Ok complete beginner and I've read loads of threads but cannot find the answer. I've downloaded Bionicpup x64 but it says Kernel not loaded when I try and run it from a flash drive. Do I need to have a base version of Linux installed first?
Thank you for reading
Do I need to install Linux before Puppy?
Welcome Bear, mate!
Tell us about how you installed. If from Windows, which program was used?
One other question is worth asking. Are you familiar with GParted, a Linux partitioning software?
Tell us about how you installed. If from Windows, which program was used?
One other question is worth asking. Are you familiar with GParted, a Linux partitioning software?
>>> Living with the immediacy of death helps you sort out your priorities. It helps you live a life less trivial <<<
No, to answer your question.
Puppy IS a version of Linux.
It is different to the usual Linuxes, but that is why it is so good.
It does NOT try to take over your machine, but is happy to allow you to run Windows if you like and have Puppy live along side it- even sharing the kennels ( disk partitions).
Puppy IS a version of Linux.
It is different to the usual Linuxes, but that is why it is so good.
It does NOT try to take over your machine, but is happy to allow you to run Windows if you like and have Puppy live along side it- even sharing the kennels ( disk partitions).
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett
Re: Do I need to install Linux before Puppy?
Please, give some more information about the machine, flash drive, frugal or "full" installation, how installed (like Semme already mentioned). The more information is provided the better results will return to help you.Bear77 wrote:Ok complete beginner and I've read loads of threads but cannot find the answer. I've downloaded Bionicpup x64 but it says Kernel not loaded when I try and run it from a flash drive. Do I need to have a base version of Linux installed first?
Thank you for reading
Last edited by taersh on Tue 07 Jul 2020, 14:59, edited 1 time in total.
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Moose On The Loose
- Posts: 965
- Joined: Thu 24 Feb 2011, 14:54
I will second the "don't get overwhelmed" and add a few points:Semme wrote:No need to be overwhelmed Bear. The opening question answered in a brief manner will do.
1) We like new users and will try hard to get you up and going. It is just the way we are. Puppy was designed from the start for ease of use.
2) If you see something that doesn't make sense etc, letting folks know is extremely useful because that is how Puppy can be made better for the next user.
3) Many of us have our own special and favorite version of Puppy. Someone suggesting you try one of those, is not saying the one you picked is bad. It is just a matter that different folks want different stuff.
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mostly_lurking
- Posts: 328
- Joined: Wed 25 Jun 2014, 20:31
As Semme said, it would be helpful if you told us how you installed Puppy. Did you use Puppy's own install tools while running the system from a CD/DVD? Did you use the "Lick" installer that is included in the Bionicpup 64 ISO file? Or some other method?
I assume you have created a "frugal" rather than a "full" install. With a frugal install, you should have the files listed below on the USB drive (possibly inside a folder); with a full one, you would see lots of folders like "bin", "etc", "lib", "usr" instead. Note that unlike with Windows, file names are case-sensitive on Linux; these names must be in lowercase:
vmlinuz
initrd.gz
puppy_bionicpup64_8.0.sfs
zdrv_bionicpup64_8.0.sfs
vmlinuz is the kernel, initrd.gz is needed to start the system, puppy[...].sfs contains the main system, and zdrv[...].sfs the drivers. There will be some other files on the drive, mostly for the bootloader.
I don't know which bootloader you have installed; probably Grub2 or Grub4Dos, or even both. Some Puppy installers have the option to install Grub2 for UEFI machines plus Grub4Dos for legacy BIOS support.
As an example, the first screenshot below shows such a "dual" install of Bionicpup 32 (UpupBB) on a USB stick, created with Puppy's "BootFlash" program. The "grldr" and "menu.lst" files are for legacy boot via Grub4Dos; the "grub.cfg" file and the "EFI" folder for UEFI boot.
The second screenshot is of Bionicpup 64, installed on a hard drive with a Grub4Dos bootloader using Puppy's "Universal Installer". The 4 files mentioned above are inside the "bionicpup648.0frugal" directory.
In both cases, you can also see the contents of the bootlader configuration files ("grub.cfg" for Grub2, and "menu.lst" for Grub4Dos), which tell the bootloader where to find the system files. Note that the boot menu entries have a line that starts with "kernel" or "linux", which points to the location of the kernel file, "vmlinuz", and a similar line for "initrd". Make sure the file paths there are correct.
If you have installed Puppy in another way, for example, with the "Lick" installer that was included in the ISO file, the whole setup may look different; still, try to make sure the filenames and paths are correct.
Other things to consider are:
- How is the flash drive formatted? FAT32, NTFS, ext2/3/4? There have been reports of Puppy installs not booting correctly from ext4 partitions.
