Wary Puppy 5.0-final feedback

[l2ulinux]

I was looking for a new release of 431 and someone told me to try Wary-500 and it works great for the problem I had. I will tell all my friends about it.

[whatupuppy]

Hello, again I on the IBM A22m, I used the option of puppy acpi=off got further but stuck at lupu_520.sfs not found (image attached).

Where do I go from here?

[Sage]

I hate laptops - I've said it before, many times. Yesterday, in an infrequently tidying up session, I dusted off an old Cq Presario 1200, previously upgraded to a faster cpu (which?) and 256Mb. It has a Xircon pcmcia fitted - one of those dual purpose implements with a DUN modem and NIC. It had worked before in duel (sic) boot mode with an early Puppy (which? no longer booting!) and WME (death to that appalling conconcotion). This time, Wary, Lupu and Fluppy all boot from the CD OK, but loading the Xircon driver fails to activate the netwreck features - nothing causes it to connect. The panel says so, the LAN l.e.d on the modem remains stubbornly off. Switching over to the 'doze section on the HD, bingo on-line immediately.
No interest in using Ndiswrapper, but would be interested in comments and reports of similar experiences, esp. wrt Wary. Maybe the old Puppies were k2.4 ?
I kept this (gifted) luggable mainly because it didn't have a broken lid(!), the internal components were accessible and swappable, and it had a Li-ion battery (novel back then, but it has since died).

[starhawk]

Try turning it on, then unplugging and re-plugging the Xircon card. I've heard that that's the only easy way of making PCMCIA/Cardbus cards work on Puppy.

[peebee]

but would be interested in comments and reports of similar experiences, esp. wrt Wary.

I also have an old laptop - Thinkpad 600 with just 196MB ram and a 2GB swap partition, frugal install.

I have been having problems with pcmcia in recent puppies.

I have found that you may need to issue the pcmcia-socket-startup command even though it is meant to happen automatically. Without this the card isn't even detected.

I have 2 wifi cards - a Netgear 16bit 5v card and a recently acquired Level-One 32bit 3.3v cardbus card.

The puppy that seems to work best with both the Thinkpad and the Netgear card is Insidious Puppy 002 courtesy of pemasu / iguleder with k2.6.35.9.

So far I can't get any Puppy to recognise the Level-One cardbus card even though it works fine under XP and is seen by pups as an unknown 3.3v cardbus card.

The commands to use to see if your card is being detected and assigned a driver are:
lspcmcia
pccardctl info or status or ident

wary500 simply dies / freezes if pcmcia-socket-startup is issued with the Netgear card plugged in - have to power off to recover. wary is no better or worse than any other pup with the cardbus card - none work.

Cheers
Peter

[Sage]

unplugging and re-plugging the Xircon card

So far I can't get any Puppy to recognise the Level-One cardbus card even though it works fine under XP

Thanks guys. The plug-unplug didn't work.
What is galling is that:
a)although my memory is faint, I am convinced it used to work
b)it knows it's there - lspcmcia has no trouble finding it
I did various other things - don't ask, guided by ignorance - none worked.
Also discovered an old TDK 10BaseT port on pcmcia. Ditto, ditto, ditto.
Switch back to UglyOS and they all sign up - it even found the TDK, installed the driver and switched it on - without loading anything!
Anyone like to guess the last Puppy that worked outa-da-box with these grisly devices?
All too easy to enter the one-step-forward, two-steps-backward syndrome. RougueOS hit this snag with their DOS-based GUIs - backward compatibility, that is - forcing them to swap to their (grossly inferior) poor imitation of the Unix method. Still W7 has the added advantage of giving one time to prepare lunch while it contemplates booting up.

[starhawk]

Someone on here had a similar problem and wound up going into the BIOS and changing the mode of the PCMCIA slot.

I don't remember who, or what forum (my old 486 had more memory than my brain does), and I'm sorry that I'm not able to be more helpful. All I remember is that the slot needs to be in "CardBus" mode, and I'm pretty sure no other mode will work.

