Quirky April 7.0 - 7.0.3, 7.0.4, 7.0.4.1

[rufwoof]

Hi Ted

Haven't got around to testing loading sfs's yet !!!

I know its suggested you can't load sfs's in this version as its not a layered pup, but I have achieved similar in the past simply by sym link based 'loading'

i.e. something like

losetup -f # to identify a free loop i.e. perhaps /dev/loop0
mount /dev/loop0 /mnt/sda3/somewhere/some.sfs
mkdir -p /mnt/L
mount -t squashfs /dev/loop0 /mnt/L
cd /
cp -rs /mnt/L/* .

Not exactly sure that's right (off the top of my head), but something close.

Off out for a while, so my next plan is to test that out in practice. Sym link based sfs loading takes up little space (pointers), so you can expand the core ram booted pup to include a lot of other additional stuff/programs.

[stemsee]

Is there any reason that April 7.0 has a DISTRO_SPECS file?
Is there any reason that 'DISTRO_PUPPYSFS=q.sfs' has been omitted from DISTRO_SPECS?

[BarryK]

Dear Barry Sir

While trying to setup through commandline, I am getting following message:-

# pppoe-setup
Welcome to the Roaring Penguin PPPoE client setup. First, I will run
some checks on your system to make sure the PPPoE client is installed
properly...

Oh, dear, I can't execute the program '/usr/sbin/pppoe'. Please
re-install the rp-pppoe client

Yes, a bug!

Executables are missing. I will get this fixed for the Service Pack, but for now, I have attached a pppoe executable.

gunzip it, set it's execute flags, place in /usr/sbin.

Let us know if that is enough to get PPPoE working.

Oh yes, the executable is for April64, 64-bit.

[BarryK]

if I understand correctly it's because it's designed for a full install so it's not extracted on the go

alphadog is running the live-CD, which is a RAM-hog.

It is not designed like puppies, the live-CD is not really intended for regular usage. As you say, Quirky is designed for full installs.

The live-CD loads everything into RAM, which means slow bootup, and uses zram which gives the appearance of using a lot more RAM than the pups.

[BarryK]

AMD64 single core 1.5GB ram, Nvidia 8600GT

Preferred Pup user style : grub4dos ram boot, no savefile, remaster to preserve changes

Grub4Dos entry

title April (Quirky) 7 Final
kernel (hd0,2)/quirky7/vmlinuz rootwait rw
initrd (hd0,2)/quirky7/initrd.q

Extracted initrd.q contents
cd /mnt/sda3/quirky7 # i.e. to where initrd.q and vmlinuz are
mkdir MAIN
cd MAIN
cat ../initrd.q | cpio -id

init content (in initrd.q) changed to allocate more (nearly all) of free mem to zram

Code: Select all

HALFRAMB=$(($FREERAMK*1023)) 
HALFRAMM=$(($FREERAMK/1025)) 

Also added desktop icon to remaster a new initrd.q using two scripts stored in the same directory/folder as initrd.q and vmlinuz

remaster

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash
cd /mnt/sda3/quirky7
urxvt -geometry 80x5+16+16 -bg white -fg blue -title "$(gettext 'Remastering initrd.q')" -e ./remaster2

remaster2

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash
cd MAIN
if [ -f q.sfs ]; then
  rm q.sfs
fi
mksquashfs / q.sfs -noX -noD -noI -noF -e /tmp /mnt /proc /sys /root/.XLOADED /.fsckme.flg
clear
sync
echo "Building initrd.q ... please wait"
find | cpio -o -H newc | lzop -1 >../initrd.q
sync

Remastering a new initrd.q in readiness for the next reboot using the above takes less than a minute

Leaves me with around 287MB of free mem being shown. Can boost that to around 550MB free if use tighter (much slower to remaster) compression (i.e. xz instead of the lzo as used above).

Original version booted as-is (i.e. only half of free mem allocated to zram) barely has any free mem being shown in the bottom right disk usage icon.

Note that the above remaster uses no compression to form q.sfs, and then initrd.q with q.sfs contained within is compressed using lzo level 1 (low) compression. That's quick (very quick to decompress) and as q.sfs is being stored in zram initially creating q.sfs with no compression still means that its being compressed (in using zram) - but by whatever zram is using to store the non-compressed image.

Working really well, have turned opaque moves/resizes ON rather than using outline moves/resizes and video's etc can be viewed and the video window dragged around the screen quickly etc.

Your changes look good!

[BarryK]

Hi Ted

Haven't got around to testing loading sfs's yet !!!

