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Posted: Fri 13 Nov 2009, 02:53
by mikeb
Linux ceased to be at kernel 2.6.21.7.......... :shock:

mike

Posted: Fri 13 Nov 2009, 03:12
by vtpup
As did 100 million computers :shock:

Posted: Fri 13 Nov 2009, 03:15
by mikeb
As did 100 million computers
so did linux suceed where vista failed?

Posted: Fri 13 Nov 2009, 03:27
by vtpup
It was, and has been secretly all along, follow the leader...

Some time in the future:

A discovery is made that by paralleling data lines, hard drive throughput can be increased over the present universal system of serial data transfer. Drive nomenclature is changed from SD to HD in the Linux kernel to accommodate the projected new burgeoning hard drive and PC market. Landfills everywhere prepare for an influx of obsoleted machines. New computers are expected to perform tasks like word processing, web surfing, email, and multimedia presentation using new file and streaming formats to boost efficiency. 10 core 256 bit processors will make this possible with only 64 terrabytes of memory.

Posted: Fri 13 Nov 2009, 03:31
by mikeb
I almost believed you until I got to the last 2 lines
it should be 8, 12 or 16
mike

Posted: Fri 13 Nov 2009, 03:34
by vtpup
mikeb wrote:I almost believed you until I got to the last 2 lines
it should be 8, 12 or 16
mike
Not the only, or last, flaw in my thinking. :lol:

Posted: Fri 13 Nov 2009, 03:39
by vtpup
Weird: got this after my last post, then rewrote it only to find I'd double posted so I've deleted the double post here and re edited to mention this:
Couldn't get mail server response codes

DEBUG MODE

Line : 116
File : smtp.php
What does making a forum post have to do with my (or its) mail server?

Running Firefox on Dpup at the moment......

Posted: Fri 13 Nov 2009, 11:50
by mikeb
What does making a forum post have to do with my (or its) mail server?
means the notification email is not being sent as the host falls to bits :D

mike

problem persists on tosh portege 3110CT

Posted: Sat 14 Nov 2009, 19:14
by linuxgeoff
This machine uses an external PC-card CD drive. I can initiate the boot from the CD, but then get the pup-431.sfs not found error.

I've tried 3.4 as well as the 2.16 retro version and tried various ram only , noapci options and still no luck. The CD's load ok on a newer laptop.

I have successfully loaded, live and then installed fluxbuntu, xubuntu (both 7.10) on this machine, so I think the kernel runs on the PC OK.

My best guess is that the remote CD does not have enough time to spin up and respond before the loader returns an error. I can still hear the CD spinning up after the load has failed.

Any ideas, anyone?

Re: problem persists on tosh portege 3110CT

Posted: Sat 14 Nov 2009, 19:42
by vtpup
linuxgeoff wrote:This machine uses an external PC-card CD drive. I can initiate the boot from the CD, but then get the pup-431.sfs not found error.

I've tried 3.4 as well as the 2.16 retro version and tried various ram only , noapci options and still no luck. The CD's load ok on a newer laptop.

Any ideas, anyone?
Yes, a hunch, but you didn't specify which kernel version, and what laptop you were using.

Posted: Sat 14 Nov 2009, 20:03
by mcewanw
vtpup wrote: The probable reason, in my opinion, that the earlier kernel works is that somewhere along the line in booting, drive designations become sda types (even for non serial drives) rather than hda types. The boot process seems to get confused by this switch on older machines. Therefore it can't find the puppy main file, even though it is present.

