How to install programs downloaded from repository?

Booting, installing, newbie
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jobo
Posts: 111
Joined: Thu 26 Apr 2012, 16:58

How to install programs downloaded from repository?

#1 Post by jobo »

hi folks just a bit of back ground, ive found myself on hard times and using a ibm lappy with win 98 on it, its a p3, 125 ram and a miserly 5gb hd

Ive installed a version of puppy from here, as it was an easy install on the HD, ive not got a cd burner so can't make a live CD.

ive quite a few questions but will take them one at a time
1) im completely unfamilar with the linux way, being a long time windows user

ive just down loaded a file from the repository, in the case seamonkey, puppy opens the zifile for me,, then there are a long list of files shown, but it gives no clue on what to do next, (I know this is very basic, but its got me flumexed

if you can help me with this, or any other tips for a very new and largley clueless user, id be very greatful

thanks joe

nb spell checker is my next project

musher0
Posts: 14629
Joined: Mon 05 Jan 2009, 00:54
Location: Gatineau (Qc), Canada

#2 Post by musher0 »

Hmm... not too much details, but I'll try to give you hand.

If the file you downloaded has a *.pet extension, just click on it and it will install automatically.

If the file's got a *.tar.gz extension, or if you selected "extract here" from the right-click menu, you would have on screen the listing you mention.

Now on that panel, there should be a "select all" button. Click on that.
Then locate the extract button, and click on that. Now you should have
a sub-directory where the archive is with all the unpacked files in it.
That's useful if you want to see what the archive contains.

But as I mentioned, if it's a *.pet file, just click on it and it will install automatically.

