Information on NoblePup64 Alpha Development

[IdfbAn]

This topic might be in the wrong forum, please move if it is.

NoblePup64 is a 64-bit Puppy Linux distribution that is built from, and compatible with Ubuntu 24.04 packages.

Status: Alpha, please see the release notes on GitHub.

So far, I've found a few issues:

• Wi-Fi does not work

• mpv is just a blue screen, though the audio still seems to be perfectly fine

• DeaDBeeF's GUI only works if the devx sfs is loaded

If anyone finds an issue that I haven't, or something works for you that doesn't for me, please say so. This is my first time contributing to Puppy, so I might be doing something horrifically wrong.

Download NoblePup64 here. You should probably use https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/w ... oble64.yml instead.

[Jasper]

@IdfbAn

Thanks for doing this ............. on the page it informs you the ISO is 3 weeks old.

Which kernel are you using for this particular build?

[user1234]

Ah, that is great! I hope once you are satisfied with it, you're gonna make a PR to official woof-CE for it, right?

I will surely test this.

---

[*]DeaDBeeF's GUI only works if the devx sfs is loaded

You'll have to check which packages from devx are required here in the main sfs. Maybe, try doing dev>exe at https://github.com/IdfbAn/woof-CE/blob/ ... noble#L100?

[IdfbAn]

@IdfbAn

Thanks for doing this ............. on the page it informs you the ISO is 3 weeks old.

Which kernel are you using for this particular build?

I'm using the release.yml workflow for now, so the one here. (At least, I think)

[IdfbAn]

Or if you want the specific kernel-kit build, alpha2 uses the one here. The artifacts have since expired, though.

[mikewalsh]

@IdfbAn :-

DeaDBeeF's GUI only works if the devx sfs is loaded...

That's very odd. I've never yet come across a Puppy that won't run the GUI; the 'portables' all run fine, but this is of course a very early-stage build.....and unfortunately, I never get involved with ANY Puppy this early in its lifetime. I'm not a very good "tester" at all!

Have you tried firing-up DeaDBeeF from the terminal without the devx loaded, to see what output it gives (and exactly what it's complaining about?) I very much doubt you need all that lot for it to run; probably just a couple of missing items.

Mike.

[IdfbAn]

@IdfbAn :-

DeaDBeeF's GUI only works if the devx sfs is loaded...

Have you tried firing-up DeaDBeeF from the terminal without the devx loaded, to see what output it gives (and exactly what it's complaining about?) I very much doubt you need all that lot for it to run; probably just a couple of missing items.

I actually did a little while ago. I don't remember exactly what it said, but it was something about some libraries (or whatever) not being found.

[Jasper]

Didn't look too closely at the assets ........... kernel 6.6.14 ...Aufs enabled

Boots up and brings me to the desktop

Tried using terminal to see if I scan for a WiFi network

wpa_cli

this did not work.

Could not locate FFMpeg (6.1.1 - Lubuntu) . I can find the libs which are used but not the binaries.

[dimkr]

Maybe you'll find https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/woof-CE/pull/4246 useful, it adds a Puppy kernel built from 24.04 kernel source.

[thinkpadfreak]

I have succeeded in connecting to the Internet.

I added the dhcpcd and dhcpcd-base packages from ubuntu noble.
(gdebi does not work without the devx sfs.)
I replaced the fdrv with the one borrowed from bookwormpup64.
(/var/log/messages had reported that there was no suitable firmware.)
Then I used frisbee to set up the Internet connection.
(There is no network icon in the tray.)

Edit:
I mean that the wi-fi network works.

[thinkpadfreak]

I have succeeded in playing a video with mpv.

I installed ffmpeg.
I put yt-dlp in /usr/bin and created a link to it as youtube-dl.
I used the following command to play a youtube video:
$ mpv --ytdl-format="(mp4)[height=720]" "URL" --vo=x11

mpv tries to play a video with openGL by default. So I suspect that something is wrong with the video driver (intel in my case) or openGL or mpv itself.

By the way, is this project going to be continued? I wonder why no one wants to post.

[dimkr]

By the way, is this project going to be continued? I wonder why no one wants to post.

So far I've contributed these:

https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/woof-CE/pull/4248
https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/woof-CE/pull/4247
https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/woof-CE/pull/4246
https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/woof-CE/pull/4245
https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/woof-CE/pull/4254

You should be able to find development builds in https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/w ... oble64.yml (click a "workflow runs" row, then go to Artifacts).

[thinkpadfreak]

@dimkr
Thanks for your reply. But I am no computer expert, and all I can do is to report what has happened on my machine.

As I posted above, there seem to be some things missing in the iso. Are they going to be introduced in the iso in the near future?