In a frugal install this can be seen if you inadvertently use the "hda" nomenclature in a newer kernel puppy's menu.lst. You will get the same "can't find" message on attempting to boot. However if you change this to sda, it will boot,
I'm using an old Dell CPx laptop with Puppy 4.3.1 frugal with the newer kernel (2.6.30.5) and it works fine. Furthermore, I'm using the old hda type nomenclature (actually, I forgot to even try sda and so on) and it works fine for me. Here is the extract from my menu.lst (I used to use grub4dos, but use normal grub now, so the entries may be slightly strange - I haven't checked and can't remember grub nomenclature now):

Code: Select all

title Puppy431 frugal on hda4

kernel (hd0,3)/puppy431/vmlinuz root=/dev/ram0 PMEDIA=idehd psubdir=puppy431

initrd (hd0,3)/puppy431/initrd.gz

boot

Posted: Sat 14 Nov 2009, 20:45
by vtpup
mcewanw wrote: I'm using an old Dell CPx laptop with Puppy 4.3.1 frugal with the newer kernel (2.6.30.5) and it works fine. Furthermore, I'm using the old hda type nomenclature (actually, I forgot to even try sda and so on) and it works fine for me.
Well, apparently what works for a Dell CPx doesn't work for a Thinkpad 600e. And the folks posting here. The problems in this thread are situations where 4.3.1 K2.6.30.5 doesn't boot -- not where it does, and the puppy sfs file is suddenly not found, despite its actual presence. This occurs in LiveCD as well as frugal install.

Yet in kernel 2.6.21.7 it is found properly -- at least on the 600e, Puppies using K 2.6.21.7 have the hd drive reference on the desktop, later kernel versions of puppy use the sd reference. My guess is there is a problem related to this change. Not a certainty. But it certainly would explain the loss of sight of the puppy sfs halfway through the boot.

tosh portege 3110ct

Posted: Sat 14 Nov 2009, 21:25
by linuxgeoff
Yes, a hunch, but you didn't specify which kernel version, and what laptop you were using.
Sorry, it was all buried in the post. The laptop was in the subject line: Tosh Portege 3110CT and the kernel is k2.6.21.7

For completeness, the cd drive is the tosh unit that shipped with the laptop: f-to-tcd-24l

I have an update: I tried copying the sfs files to the root of the hard drive and both 4.2.1retro and 4.3 got past the error. 4.2.1retro booted and I'm using it now. 4.3 fell over trying to ues the layered file system. This seems to support a timeout on the cdrom causing the xxx.sts not found error

Posted: Sat 14 Nov 2009, 21:38
by rjbrewer
mcewanw,

The hda you refer to is on the title line of grub and doesn't have
an effect on booting.

I have tried many versions of puppy using titles similar to this
and they all boot fine: :)

title Boot you lazy fleabitten hound on hdplanet pluto
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=normal pfix=fsck

Posted: Sat 14 Nov 2009, 21:55
by runtt21
DUDE !!! " Boot you lazy fleabitten hound on hdplanet pluto " :lol: ROFL !!!

Posted: Sat 14 Nov 2009, 22:02
by rjbrewer
The portege 3110 ct came with 64mb ram;
No wonder it has a few problems booting.

Posted: Sun 15 Nov 2009, 00:27
by linuxgeoff
indeed it did come with 64mb,though I have 128, so I'm golden :wink:

This is wy I'm trying puppy!

Geoff

Posted: Sun 15 Nov 2009, 00:53
by vtpup
I'm starting to believe the time-out theory. Or at least that the problem is centered around the CD rom. Actually, I had similar problems in a much later computer: a Thinkpad T30 which booted fine on 4.1.2 later kernel, but which had problems accessing a DVD writer either through the puppy burning programs or K3b. I went through a whole painful thread trying to get that to work, before almost accidentally dropping back to 2.6.21.7 and suddenly having everything work. This is a pent 4 computer w 1 gig ram, yet I had to use the retro kernel.

One of the evident problems was K3b and Puppy drive mounter fighting for control of the DVD writer. That may well have been a timing problem. So I'm definitely listening to this theory of yours.

Posted: Sun 15 Nov 2009, 02:00
by vtpup
After your frugal installation, have you had a chance to test out your CD drive?

Posted: Sun 15 Nov 2009, 02:18
by rjbrewer
Add a 2-300 mb swap partition to the drive; see if that helps.

128 mb ram really calls for a full install.