I hope this helps. (I hope your luck will turn around, too.)
Best regards.
musher0
~~~~~~~~~~
"You want it darker? We kill the flame." (L. Cohen)

sfeeley
Posts: 812
Joined: Sun 14 Feb 2010, 16:34

#3 Post by sfeeley »

I'm not familiar with that brand of puppy. The older date on the bottom of the page (2006) might mean that it doesn't quite work the same as newer puppies. If it does, Musher's suggestions are a good start.

A suggestion. Consider using the following method to do an install of a newer pup, that more people are familiar with. These will all more or less install programs automatically from the repository.

It can install in windows 98 without having to burn a disk, etc using this method:

http://www.icpug.org.uk/national/linnwin/contents.htm

the method above should be more or less the same for most versions of puppy. For an old computer like yours I'd suggest either

Wary
or 2.14x classic pup

Both are up to date but aimed at old computers.

125 ram is pretty low, but certainly usable. If possible, you'll want to use gparted (a program within most puppies) to create a swap partition . This basically lets your computer's HD work as "virtual" ram to add more performance.
http://puppylinux.org/main/Manual-English.htm

scroll down to "creating partitions"

jobo
Posts: 111
Joined: Thu 26 Apr 2012, 16:58

#4 Post by jobo »

great thanks

dumb question then, do i down load an iso or is there another way its presented

Jim1911
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Location: Texas, USA

#5 Post by Jim1911 »

I too, am unfamiliar with the version of Puppy that you have, however, I believe that the Latest Wary will run on your hardware. It already has the features you mention included. Download it here.
  • If you are using grub to boot into your puppy, follow this procedure to install Wary using your current puppy.
    1. Create a new directory called “wary

jobo
Posts: 111
Joined: Thu 26 Apr 2012, 16:58

#6 Post by jobo »

thanks , ive tried this one http://www.icpug.org.uk/national/linnwin/contents.htm and
it doesnt work ?
i know there are any number of reasons why this may be so, but ive been through it and checked a few times and cant see were ive diverted from instructions

it has mad slight changes, i had two boot menus, one for a failed ubunto installation, were the the ubunto had been removed, but the boot remained and the boot menu of the installed puppy

the puppy boot menu has gone, but the time it takes to load windows has increased by about 10 seconds, ie the time set in the above instructions to make your mind up to boot puppy or windows making me suspect that it is operating but the boot menu isnt showing on the screen

does that sound plausible ? if so any suggestions
the other potential issue mentioned in the instructions is that windows is on 01 partition and not 00 partition ? but ive no idea how to check this. non of the partition managers i can find will work on win 98. ive checked it on the existing puppy and that says it is on 01 drive and as that is loaded in windows it makes me supect that windows may be as well,,, HELP

nb i can still boot the existing puppy from the windows desk top, were the boot menu then shows

mini-jaguar
Posts: 597
Joined: Thu 13 Nov 2008, 13:45

#7 Post by mini-jaguar »

I doubt this helps, but here's a thread on this Puppy version:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=20181

Actually, I'm thinking you can't use .pet packages for your version, you have version 1 so you can only use pupget packages. I'm not sure how those work, I think you might have to put them in the correct directory first, they all seem to be .tar.gz packages.

sfeeley
Posts: 812
Joined: Sun 14 Feb 2010, 16:34

#8 Post by sfeeley »

it has mad slight changes, i had two boot menus, one for a failed ubunto installation, were the the ubunto had been removed,
maybe when you tried installing ubuntu, you changed something which made the lin n win fail? What was your installation method for that?

jobo
Posts: 111
Joined: Thu 26 Apr 2012, 16:58

#9 Post by jobo »

sfeeley wrote:
it has mad slight changes, i had two boot menus, one for a failed ubunto installation, were the the ubunto had been removed,
maybe when you tried installing ubuntu, you changed something which made the lin n win fail? What was your installation method for that?
off a disc, press install, computer grinds to a halt, not enough room, prsume doot boot left behind
it was 9.04

ive opened the grub window and it says somethink like failed to run DOS, menu.lst ?

sfeeley
Posts: 812
Joined: Sun 14 Feb 2010, 16:34

#10 Post by sfeeley »

if you have grub successfully installed, you should be able to put the appropriate files onto your harddisk, and then add an entry to your grub's menu.lst file.

http://puppylinux.com/hard-puppy.htm

You would be shooting for a frugal install first. Following the instructions for manual installing

(eventually on your limited hardware, you might move to a full install, but that would probably come later, since it requires partitioning the disk etc, which you need to be running puppy to do. Sort of a chicken and the egg problem . . .)

Do you know what version of grub?

jobo
Posts: 111
Joined: Thu 26 Apr 2012, 16:58

#11 Post by jobo »

i dont know what grub how do i find out

i followed this to the letter

http://www.icpug.org.uk/national/linnwin/contents.htm
this the bit about grubs
http://www.icpug.org.uk/national/linnwin/step1-9x.htm

and thought i had installed it manualy ?

jobo
Posts: 111
Joined: Thu 26 Apr 2012, 16:58

#12 Post by jobo »

any takers on this ?

there seems to be three possibilities
