Scooby wrote:
...
During boot press F2 key
and then write the following
then savefile will work, This can be somewhat tedious so will see if it can be automated somehow?
This problem arises because easy2boot presents the puppy files on an iso, and isofs is defined to be a readonly filesystem. Effectively Puppy "thinks" it is running from a CD not a USB stick.
Ideas.
1. Extension of Puppy's repertoire to recognise when it is on iso-on-a-flash
This option is serious work for someone who really knows Puppy internals. (Puppy vetinarian?) and would be beyond me to implement
An isofs can be extended by writing another "session" to it (which is how Puppy works on a CDR when you save your work to the same CD). Incidentally, multi-session was invented by Kodak for their photo-CDs so you could burn extra pics to an existing Kodak photoCD.
This would be the best way of doing this, if you know enough about writing iso filesystems: write a into a "second session" iso and append that to the original iso. That is *exactly* what happens when you burn a second session onto the disk, but you'd have to do it using dd rather than a disk burner.
This would need extra functionality built into Puppy, so that it somehow recognises it is running from cd-on-flash mode. Once Puppy isos are released with the new capability the problem goes away
2. Workaround for existing Puppy iso
Extract the iso file to a folder on disk, alter the file isolinux.cfg changing cd to usbflash so the last line now reads
Code: Select all
append initrd=initrd.gz pmedia=usbflash
and then re-create the iso from that folder. This process of extract->replace->rebuild could easily be automated.
WARNING: this modified iso would no longer be suitable for burning to CD unless you changed it back. If you burnt this new file, Puppy would boot but would believe it was running on a flash stick ... goodness knows what issues this would cause. For this reason, I personally don't like this workaround.
3. Use easy2boot as an installation & testing platform.
BarryK has always said the best way to get Puppy on a USB stick is to burn a CD first, then use the CD to install to USB.
This workaround uses two usb sticks, one temporary and one permanent. First, you would get Puppy working under easy2boot, but only use that system for testing and (if happy with the test) installing to the permanent USB stick just as you would from the CD.
I have tested this, it works. And also the second-stage USB boots a lot faster than easy2boot (because it only has to do one thing, not scan for isos, work out what to do with them, and then offer you a lot of other options).
4. Make a "mongrel" easy2boot and permanent system.
Like 3 above, but you install onto the same usb stick that you are using for easy2boot, somewhere outside of the easy2boot directories. Don't let the installer alter the mbr in any way.
Then add an apprpriate grub stanza to menu.lst, so that the first option in the menu is the grub equivalent of the above syslinux line.
Once installed delete the iso.
Then you can use the installed Puppy for serious work, and get the efficiency savings of not working through an extra filesystem all the time. When you want to test a new Puppy, or another flavour of Linux, drop that iso into the \_ISO\Linux\AUTO folder and use the easy2boot intelligence to boot that system. But again: whether it is Puppy or some other Linux, use that platform to test or install, not as a permanent installation.
5. Separate partitions on a USB stick / USB drive
Like 4 above, but on separate partitions on the same USB stick. Though most people think of this only for internal drives, GParted will quite happily partition a usb stick for you.
Note that easy2boot creates a "virtual" primary partition no 4, so you are limited to two primiary partitions, plus an extended partition to hold any further partitions. Make sure GParted numbers these as 1,2,3 so that 4 remains free for easy2boot.
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Number 3 is my current recommendation, I have done this and it works.
I will be testing number 4 and reporting back eventually, but not soon as I have other stuff that is becoming pressing. It would be great to be able to download onto a usbstick and then boot the new iso with no further ado. This is something I have wanted to do since around the time that Vista was released.
I am not doing any work on 1,2, or 5 at present, just offer then as ideas in case they inspire anyone else to continue / extend the good work.
River~~