[Sage]

the slot needs to be in "CardBus" mode

Looks as if BK might've done something on that score because it does actually sign on as 'Card-bus' - but still doesn't work!

[starhawk]

What are the options in BIOS? I remember there being another option that sometimes works, but I'd only remember the name if I saw it...

[Aitch]

Sage

That Xircon card should be OK with xirc2ps_cs module - the Presario 1200 is cardbus, [type 2/3, I believe]

see if this gives any clues, and you are really getting an APIPA [169.254.x.x - check: type ifconfig in a console]

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=398031

If so, try going into the advanced settings in the network wizard [sorry I only know the old one] and select manual configure
Set up an IP address one or 2 larger than your router....i.e. if your router is 192.168.2.1, use 192.168.2.3 for the laptop, THEN include DNS servers 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.3, save and exit and try a browser again

There have been reports of some networking problems with Lupu/Wary

Aitch

[Sage]

BIOS: One of those 'specials' by the Phoenix division. When I acquired the beast I made the mistake of flashing the last BIOS. It turned out to be a truncated variety - nothing of interest to twiddle. The previous version (which I didn't save) had a few more options, but nothing worthwhile.
As for workarounds with the router GW and addresses, I really don't want to go there as I use split addressing, viz. 2.....100 reserved for static, 101...254 for DHCP. Works on absolutely everything else, including Wary, Quirky, Fluppy on desktops and internal NIC on a newer Acer laptop (with broken lid!). The LAN l.e.d. never lights up, as it does with every other system, including this laptop under WME. Regardless of the OS 'seeing' the card, the port is never interrogated. That cannot be - there must be another line of code needed for this device and I've no idea about such things. It must be a pcmcia issue because the TDK 10baseT doesn't get activated either. The LAN l.e.d. should light up before the 'online' one? It doesn't.
I don't keep this laptop readily available for testing, so I might see if I can add the extra pcmcia/cardbus NIC to the Acer. There is a PCI card that accepts these units into the backplane on a desktop but I don't have one.
There really isn't any point in laptops, they are a failed marketing ploy. I said that years ago, but the marketing push was so heavy that millions of punters fell for it. Everything can be done more effectively from a smart mobile. But as I also pointed out, important people have a secretary back in the office to deal with phone calls, letters and all that office trivia. Great minds only need food to plot the future...

[maddox]

This pertains to a full-install and maybe frugal installs using wary_102
Live CD to full install, compaq slim-line PC (not a laptop) 350 Mhz 64MB ram to full install fs:ext3 internal onboard agp ati 4MB video, 1.44 floppy drv, 2GB laptop HD, CD/dvd drive via flex cable
Live-CD, chose 640*460*16 resolution (less overhead on this low-end machine) (800*600*16 also works, default proposed values)
actual full-install setup : CD/DVD drive on primary controller (short flex cable to modern cd/dvd drive)/ 3"1/2 laptop ide drive HD on sec controller
- found this out by switching drive setup around after sucessfull working full install -> grub working setup: HD was on 1st controller and CD was on 2nd controller
1st prob: neither grub or dos fdisk expect a single CD/DVD drive on the prim controller with the only Boot HD on the sec controller
grub throws a stage 1.5 21 error and DOS fdisk reports no drv found : a solution in this particular case, use a recent grub4dos using UUID

proceeded to upgrade RAM from 64MB to 2*128MB sync (256MB) for the full-install to be reasonably usable, no swap for testing purposes

- hit a next prob, was wondering why tune2fs doesn't seem to run fsck if count or date are exceeded on ext2/3/4
.. bootkernel.log and dmesg contain lines to run fsck
the flag is there (fsckme) comment out to forcefully run it. Are all conditions specified/met ?
I was looking at the date output compared to date/dmesg/tune2fs with an extra particular condition -> my PC doesn't have a cmos batt,
as long as it's powered up, date/time are correct, if unplugged it uses BIOS default values