I know its suggested you can't load sfs's in this version as its not a layered pup, but I have achieved similar in the past simply by sym link based 'loading'

i.e. something like

losetup -f # to identify a free loop i.e. perhaps /dev/loop0
mount /dev/loop0 /mnt/sda3/somewhere/some.sfs
mkdir -p /mnt/L
mount -t squashfs /dev/loop0 /mnt/L
cd /
cp -rs /mnt/L/* .

Not exactly sure that's right (off the top of my head), but something close.

Off out for a while, so my next plan is to test that out in practice. Sym link based sfs loading takes up little space (pointers), so you can expand the core ram booted pup to include a lot of other additional stuff/programs.

One thing to test with that symlinking idea, after doing that, run this in a terminal:

# ldconfig

Then see if applications still start.

I cannot recall, but I seem to recall that when ldconfig scans the libraries and creates /etc/ld.so.cache, it ignores paths that are symlinks -- but perhaps the entries in /etc/ld.so.conf will force override of that?

[BarryK]

Is there any reason that April 7.0 has a DISTRO_SPECS file?
Is there any reason that 'DISTRO_PUPPYSFS=q.sfs' has been omitted from DISTRO_SPECS?

Er, /etc/DISTRO_SPECS has many variables that are read by scripts in Quirky.

The creation of q.sfs is very recent, for the purpose of building the live-CD. It is really an abnormal situation, as Quirky is intended for full installs.

The variable DISTRO_PUPPYSFS is not used anywhere in Quirky.

[stemsee]

Ok great. I made my remaster script reassign an empty $DISTRO_PUPPYSFS as q.sfs (hopefully Quirky series will be the only series with that string empty). Thereby not altering April 7.0 in anyway. Posting from the remaster now ... that is the vmlinux and initrd.q on usb booting to zram. Hardly slower than creating a savefile. Just another option!

[L18L]

Super fast.
Screen resolution 1920x1080 with modesetting driver without manual choice !
That is cutting edge, another PuppyMaster's master piece.

... and my multilingual solution for FIRSTRUN from wary64 works OOTB here in Quirky7.

Short explanation:
All available quicksetup.mo files are included.
User's very first choice is language.
This language is used in quicksetup.

Hope this will make it into ServicePack1.

[L18L]

Testing my translation I found

Code: Select all

# installquirky 
/usr/sbin/installquirky: line 75: printf: 28.5196: invalid number
/usr/sbin/installquirky: line 75: printf: 63.3428: invalid number
/usr/sbin/installquirky: line 75: printf: 489.284: invalid number

All sizes in Giga were zero.

fix: insert LANG=C

Code: Select all

      ONESIZE="`LANG=C printf "%.1f" $ONESIZE`G"

Might also occur at other lines.

DECIMAL POINT IS COMMA

EDIT

Code: Select all

/usr/sbin/.childproof: line 41: printf: 14.2598: invalid number

same thing

[rufwoof]

Conceptual thing :

Booting frugally (grub4dos) and init set to create zram space using 99% of available remaining free memory (a little free is needed to be left as conventional memory to keep things working (cp ...etc)). Init then copies the contents of q.sfs (puppy) into zram and switches root to that zram image, after deleting q.sfs (having been copied to zram).

That leaves fragmentation. If q.sfs is around 500MB then there's 500MB of free space in devtmpfs (conventional memory) and the rest as zram.

To reduce fragmentation what I did was moved all of /usr and /lib (being big directories) out of zram to /dev (devtmpfs), which left devtmpfs nigh on filled up and zram nigh on empty - so in effect running the working session in zram. i.e. I sym linked /usr and /lib to the /dev/usr and /dev/lib moved folders.

That test somewhat worked, but left a system far from fully functional (but still working to a degree), i.e. it was a very quick-and-dirty crude test of viability. On my 1.5GB system the indications are that 1.3GB of 'free memory' would have been available. On other pup's I typically have around 750MB free on the same PC, so that 1.3GB free seems to tie in with how zram assumes a average 1:2 compression rate. Assuming that broadly holds true for general usage then with a better choice of what actually got moved out of zram to /devtmpfs and after booting Quirky could be running with free memory close to actual total ram/memory.

Obviously what was moved would have to be selected carefully and ideally be stuff that was fixed/read only/little changed - especially if /devtmpfs was being filled to near full capacity - and that could support being sym links rather than actual files/folders.