- Is the bootlader indeed properly installed on the flash drive, and does its configuration file point to the correct drive and partition to load the system files from? (Provided it contains such information - which it doesn't necessarily have to -, as seen in the second screenshot below. In this example, that's the "find --set-root" part.)
- Is Bionicpup 64 compatible with your computer? It would help to have some information about your machine (how old, what kind of processor (It is 64-bit, right? And it is an AMD or Intel-type CPU, and not some ARM thing?), how much memory, BIOS or UEFI, etc).
I assume you have created a "frugal" rather than a "full" install. With a frugal install, you should have the files listed below on the USB drive (possibly inside a folder); with a full one, you would see lots of folders like "bin", "etc", "lib", "usr" instead. Note that unlike with Windows, file names are case-sensitive on Linux; these names must be in lowercase:
vmlinuz
initrd.gz
puppy_bionicpup64_8.0.sfs
zdrv_bionicpup64_8.0.sfs
vmlinuz is the kernel, initrd.gz is needed to start the system, puppy[...].sfs contains the main system, and zdrv[...].sfs the drivers. There will be some other files on the drive, mostly for the bootloader.
I don't know which bootloader you have installed; probably Grub2 or Grub4Dos, or even both. Some Puppy installers have the option to install Grub2 for UEFI machines plus Grub4Dos for legacy BIOS support.
As an example, the first screenshot below shows such a "dual" install of Bionicpup 32 (UpupBB) on a USB stick, created with Puppy's "BootFlash" program. The "grldr" and "menu.lst" files are for legacy boot via Grub4Dos; the "grub.cfg" file and the "EFI" folder for UEFI boot.
The second screenshot is of Bionicpup 64, installed on a hard drive with a Grub4Dos bootloader using Puppy's "Universal Installer". The 4 files mentioned above are inside the "bionicpup648.0frugal" directory.
In both cases, you can also see the contents of the bootlader configuration files ("grub.cfg" for Grub2, and "menu.lst" for Grub4Dos), which tell the bootloader where to find the system files. Note that the boot menu entries have a line that starts with "kernel" or "linux", which points to the location of the kernel file, "vmlinuz", and a similar line for "initrd". Make sure the file paths there are correct.
If you have installed Puppy in another way, for example, with the "Lick" installer that was included in the ISO file, the whole setup may look different; still, try to make sure the filenames and paths are correct.
Other things to consider are:
- How is the flash drive formatted? FAT32, NTFS, ext2/3/4? There have been reports of Puppy installs not booting correctly from ext4 partitions.
- Is the bootlader indeed properly installed on the flash drive, and does its configuration file point to the correct drive and partition to load the system files from? (Provided it contains such information - which it doesn't necessarily have to -, as seen in the second screenshot below. In this example, that's the "find --set-root" part.)
- Is Bionicpup 64 compatible with your computer? It would help to have some information about your machine (how old, what kind of processor (It is 64-bit, right? And it is an AMD or Intel-type CPU, and not some ARM thing?), how much memory, BIOS or UEFI, etc).
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- bionicpup32-usb-install.png
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- bionicpup64-frugal-grub4dos.png
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Re: Do I need to install Linux before Puppy?
You probably do not have it installed correctly.Bear77 wrote:I've downloaded Bionicpup x64 but it says Kernel not loaded when I try and run it from a flash drive.
I assume you did it using Windows OS.
Do the install using a program designed for installing to USB flash drive, using an iso of the operating system.
Pen Drive Linux
Universal-USB-Installer
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal- ... -as-1-2-3/
Rufus USB installer
https://rufus.akeo.ie/
UNetbootin to install to USB
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
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
YaPI(any iso installer)
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected
YaPI(any iso installer)
Do I need to install Linux before Puppy?
Hello Mr Bear!
Welcome to the Puppy Linux forum! I understand your problem - although I found 'da Puppy' easy to install and run at first. To answer your question: Do you need to install Linux before Puppy? No. Puppy is Linux in the way way that Ford, Chrysler or Renault are cars. It is a complete working package. You don't need to buy an engine and bolt it into the car-body!
I installed my first copy of Linux (Puppy, of course) using Windows + Nero (CD burner). You know how to down-load the *.iso file so I won't say more about that. The Nero CD burner happens to work well to make a bootable puppy Linux disk. There is an option to create an "image" CD. This word "image CD" describes a complete "mirror image" (on CD) of a working Puppy Linux operating system. Using Mr. Google, look for ISO 9660 and CD image burner, or CD image maker. What if you don't have Nero?
There are many "iso image burners" available to download (for Windows). Just burn an "image CD" (using the puppy.iso file you down-loaded). After I made the boot-able CD I set the 'boot' order (in all my old Dell boxes I had to press F2). So: I set 'boot from CD first'.
