(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

For most simple PC users enter the BIOS is to much misterious.
(More enough when they are not english spoken)

I know to change boot sequence from BIOS is the cleanest way to boot a Puppy CD, but when that is not an option:

Are there any way to force CD boot just when HD but has started? May be through GRUB?

In fact I don't want to change the BIOS.
May be even more transparent. Something like:

1. Normal HD boot.
2. Boot intercept -> look at CD drive: Is Puppy there? Then boot Puppy. No? Then continue normal HD boot.

No text, no options, no delay.

And all that installed (and uninstallable) from a little app: PpDSlnch.exe, Pp98lnch.exe, PpXPlnch.exe

---
Why? Motivations.

In my quest for an EasyPuppy (Puppy for not very able PC users, or not PC users still at all) I find that BIOS setup is beyond their possibilities.

I know PuppyWin98 (very interesting) and I have a Puppy HD NTFS isntall on my machine but by the other hand, a live-Puppy or a multi(session)-Puppy, are the best solution for them (a clean, secure and safe way to pupping without any possibility to harm their machines).

I think 80% of EasyPuppy users have DOS, Win95, Win98 or WinXP on their machines.

And I need a way to make them boot theirs CD without asking them to enter the BIOS.

Thx
Sirexel

If the first boot device is A (or drive A is before the HD) then you can use a floppy to boot to the CD-ROM

http://www.murga.org/%7Epuppy/viewtopic ... ht=oldbios

The way I set my computer up is first boot device is CD-ROM

If there is no bootable CD-ROM disk in the drive, it boots the hard disk.

I think that in messing with the BIOS is too much for a user then no way should they be installing ANYTHING that messes around with the MBR...cos that's the only way what you propose could happen

"Let them eat cak"


Only joking . . .

Dunno if being able to access Linux files from Win is of any interest . . .
http://www.fs-driver.org/

Bruce's solution is useful - even newer machines with floppy drive are configured to boot from floppy first.

raffy... newer machines come without a floppy.

Sirexel. In principle your idea seems simple. Actually something like you are describing would be more complex for a new user as you would have to configure it for the particular hardware configuration they have. What if they have two CDs? what if one is SCSI or USB? An inexperienced user would have no clue why would that matter.

As I said in a different thread. Don't assume that inexperienced users (or non english speaking users) are dumb or living in a void. Do you know how to use the BIOS because you are more intelligent than they are?

Motivated and curious inexperienced users will learn how to do it (as you did the first time).

Inexperienced users that just want to turn on the computer and don't care about what or how it does it, will ask a friend or call technicall support.

I still don't think that your mythological gran'ma exists. People either don't want to depend on someone else, in wich case they try to learn. Or they don't want to learn and accept that they will have to depend on someone else.

My question again: Have you EVER met such a computer user?

Actually, if they are so inexperienced, how did they get to know about Puppy in the first place?
- They bought a linux magazine: they are curious users willing to learn
- A friend handed them a copy: They are not isolated and have someone to ask to
- This is their first computer ever and puppy came preinstalled: They don't even need to care about the BIOS, puppy is already there.

Conclusions can only be correct if the premisses are.

The BIOS directs the CPU to begin executing the code at the beginning of the hard drive, where resides the Master Boot Record, or MBR for short. Among other things, the MBR contains a program called a bootloader, for loading the OS(s) contained on the hard drive. The bootloader in turn jumps the CPU to yet another location on the hard drive, where there is a file which contains the next step in the loading sequence for Windows. If that file could be moved, and, say, GRUB substituted for it (with GRUB cofigured to point to the new location of the Windows file which was moved, for booting Windows,) would that work?

See? Nothing to it.

My point is that installing, understanding and configuring grub is much more difficult than going into the bios and changing it.

rarsa wrote:My point is that installing, understanding and configuring grub is much more difficult than going into the bios and changing it.

Right on...and changing the BIOS isn't forever

rarsa wrote:My question again: Have you EVER met such a computer user?

Of course. But I would rather prefer not to personalize because the we start talkin on a particular case, and that is not very usefull.

Anyway, just as an example, one of my best friends is one of this users.

He is just a worker building houses, he doesn't speak english. He is very simple and practical.

He likes to play old PC wargames, like Panzer General II. He uses word to write contracts, email to play wargames by email, and Explorer to browse Inet to find something related with Bar

In your friends situation running puppy isn't going to give him any gains if he simply wants to do what you say. And the time spent trying to run his games under linux would just not be worth the effort.

Just a builder..........pull ya head in. Without builders you freeze cos you got no place to live, without honest,caring skillful builders you die because the building around you falls on your head.

Without tradesmen ya all (inserted bad word here)

People who are installing Puppy in Windows are not complaining:

http://www.ph-islands.net/pupinstall/winxp.php

(it also has links to the Windows 98 install)

sirexel: Your friend is the perfect example of a user unlike the ones you are describing.

He is lucky to have a friend (you) that can help him to change the BIOS. That was my point.

One thing to consider is that thankfully there are options, Windows is one of them and that's a good thing.

Some people want, like or need Windows, others don't. Puppy (or Linux in general) cannot be everything to everyone.

During a regula day I use Windows XP, Windows 2000, zOS (Mainframe OS), Puppy and Fedora (another linux). I would not expect Puppy to behave like the others. It has it's own place.

As a good friend, I would be helping someone to use Windows XP more effectivelly if that is what they need.