# date (reboot full-install unplugged, BIOS time/date defaults are used)
Fri Jan 4 00:10:54 GMT 1980
# date -f 1980.txt +%s
Jan 4 00:05:44 -> 315792344
# tune2fs -l /dev/sda2 (snip-it, sda2 is the full install HD PDEV1 pupstate=2)
tune2fs 1.41.9 (22-Aug-2009)
Filesystem created: Sun Jan 2 22:34:06 2011
Last mount time: Sun Nov 28 17:37:12 1943 #-823414968 (wow a neg nber)
Last write time: Sun Nov 28 17:37:12 1943
Mount count: 11
Maximum mount count: 60
Last checked: Tue Feb 15 23:59:35 2011
Check interval: 15552000 (6 months)
Next check after: Sun Aug 14 23:59:35 2011

I'm testing a bit of code, don't remove the flag if certain tune2fs/ext_234 conditions are met on full install's

On this slow but usable full install machine, sometimes the floppy icon won't appear or the speaker icon, sometimes both appear.
if i try to play a music file, I get no sound, running the alsa wizard again restores sound output. The sound level isn't muted and the alsa.conf file is valid and there.
Stopping alsa then restarting removes the speaker icon, but sound is restored.
Wary has restored this older piece of kit to a usefull purpose.

[Sage]

You seem to have an LS120 FDD? As I said, many Cq machines were fitted with them. That accounts, partly, for the strange cabling - sometimes LS120 s are fussy. Cq also puts hidden boot files on one of the HDD s. If you never plan to use 'doze again, you can confidently replace the LS120 (put it in an M$ machine if you have one in which it'll be a lot less trouble, or just use it for storage) with a regular floppy. It should be possible to replace the entire OS on HD s with Puppy BUT as a precaution, save the hidden partition. Some folks claim the hidden boot files are essential to make the whole thing work, but I've never found that to be the case. A BIOS flash may be needed; try to find who made the board (MSI made a lot for Cq) and what its oem designation was/is.The info is often on the InterWeb. If you find it flash with the oem BIOS and all your problems will vanish. Cq claimed their proprietary booting obviated some issues but it was a nasty capitalist ruse to gain leverage.

[BarryK]

So I noticed on Barry's blog that:

Firefox 3.6.13
I have compiled Firefox 3.6.13 for Wary. I have created a PET, and I think that I have addressed the concerns expressed by users of the previous Firefox PET -- that included SeaMonkey no longer working after Firefox was installed, and/or SM not working after the Firefox PET is uninstalled.

I just tried it and, unfortunately at least for me, it takes over SeaMonkey just like the last one (Firefox 3.6.9-w5) did.

After downloading/installing the new pet from:

Posted on 25 Jan 2011, 8:53 by BarryK
Firefox now uploaded
I can now upload to ibiblio:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/dis ... .13-w5.pet

All my Firefox and SeaMonkey menu links and the browse and email screen icons now bring up the new Firefox named Namoroka version 3.6.13.

What I did discover is that SeaMonkey rerturns upon uninstalling Firefox, including my 'lost' mail. I never would have thought to do the uninstall, had Barry not mentioned it in his blog. Plus I learned how to uninstall a package, so there's that...

Here I am referring to Barry like I know him, when feel I should be bowing toward Australia in reverence for all the hard work and wonderful things that he and the all the rest of the developers/contributers have done with Puppy Linux. Thanks to you all!!!

I have re-uploaded the FF PET, think it should fix the problem:
http://bkhome.org/blog/?viewDetailed=02118

[Sage]

Update : the TDK pcmcia 10baseT in the Acer laptop will run. It is detected in Lupu5.2 in SNS, but doesn't fire up. It was necessary to plug-unplug and use the the complete network wizard, it shows as eth1, with the internal NIC as eth0. The driver is already loaded, highlighting it works. Not so much luck with the Xircon - it is double-height and doesn't fit! So Lupu has the necessary complement of drivers and, crucially, the essential code to make them function. Hopefully, this will give BK the necessary clues.