[Billtoo]

I installed to the hard drive on my emachines D620 laptop:

video-info-glx 1.5.3 Fri 27 Feb 2015 on Quirky April64 7.0 Linux 3.17.4 x86_64
5.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RS690M [Radeon X1200 Series]
oem: ATI ATOMBIOS
product: RS690 01.00

X Server: Xorg Driver: radeon
X.Org version: 1.16.2
dimensions: 1280x800 pixels (338x211 millimeters)
depth of root window: 24 planes


AMD Athlon(tm) Processor 2650e
Core 0: @1596 MHz

After it had installed and before booting for the first time I copied
the contents of the audit directory on my desktop install to the audit
directory of the new laptop install.
When it booted for the first time on the laptop I ran the recover
snapshot, the hard drive light flashed for close to an hour before I lost
patience and rebooted.
Much to my surprise it booted to the desktop showing the 3840x1080
(squished) wallpaper from my desktop install
I needed to compile the mplayer snapshot over again because it would
crash with an error about being compiled on a different cpu, after
compiling again smplayer is working fine.

April64-7.0 seems to be very forgiving

EDIT: There is an error when booting but it doesn't seem to matter, the
desktop installation was on an SDHC card formatted F2FS,the laptop hard
drive is ext4.
I tried doing another snapshot on the laptop but the snapshot utility wouldn't start.
I also added Links-2.9 web browser for reading news while streaming
music with umplayer, it's working well.
Dillo-3.0.4.1 will compile but the fonts look terrible for some reason.

[alphadog]

@ BarryK , Thanks for the explanation about ram usage .
There is so much I have to learn !

[gcmartin]

@BarryK, the work by @L18L is one of interest, bringing a OOTB localization for all user starts consistent with what FirstRUN already does. This advances PUP's worldwide appeal in an excellent yet subtle way.

Have you a FirstRUN PET for testing which would include it? Willing to test if you have one.

As subtle as FirstRUN is, it is extremely valuable in what it does in a single screen?

[kj4bnh]

Full install of April does not have a Firewall icon in the tray. Did I lose it with my endless clicking? Thanks Jim

[BarryK]

Testing my translation I found

Code: Select all

# installquirky 
/usr/sbin/installquirky: line 75: printf: 28.5196: invalid number
/usr/sbin/installquirky: line 75: printf: 63.3428: invalid number
/usr/sbin/installquirky: line 75: printf: 489.284: invalid number

All sizes in Giga were zero.

fix: insert LANG=C

Code: Select all

      ONESIZE="`LANG=C printf "%.1f" $ONESIZE`G"

Might also occur at other lines.

DECIMAL POINT IS COMMA

EDIT

Code: Select all

/usr/sbin/.childproof: line 41: printf: 14.2598: invalid number

same thing

Thanks for that, fixed it.

[BarryK]

... and my multilingual solution for FIRSTRUN from wary64 works OOTB here in Quirky7.

Short explanation:
All available quicksetup.mo files are included.
User's very first choice is language.
This language is used in quicksetup.

Hope this will make it into ServicePack1.

I have got your multilingual solution on my to-do list.

Service Pack 1 though, will be strictly bug fixes.

Have already fixed two things, your LANG=C prefixes, plus missing pppoe executables, that will be in the SP1.

[BarryK]

Full install of April does not have a Firewall icon in the tray. Did I lose it with my endless clicking? Thanks Jim

No, there isn't one.

[L18L]

Have you a FirstRUN PET for testing which would include it? Willing to test if you have one.

No, no FirstRUN PET.
It is launch_app_in_another_LANGUAGE-1.01.pet, see:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... &start=104.
Without some knowledge of Puppy internals you won't.
Thanks for your goodwill.

Anyhow, here is how I have been tested it:

Installed april7 into a partition
Do NOT run it!
cp launch_app_in_another_LANGUAGE-1.01.pet launch.tgz
extract launch.tgz and copy usr/ to april7
(Change one line in usr/sbin/delayedrun. This change is included in pinstall script, but I have done it manually:)

edit usr/sbin/delayedrun and change line 151 from

Code: Select all

    QUICKSETUP="quicksetup"

to

Code: Select all

    #QUICKSETUP="quicksetup"
    QUICKSETUP="launch_app_in_another_LANGUAGE quicksetup"

Now RUN your April 7.0 final FIRST time.

[rameshiyer]

Dear Barry Sir

While trying to setup through commandline, I am getting following message:-

# pppoe-setup
Welcome to the Roaring Penguin PPPoE client setup. First, I will run
some checks on your system to make sure the PPPoE client is installed
properly...

Oh, dear, I can't execute the program '/usr/sbin/pppoe'. Please
re-install the rp-pppoe client

Yes, a bug!

Executables are missing. I will get this fixed for the Service Pack, but for now, I have attached a pppoe executable.

gunzip it, set it's execute flags, place in /usr/sbin.

Let us know if that is enough to get PPPoE working.

Oh yes, the executable is for April64, 64-bit.

Dear Barry Sir

Thank you very much. Now the problem solved. In 32bit also same bug. Please provide 32bit file..

Looking forward service pack, Thanks once again.