Slacko-5.5.4G keep asking me the same config questions...

Using applications, configuring, problems
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benny7440
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Slacko-5.5.4G keep asking me the same config questions...

#1 Post by benny7440 »

The file is already created although at a different location. I guess I need to change/tweak somehow the menu.lst file for making sure it follows the correct route to the lupusave file. But, why it asks me so many questions before creating it and then it cannot find the file/info it itself created?

Thanks for any info on this!

PS. My HDD arrangement is as follows:
only HDD = sda;
it has 3 partitions named: sda1, sda2 & sda5;
my menu.lst file points all my bootable folders at sda2;
for memory capacity's sake, my lupusave file for slacko is directed to sda5.

I don't have this issue with any other puppy that's currently booting (frugally).

My slacko entries at menu.lst file follows (I'm including also my default OS entries):

Code: Select all

# 1) Linux bootable partition config begins
  title Puppy Linux 528-005 frugal in sda2 dir puppy528-005
  rootnoverify (hd0,1)
  kernel /puppy528-005/vmlinuz pmedia=atahd psubdir=puppy528-005 pfix=noram,fsck
  initrd /puppy528-005/initrd.gz
# Linux bootable partition config ends
# 2) Linux bootable partition config begins
  title Slacko-5.5.4G frugal in sda2 dir Slacko-5.5.4G
  rootnoverify (hd0,1)
  kernel /Slacko-5.5.4G/vmlinuz pmedia1=atahd psubdir=Slacko-5.5.4G
  initrd /Slacko-5.5.4G/initrd.gz
# Linux bootable partition config ends
[b]Toshiba Satellite L555 / ACPI x64-based PC / Intel Core i5 / ~1.46 @ 3 Partitions GB HDD / 4 GB RAM / CD-DVD RW Drive.
[/b]

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ally
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#2 Post by ally »

hey benny if I read this correctly you are trying to use a lupu savefile with a slacko boot

is this correct?

:)

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benny7440
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#3 Post by benny7440 »

Thanks for replying, ally!

Sorry for my slippery recollection of facts or otherwise known as carelessness. I was posting from memory &, been the first time using slacko, I guess I equated the usual puppy name usage with this.

The correct referenced file is named "slackosave-benny.3fs". It's located at sda5 (third partition under Slacko-5.5.4G folder). The partition where it is right now & adding benny to it were my choices, creating the folder for the file was slacko's decision.

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ally
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#4 Post by ally »

I would move the save file to the slacko folder - that should sort the problem....

:)

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benny7440
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#5 Post by benny7440 »

I had to move out of sda2 two other puppies for making room for slacko & my slackosave file is 1GB in size. I'm not sure if it can hold it unless I keep moving out of the way other puppies. Each time I move out of the way a puppy it means that I'm not booting it up any more.

Now that I'm confronted with the issue, I'm starting to consider how difficult it might be to boot other puppies that reside out of the partition where grub is??? I think I'm going to give this a try, just to see how it works... I'll post anything relevant but not moving that file there until I know for sure this other approach.

Until then, my last chance appears to be resizing that partition with all the risks it implies.

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ally
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#6 Post by ally »

sorry benny

I'm just confused - good luck though......

:)

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benny7440
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#7 Post by benny7440 »

If you're confused that's my fault, I'm sorry! I should have started this thread with much more precision for avoiding precisely this situation.

You were very correct with respect to the slackosave file location, partition's capacity permitting.

To solve this issue I needed to narrow my alternatives to just a few; I think that's precisely what has happened. Approaching thunderstorms today at my location isn't something that has helped, either. My lack of understanding of how grub is used in a wide variety of ways is also something that doesn't help.

I'll give myself a little time for trying various alternatives. Anything relevant that surfaces will be posted below.

Thanks again, ally!

