http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/zip ... in-bin.zip
A suitable Puppy zip http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/zip ... 8.05+8.zip.

2. Format usb stick.
Insert the usb stick.
In windows explorer right click of the drive and select "Format...".
Ensure that the "File system" field contains "FAT32", and that the "Volume label" field contains "PUPBOOT" (without the quotes), then click "Start" button.

3. Populate empty usb stick.
Open windows explorer in the folder containg the downloaded zip files.
Right click on the "pupboot.zip" file and select "Extract All...", and in the ensuing dialog select the empty root folder of the usb stick.
Right click on the Puppy distribution file, in this case "upupbb-18.05+8.zip", and select "Extract All...", and in the ensuing dialog select the "puppy" folder on the usb stick.

4. [optional] Enable mbr boots.
Extract grubinst-win-bin.zip to some temporary folder, (or you may be able to just double click on it).
Run "grubinst_gui.exe" as per instructions in the "readme.txt".

5. Restart and boot the usb stick.

Puppy method:

1. Download files.
The main thing, http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/zipboot/pupboot.zip.
[optional] If you want the disk to support mbr boots http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/zip ... in-bin.zip
A suitable Puppy zip http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/zip ... 8.05+8.zip.

2. Use gparted to format the disk as all fat32, or with 1<->4 GiB fat32 partition and rest as Linux partition.
The fat32 partition should have a label of "PUPBOOT".

3. Mount first partition of the disk.
Click on "pupboot.zip" to open in XArchive, click on "Select All", click on "Extract", select the disk mount point.
Similarly extract "upupbb-18.05+8.zip" into "<disk mount point>/puppy".

4 [optional] Extract "grubinst-lin-bin.zip" to some temporary directory.
Execute "grubinst-usb.sh".

5. Reboot to the usb stick.

Notes:
The files in /puppy on the first partition could be replaced with a different version of Puppy, at some later time.
Of course if there's no zip release of the required Puppy, extract vmlinuz, initrd.gz, and all sfs files from the appropriate iso, into the /puppy directory on the first partition.

So right now, from just a windows machine, you can bootstrap to any Puppy by first installing upupbb-18.05+8 using the Windows method above,
and then using one of the many Puppy based install mechanisms to install the required Puppy.

gyro
Last edited by gyro on Sat 04 Aug 2018, 18:39, edited 1 time in total.

musher0
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#17 Post by musher0 »

Hello gyro.

As I said earlier, we should try distributing Puppy by telepathy, through
mind connections. ;) No cost at all for hardware or support media, just
maybe a bit of sweat. :)

BFN.
musher0
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"You want it darker? We kill the flame." (L. Cohen)

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Burn_IT
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#18 Post by Burn_IT »

Hold a Seance!!
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

musher0
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#19 Post by musher0 »

Yep. Very simple.

We all hold hands and concentrate on the BionicPup, e.g., McNoobish ;)
or other newbies wish to receive. :)