i have made a fundemental error, though ive just checked it again, its by no means unlikely, can some one talk me through how to check ?

the existing puppy one is interfearing with it, though ive just deleted it and its still the same

or the removed ubunto installation has left a boot loader and this is interfering
can some one tell me how to remove this, it had a uninstall function that i used, but the boot loader remains, where would this be and what to do with it

thanks

sfeeley
Posts: 812
Joined: Sun 14 Feb 2010, 16:34

#13 Post by sfeeley »

I'm sorry-- I'm not the person to lead you through grub, etc. Usually I run off a CD or USB stick avoiding the need for all that.

That said-- is there a directory in the "top" level of your file system marked "boot"? In it, is there anything labeled grub or menu.lst?

and soon hopefully, brighter folks will ride to the rescue

dogle
Posts: 409
Joined: Thu 11 Oct 2007, 12:41

#14 Post by dogle »

jobo, your tenacity is appreciated (as are your comments in the feedback thread, thanks!).

I sometimes feel that newcomers to Linux have to go through a rite of passage of bafflement and hair-tearing before it all starts to come together (I did). It should not be so but, worry not, you will be richly rewarded.

That's a very old Puppy version you link from your OP. I also suggest that you download a later ISO, but perhaps not the latest versions, which tend to like a bit more RAM ..... 4.3.1 would be my first choice .. or maybe 3.1.7

With a PIII you probably have a USB connector - if so, there's a good workaround to overcome your lack of CD drive - see
http://puppylinux.com/flash-puppy.htm

If you can adjust your BIOS setup to first boot attempt from USB, this will enable you to use a USB stick in lieu of a live CD, which saves you from having to grapple with GRUB at this early stage.

Hang in there - it will be well worth it - and let us know how you are getting along.

jobo
Posts: 111
Joined: Thu 26 Apr 2012, 16:58

#15 Post by jobo »

right thanks for every body who has chipped in with help and support

i now have weary puppy up and running on a frugal install with no cd burner

hooray,

ive no idea what, if any thing went wrong with the original attempt at weary, but i modified the menu of the puppy 98 install to include the weary pup and its off and running, if i knew then what i know now its would take about an hour rather than the 30 odd ive invested staring at it and swearing and googling

in short if i was doing it now, id install the winpup 98 v1 , which gives you a desk top icon for launching pup, then down load the menu for the weary pup, copy and paist the text in to the pup 98 menu
down load the ISO, copy the 3 required files into their own file

hit the desk icon and off it goes, i can and most likely will install mulitpe versions of pup using the same techniques to see which works best on my machine

im sure this isnt the end of my problems, wi fi next but im chuffed to bits

if it would help others, il do a post in the sticky on how to load pup , in a lot more detail with links etc, so others dont need to go through the same learning curve as i have

running windows 98 no cd burner, no problem, sir :D

sfeeley
Posts: 812
Joined: Sun 14 Feb 2010, 16:34

#16 Post by sfeeley »

Congrats! :D

What you describe is basically what Jim and I were trying to suggest, but sometimes an explanation doesn't make sense until you've figured it out for yourself.

Using that older puppy to bootstrap up to newer puppies is a pretty nifty trick. I wonder if it works on any later version of windows?

there is this
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=42876

But I didn't recommend it because you didn't have a cd burner, and it would wipe out your windows install

BTW: Weary Puppy= Wary Puppy?
(freudian slip?)

dogle
Posts: 409
Joined: Thu 11 Oct 2007, 12:41

#17 Post by dogle »

Thanks for the good news, jobo, well done!

With 125MB RAM, you're likely to see your Pups looking much less weary if you use GParted to add a Linux swap partition, as and when you feel good and ready.
Hints:
- If intending to retain your W98, backup, and full defrag at least twice before attempting partition changes.
- GParted is very easy to use, but you may need a little time to become accustomed to the way the GParted GUI works.
- I'd go for something like 100MB Linux swap to start with (bigger is not always better).

Oh, BTW, welcome to the Kennels!

PS A guide as you suggest would be splendid (as a HOWTO in that section of the forum. HOWTO as a search term makes stuff much easier to find). IMHO, half the problem of getting going with Linux comes of nobody writing guides before they have long forgotten the pain they had at the start....... ;-)
Last edited by dogle on Sun 29 Apr 2012, 15:11, edited 2 times in total.

jobo
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#18 Post by jobo »

yes i know, it was your post above that gave me the idea, but i was locked in to why doesnt the weary ( sic) pup work, mode at that point instead of thinking laterally

jobo
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#19 Post by jobo »

well being pleased with myself didnt last long, i put the swap file and it was great, then a tried to play a you tube vid, it crashed and stayed crashed

it opens, start fire fox it works a bit then just freezes, any ideas

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Semme
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#20 Post by Semme »

Hey Joe- if you load: swapon -s into a shell, whaddaya get? No, not :lol: a trick question..

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