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ally
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#8 Post by ally »

I would use grub4dos from the system menu it is MUCH easier

run that and get back to us

:)

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benny7440
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#9 Post by benny7440 »

For about 3 weeks, until about 5 weeks ago, I tried to understand how to use grub4dos at another laptop (HP) in a cfcard for booting up DSL &, among other distros, freedos there but finally felt demolished by failures one after the other. So, I finally put my attention on something else less demanding i.e., refreshing my long forgotten integration for finding centers of masses, etc..

The above doesn't mean that I'm finished with grub4dos, just that I feel that I need more time before re-trying...

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ally
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#10 Post by ally »

grub4dos is dead easy to use

install puppy to a suitable partition using the universal installer, run grub4dos, it will probe all discs/partitions looking for installs and build a menu.1st for it/them

reboot

select the puppy to run

sort out the start-up stuff like keyboard and country

reboot and create a savefile

you should be sorted then

HTH

:)

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benny7440
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#11 Post by benny7440 »

Before proceeding with what you suggests there's something you should know about sda1 & sda5, they're ntfs. I'm now considering that this fact might introduce my problem with slacko persistency (slackosave file at ntfs?, hum).

From another point of view, I've a lot of files (many isos) at sda5 while sda1 is mostly empty (and the latter is much bigger). Maybe, if I plan this correctly, I can move everything to sda1 (after resizing & reformat to say, ext3 or 4). Then I can have all my puppies at the same partition again & all booting up with persistence. I'll give gParted a trial at this but not until I can count on some 3-4 hours without the inconvenience of thunderstorms in my area: probably tomorrow.

Thanks for getting involved ally!

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ally
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#12 Post by ally »

installing to ntfs is no problem so don't worry about formatting

best thing delete the current slacko install and start again

install>grub4dos>reboot>puppy>localisations>reboot>savefile

the above would normally only take about 5 mins

best of luck

:)

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benny7440
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#13 Post by benny7440 »

I found what I consider a syntax error at the kernel line in relation to the pmedia cheatcode:

it read "pmedia1=atahd" and I took out of the way the '1' before the "=" sign. In any case, since slacko keep behaving as if my current run is the first one, I'm making a new slackosave file within the same folder it's located in, although much smaller.

Still thinking of playing around with my partition arrangement because that would solve many issues with slacko as well as for other puppies. If I decide to do it I'm going to use grub4dos as you suggested.

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#14 Post by benny7440 »

I did used GParted to check my partitions particulars & noticed that there was a ~1.7 GB left at the end UNASSIGNED so I expanded sda2 to include all of it. I then created another slackosave file at Slacko's main folder (confirmed its existence already). The problem still persists, it still "find" that I'm using slacko for the first time. What else to do?
[b]Toshiba Satellite L555 / ACPI x64-based PC / Intel Core i5 / ~1.46 @ 3 Partitions GB HDD / 4 GB RAM / CD-DVD RW Drive.
[/b]

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#15 Post by ally »

hey benny

could you explain how you have installed

I assume also that your savefile is in the same folder as the slacko install

did you use grub4dos or grub

:)

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benny7440
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#16 Post by benny7440 »

Thanks ally for replying!

I d/l the slacko iso file from ibiblio & after checking out coincidence of md5sums info I mounted it to extract the necessary files for booting it up. I was using PL 528.005 at the moment. Created a folder for slacko beside the rest of my puppies. Have to say that at the moment, in that partition there was not enough space for it, so I deleted some folders containing PL431, TinyCore, CorePlus & Wary512 for making room for it. When I checked it could contain it I inserted there the necessary files to boot & it worked ok.

After I decided to make a slackosave file (not at first run) it was to be at sda5 (ntfs) & not at sda2 (ext3). My decision at the moment responded to my desire of having a 1 GB savefile for this. It created it but, apparently, cannot find/read it at boot time. Then I decided to create, instead of moving that one to sda2, another one, smaller; and it fit at sda2. But the problem of persistency continues, all configuration settings are lost after each successive reboot.

I'm afraid I'm still using grub; a little afraid of upgrading to grub4dos after been trying to understand it for about 3 weeks (period terminated about 4-5 weeks ago). Issue not closed but just suspended until I regain some strength).