[its-me-again]

Hi i have trouble with the latest version of firefox here http://bkhome.org/blog/?viewCat=Wary

after installing it first it is not traditional firefox it is another version based on it.

2nd there is still the problem with seamonkey not working after the install. clicking on seamonkey opens the firefox version.

also another thing can wary use quirky pets if so this would rock as quirky pets are great

[nooby]

Wary does not boot on my Acer D250 that have an Intel Atom N270 CPU.

If I use acpi=off on Lupu 520 then that one boot but not shut down.

Could someone suggest a better boot code that would allow me to both boot and shut down properly?

Fluppy though always boot and shut down properly. So Jemimah has done something that works on my gear.

When it fails to boot it report

b44-pci-bridge and sometimes it shows ssb0 ssb1 ssb2 ssb3 which may be cores on the CPU? Could that explain why it does not boot?

My crazy stomach or gut feeling is that it has to do with IRQ16 but I know nothing so that could be a dead alley whim thing.

[rerwin]

Barry,
I have noticed a few details that can be cleaned up easily. They are attached. The only logic change is to the SL modem driver firmware tarball. It now has separate init scripts for the slusb driver and the others.

In testing my SL USB modem, the bootup listing shows a set of traceback messages that seem related to the slusb driver module. (And the modem is unusable.) The message log is also attached. Considering that support for that module seems to have ended for kernels later than 2.6.30, maybe that module should be removed from wary and woof.

I am currently updating all of the PCI-modem pinstall scripts to better handle the cases where an appropriate driver is absent from puppy. They remove the init script if there is no driver module. Although I am changing all of them, the usefulness of this is only where the module is invoked by a udev rule instead of a modalias (e.g., agrsm and intel537). They are not needed for wary (which has all the drivers), but seem appropriate for woof and any distros that would allow the user to add PCI modem drivers.

EDIT: I just discovered a subtle bug in /usr/sbin/remasterpup2. It causes a message to omit the CD/DVD burner device name in a message. Line 173 begins with:
The burner drive is /dev/$BURNERDRV,
but should escape the "$" as done in all the other messages using that variable, to become:
The burner drive is /dev/\$BURNERDRV,

Richard

[dogle]

Personally I am 100% with BarryK on his 'minimalist' approach. (My favorite wallpaper is the 'light grey' one ... can there really be such sad people out there as want to sit staring at wallpaper all day I think to myself .. ah, wait, that fella Bill thought so). However, when I saw the current Wary default wallpaper the faint splodges in the background had me genuinely worried that I had a faulty screen. I therefore plead that the default wallpaper be changed.

I have disliked icons ever since Bill invented their use in order to turn the world into his mushroom farm .... all too successfully .... very often they are more confusing than helpful (the essence of good mushroom farming perhaps). The only one which really appealed to me was the PET-in-a-box one - inspired! - always good for a smile. It has now been replaced by a briefcase - how meaningful is that?! - a case for reversion IMHO.

It took me a long time to figure out that the strange hieroglyph, bottom right, might be an allusion to a Winchester stack .. of about that era .. and when the Rosetta stone finally dropped on my foot -ouch!- to understand that it had something to do with storage capacity. Not newbie-friendly .... things were better in the 431 epoch. (More serious note, it gives markedly different display v/v lupu on the same installation).

The biggest niggle is the mute 'cell' icon, in laptop mode. Some might go through life and die without knowing that if you click on it you will see a table of figures - "with the unfounded ring of high precision" (right, Sage?). This presentation seems vastly inferior to the % indicator in 431 which - however inaccurate - I really found very much more useful. (OTOH the progressive laptop screen dimming with the 431 version was a serious nuisance, anyone know how to override that?).

[Sylvander]

1. I have no sound on Wary-500.

2. PCI sound card is shown in hardinfo->devices->PCI_devices as:
Multimedia Audio Controller
C-Media Electronics Inc CM8738

3. "Alsa Sound wizard" cannot find any supported PCI card.

4. "Probe for legacy ISA sound cards/chips" finds no suitable drivers!

5. Are there any drivers I can install?