That's the complete process. Burn the CD. Set the boot order to give priority to the CD drive. Wait a few minutes while the CD loads into RAM and bingo - you're running. Now, of course, you CAN make a bootable thumb drive. I always boot from a thumb now; you don't have to make the CD first. My experience: Making a bootable CD worked and after that I made bootable thumb-drives.
Now some gotchas! My computers are mostly older boxes (from around 2005). Most have a 'legacy' - older - bios. The legacy bios was replaced by UEFI bios in later machines. However, I have two more recent boxes (or rather one box and one laptop) that run UEFI. So the BIOS in your PC must be compatible with the code in the boot-sector on your CD (or thumb-drive). That's important. Need more info? Then ask ...
After I ran Puppy from CD - then I began to create boot-able flash drives. This was easy at first, but after a time I began to experiment. I down-loaded EVERY version of Puppy. Then I made boot-able flash (or thumb) drives. Some worked, others didn't. Some Puppy users wrote that some thumb-drives won't boot. He meant some brands of thumb drive don't work. I cannot say if he is correct, but I had the same experience. I didn't understand the g-Partition editor (gParted) or grub4Dos correctly at that time.
Recently (in the last month) I made iso images (i.e. a 9660 standard image) on a thumb drive. If you do that then the thumb drive becomes read-only - just like a CD. I'm using one of these at the moment. uPupBB32 from thumb - an ISO jmage.
OK, this has been a long posting so I will stop.
Just stick at it and you'll have a working Puppy.
I use nothing but Puppy now. I'm a convert from Windows.
Just took a little time to get here. I use uPupBB-32 - the 32-bit Busy Beaver. I have a working 64-bit version of The Bionic Pup. Some people say The Xenial Pup is better. I don't know. I can't say.
Some people use different version of 'the puppy' on the same computer. When I did this - horror! Some confusion occurred between versions and device names and my files got mixed up. So now I stick with ONE version per computer. Clearly others break my rule with impunity!
All the best and woof!
Leslie
Welcome to the Puppy Linux forum! I understand your problem - although I found 'da Puppy' easy to install and run at first. To answer your question: Do you need to install Linux before Puppy? No. Puppy is Linux in the way way that Ford, Chrysler or Renault are cars. It is a complete working package. You don't need to buy an engine and bolt it into the car-body!
I installed my first copy of Linux (Puppy, of course) using Windows + Nero (CD burner). You know how to down-load the *.iso file so I won't say more about that. The Nero CD burner happens to work well to make a bootable puppy Linux disk. There is an option to create an "image" CD. This word "image CD" describes a complete "mirror image" (on CD) of a working Puppy Linux operating system. Using Mr. Google, look for ISO 9660 and CD image burner, or CD image maker. What if you don't have Nero?
There are many "iso image burners" available to download (for Windows). Just burn an "image CD" (using the puppy.iso file you down-loaded). After I made the boot-able CD I set the 'boot' order (in all my old Dell boxes I had to press F2). So: I set 'boot from CD first'.
That's the complete process. Burn the CD. Set the boot order to give priority to the CD drive. Wait a few minutes while the CD loads into RAM and bingo - you're running. Now, of course, you CAN make a bootable thumb drive. I always boot from a thumb now; you don't have to make the CD first. My experience: Making a bootable CD worked and after that I made bootable thumb-drives.
Now some gotchas! My computers are mostly older boxes (from around 2005). Most have a 'legacy' - older - bios. The legacy bios was replaced by UEFI bios in later machines. However, I have two more recent boxes (or rather one box and one laptop) that run UEFI. So the BIOS in your PC must be compatible with the code in the boot-sector on your CD (or thumb-drive). That's important. Need more info? Then ask ...
After I ran Puppy from CD - then I began to create boot-able flash drives. This was easy at first, but after a time I began to experiment. I down-loaded EVERY version of Puppy. Then I made boot-able flash (or thumb) drives. Some worked, others didn't. Some Puppy users wrote that some thumb-drives won't boot. He meant some brands of thumb drive don't work. I cannot say if he is correct, but I had the same experience. I didn't understand the g-Partition editor (gParted) or grub4Dos correctly at that time.
Recently (in the last month) I made iso images (i.e. a 9660 standard image) on a thumb drive. If you do that then the thumb drive becomes read-only - just like a CD. I'm using one of these at the moment. uPupBB32 from thumb - an ISO jmage.
OK, this has been a long posting so I will stop.
Just stick at it and you'll have a working Puppy.
I use nothing but Puppy now. I'm a convert from Windows.
Just took a little time to get here. I use uPupBB-32 - the 32-bit Busy Beaver. I have a working 64-bit version of The Bionic Pup. Some people say The Xenial Pup is better. I don't know. I can't say.
Some people use different version of 'the puppy' on the same computer. When I did this - horror! Some confusion occurred between versions and device names and my files got mixed up. So now I stick with ONE version per computer. Clearly others break my rule with impunity!
All the best and woof!
Leslie