I do have both savefiles now, one at sda5 & the other at sda2. The latter is at the slacko folder. It's interesting that there's a "SAVEMARK" file at "home" with creation date 28 July, more or less the date when I installed the slacko OS. After issuing the command <file -m SAVEMARK> it gave me:

"SAVEMARK, 1: Warning type `' invalid
file: could not find any magic files!
"

I'm almost sure this was created by slacko savefile system but can't tell if at first trial or when I tried to creat the second smaller one at slacko folder.

Any ideas?
[b]Toshiba Satellite L555 / ACPI x64-based PC / Intel Core i5 / ~1.46 @ 3 Partitions GB HDD / 4 GB RAM / CD-DVD RW Drive.
[/b]

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#17 Post by benny7440 »

I think that after extending my sda2 partition for making extra room for slacko to feel comfortable (the slackosave file already existed there) it started to "kernel panic". I'm about to delete everything in Slacko's folder, the '2' slackosave files I have & start anew by mounting the iso file, extracting the necessary files & boot it up & create within Slacko's folder the savefile.

But, before I do this, I'm thinking that I'm in the middle of something that implies a NEW partition scheme for my hdd & not very inclined to do it before I complete all the necessary moves & reformatting that apparently will be necessary.

I hope that in less than 48 hrs all that will be settled down without any regrets by my part.

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#18 Post by benny7440 »

OK, I've done the partiton things that I intended (not quite but close!).

I deleted all the Slacko files from sda2's root folder & started all over again. This time it worked well when, having more space there, I created the slackosave file right besides its location. I've a little problem though when I close the lid of the laptop the external screen goes black. The first time it happened I thought that the system went to either a shutdown or stanby sequence. Since I didn't know then what was happening I decided to press the shutdown button on top of the laptop for forcing it to shutdown or restart.

Today it happen again, but this time I noticed that there it was an amber led flashing at the power button on top of the laptop. I pressed 'for an instant' this button & the screen was back.

What I want to know is how to deactivate this behaviour? If I close the lid I want the computer to do nothing as a consequence of my decission.

Thanks for any help on this!

PS. I probably will experience other things with slacko after I use it more frequently but for the moment I think it's a good OS.

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#19 Post by benny7440 »

As I was waiting for, issues started to arise. At least, I remembered how to activate the feature of Auto-Hiding the toolbar.

Still, I see the 2nd icon at the toolbar (looking from the clock to the left) getting crossed once, twice & up to 6 different slices; the red graph sometimes cover a lot of the vertical space there, too. I never understood how to interprete the horizontal lines there...

Access to the hdd interrupts almost everything I'm doing, at times it takes so long that I go to prepare myself a cup of coffee, return to the laptop & it still keeps going, finish drinking the coffee, go to the Out house, wash the cup, go to the bathroom &, when I'm back it still is accessing the hdd. Talking here about 8 mins.; HDD = ~120 GB, no partition here is above 60 GB.

I'm running FF 19.0, the one that came with Slacko. The same thing, though, happens to me when I'm running PL5.28.005 & Seamonkey (not necessarily updated). The previous browser that I had there (FF 14.*) never gave me any of these issues. Up to this moment I always managed very well with 64 MB for the browsers' cache; now I've augmented it to 80 MB on both but I don't see any change.

Is this something that is related to the browsers, the sites, my installations configs or something else?

Thanks in advance!

PS. I almost forget about an issue that's important to me, with Slacko I've noticed that the screen on the laptop is ALWAYS ON even though I'm using an external monitor & can't close the lid because both screens go black instantly. On all other distros that I've used here either I can close the lid without the external monitor going black if the laptop screen is lighted or the latter is simply black from the beginning. Any ideas as to how to tweak this feature?

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Semme
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#20 Post by Semme »

Hey Benny- if you're gonna futz, drop 554 and grab the latest >> 561.

Am I correct in assuming you still have a frugal install of 528, the one that works so well?

On 528- run a Pfind *system* search for firefox >> goto 'list' >> 'export to text editor' and c/p here.

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