(ROFL) :lol:
musher0
~~~~~~~~~~
"You want it darker? We kill the flame." (L. Cohen)

hamoudoudou

using an image instead of ISO, i desesperate...

#20 Post by hamoudoudou »

Thanks gyro grub.exe added to my tools
Perhaps they are now more than 1.00.000 topics 'how-to install Puppy' and some videos, perhaps 500.
Don't worry people will still ask how to install puppy.. But when i see tutos from VIPs still teaching unetbootin, grub2, or using an image instead of ISO, i desesperate...
As soon as a Pupppy is installed, they try to invent their own way..
Puppy linux is more than 10 years old.. some devs coming form Linux imagine than Puppy boys are so idiot that they never thought about installing Puppy from Windows.. Slacko.533.exe, Lucid511.exe...
When you come to Puppy, the first thing is to read Puppy Tutos..

tlchost
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Re: using an image instead of ISO, i desesperate...

#21 Post by tlchost »

hamoudoudou wrote: some devs coming form Linux imagine than Puppy boys are so idiot that they never thought about installing Puppy from Windows.
Gawd forbid devs make it easy for windows users to get puppy up and running.

gyro
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#22 Post by gyro »

My mistake, I've just edited my last post, http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 557#999557, to indicate that the label of the fat32 partition should be "PUPBOOT", not "USBPUPPY".
This "PUPBOOT" label is used in both the "grub.cfg" and the "menu.lst" files contained in "pupboot.zip"

gyro

gyro
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#23 Post by gyro »

Given the size of a Puppy release file, I don't think many Puppy producers will be keen to upload a version more than once.
So whatever container file is used for Puppy, it needs to be easily useable on all platforms.
That's why I think it's unlikely that we will ever see many, if any, Puppies released as an installable windows '.exe' file.

gyro

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ally
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#24 Post by ally »


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rcrsn51
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#25 Post by rcrsn51 »

gyro wrote:So whatever container file is used for Puppy, it needs to be easily useable on all platforms.
The simplest approach to this situation is to start building Puppy ISOs with Joliet extensions enabled. Then Windows can read them correctly.

gyro
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#26 Post by gyro »

@ally,
Oops, my statement was a little brash, and apparently, wrong.
But, (of course there has to be a "but"),
a solution that requires a separate release file for each platform, is not preferrable to a solution that requires just a single release file,
i.e. a zip file or an iso file.

gyro

gyro
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#27 Post by gyro »

@rcrsn51,
Why not stick with an iso file?

My assumption is that a windows user who wants to try Puppy Linux, is more and more likely to have a uefi machine with no optical drive, and want to boot Puppy from a usb device.
To do this, all they need is something that contains all the required files, ready to be copied to an empty usb stick.
No need for an image, or an mbr installer program, just a container with the required files, that can be easily extracted onto an empty usb stick, e.g. a zip file.
If it's just a container, why use a complicated one like an iso, if a simple one like a zip will do?

Also the zip solution I am suggesting contains a direct example of a simple frugal install.
Whereas the "boot" stuff in the iso is irrevelant to a simple frugal install.

gyro

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Burn_IT
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#28 Post by Burn_IT »

An ISO file is just like a zip file. It just uses a slightly different method of storing the files.
Most "zip" programs will unpack an ISO, even if the OS will not mount it directly - which most will nowadays.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

gyro
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#29 Post by gyro »

Burn_IT wrote:An ISO file is just like a zip file.
Sorry, it's not, a zip file is simply an archive, the equivalent in the Linux/Unix world is tar, not iso.
In the case of Puppy an iso is a bootable cd/dvd image.

Given the existence of an iso, we can treat it like an archive and simply extract the "Puppy" files we need for a frugal install.
But the "boot" files in the iso are those required to boot a cd/dvd, not those required for a frugal install.
So we cannot create a uefi bootable usb stick by simply "copying" files from an iso.

My suggestion is not just about the "format" of a Puppy release but also the content of the release.

gyro

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Burn_IT
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#30 Post by Burn_IT »

I did not say that it was anything to do with Linux or Windows or any OS.
I said it was LIKE a zip file in that it was a single file container for other files.
I deliberately left out the sometimes added bootable options. Not all ISO files have those options - in fact I suspect more don't than do.
The file format was designed originally for use on CD/DVD, but doesn't necessarily reside there.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

gyro
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#31 Post by gyro »

I've uploaded a new zip file, http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/zip ... .05+13.zip.
It contains all that is needed to setup a bootable usb stick.

Windows process for uefi boot:

1. Download http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/zip ... .05+13.zip (259 MiB).

2. Format usb stick, with "Volume label" of "USBPBOOT".

3. Unpack the zip file, in this case "upupbb-18.05+13.zip", into the empty usb stick.
Windows: Right click on the zip file, and select "Extract All...", and in the ensuing dialog select the empty root folder of the usb stick.
Puppy: Right click on the zip file, and select "XArchive archiver, "Select All", "Extract", then "choose" the empty root folder of the usb stick.

4. Boot the usb stick.

To enable a mbr/legacy boot, there is an extra step:

Windows: Execute "utils\win\grubinst_gui.exe" within the usb stick.
Puppy: Execute "utils/lin/grubinst_gui.sh" within the usb stick.

Note: I intend to delete all previous files uploaded in this project, soon.

gyro

gyro
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#32 Post by gyro »

In case there is someone interested in how this latest zip file works, but is daunted by a 259MiB download,
I have uploaded "puppy_usb_stick.zip" (1 MiB) to http://www.mediafire.com/folder/7y3c7eafptzao/zipboot.
This zip file contains everything execpt the actual Puppy files. i.e. the "puppy/" directory is empty.
So the process will work as per the instructions of the previous post, execpt that when you come to boot the usb stick, the bootloader will not be able to find the kernel because the "vmlinuz" file does not exist.

You could make it work, by copying "vmlinuz", "initrd.gz" and all the ".sfs" files from some existing woof-ce based frugal install into the "puppy/" directory on the usb stick.

gyro
Last edited by gyro on Wed 24 Apr 2019, 14:05, edited 1 time in total.

gyro
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#33 Post by gyro »

A new version of "puppy_usb_stick.zip" has been uploaded to http://www.mediafire.com/folder/7y3c7eafptzao/zipboot.
Please see previous post for details about this file.

gyro

gyro
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#34 Post by gyro »

All remaining files for this project are now available at http://www.mediafire.com/folder/7y3c7eafptzao/zipboot.

The script 'iso2zip' is stored as 'iso2zip.zip' so that it's execute attribute is maintained. After downloading, you will need to 'unzip' it to reproduce the script.

gyro

musher0
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#35 Post by musher0 »

Many thanks, gyro.

I'll try your script for bundling a thumbdrive-ready package when my Puduan-7 is ready.

Best.
musher0
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"You want it darker? We kill the flame." (L. Cohen)

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