And one more thing. The fdrv is too large, but it did not supply a suitable firmware for my wi-fi adaptor. So I had to borrow an fdrv sfs from another pup. My hardware is not a rare one at all.

[Jasper]

@thinkpadfreak

Recently, I booted up Fossapup64-95 without a Fdrv simply to see which hardware components would function without the inclusion of a separate driver file.

The test PC had Intel components and these are usually supported with the Linux kernel.

The only issue I had was an Intel WiFi driver which I was shown where to find the necessary files and I simply created a Pet file with only the WiFi drivers.

To identify the hardware, I typed into terminal:

lspci

which gave me a working list of hardware.

I understand why large firmware driver files are useful as they will accommodate a larger base of PCs' to be ready to use OTB. It makes sense as the main thing which everyone wants is there display, sound, WiFi etc to work immediately. If it doesn't it could be a deal breaker for some.

[dimkr]

As I posted above, there seem to be some things missing in the iso. Are they going to be introduced in the iso in the near future?

I don't know, it's a question for @IdfbAn and others interested in working on a noble-based Puppy. My contributions only add the "framework" and allow the woof-CE build process to complete successfully, so somebody else can take it from there.

And one more thing. The fdrv is too large, but it did not supply a suitable firmware for my wi-fi adaptor. So I had to borrow an fdrv sfs from another pup. My hardware is not a rare one at all.

If you're using the development build downloaded from GitHub - it's an enormous fdrv that should include all firmware installed by default in Ubuntu 24.04.

[thinkpadfreak]

@Jasper and @dimkr
Thanks for your reply and advice.

I think I understand what you say about the fdrv.
It is strange that the fdrv generated with the default setting of ubuntu 24.04 does not include a suiable firmware for my hardware.

Anyway I have found the workarounds as to my wi-fi adaptor and mpv. I know this version is still alpha quality, but it does not seem to have vital defects. Actually, I am writing this on NoblePup64.

[thinkpadfreak]

You should be able to find development builds in https://github.com/puppylinux-woof-CE/w ... oble64.yml (click a "workflow runs" row, then go to Artifacts).

I tried the iso.
The wi-fi network setup is OK. But mpv starts with a blue screen.
The most annoying thing is that no locales are included. So I could not switch the language to Japanese.
I installed locales, but I could not switch to a complete Japanese environment.

I wonder why an unusable iso has been created.

[user1234]

I wonder why an unusable iso has been created.

For testing during development .

And yeah, during development, you have to see thousands of such unusable ISOs before you finally get it working

[thinkpadfreak]

For testing during development

Thanks for your reply.
I think I have to be more tolerant. But it would be better if woof-CE had some "sanity check" function.

Edit:
I have japanised NoblePup64, and it works almost fine after some adjustments. At present, the noblepup64 iso is better than the upup-24.04 iso.

[Jasper]

@thinkpadfreak

Pleased to hear that you have got it working for you.

So, the only steps to get it working were to install the following packages:

FFMpeg
dhcpcd
dhcpcd-base
Frisbee (PET)

Are the packages just found via Launchpad?

[thinkpadfreak]

So, the only steps to get it working were to install the following packages:

FFMpeg
dhcpcd
dhcpcd-base
Frisbee (PET)

Are the packages just found via Launchpad?

As for dhcpcd and dhcpcd-base, yes.
I borrowed the fdrv sfs from bookwormpup64, which included suitable firmware for my wi-fi adaptor.
frisbee is included in the iso. I started it from the terminal.

After success in connecting to the Internet, I installed ffmpeg with apt-get.

[Jasper]

@thinkpadfreak

Thanks for the info, appreciated

BTW I have compiled mpv myself this should contain it's own codecs for playback.

My understanding is that FFMpeg really is a general purpose tool that 3rd party applications can use.

Therefore, I would have simply replaced the existing mpv with a different build ie Launchpad or compiled it myself.

I think I will try it again and see how I fare this time round.

[thinkpadfreak]

I am experimenting with NoblePup64.

Connman worked without the dhcpcd package. This became possible probably because I replaced the fdrv with the one borrowed from bookwormpup64.

It seems that openGL is broken, or something essential is missing. That is why mpv starts with a blue screen. So --vo=x11 or --vo=xv option is necessary for the time being.
--vo=xv is better, because the option reduces the CPU load.

Probably because openGL is broken, firefox cannot deal with contents based on webGL.

[thinkpadfreak]

@IdfbAn

At present, the noblepup64 iso is better than the upup-24.04 iso.

I mean that the iso you first introduced to us is better. The upup-24.04 iso from ubuntu-noble64-1.zip is no good at all.
I tried to switch the language to Japanese, but it did not include locales. It is not usable to other people than those who are familiar with English.

So, please continue your NoblePup64 project.

[IdfbAn]

The numbat has been unleashed.

[Clarity]

I have booted and run 'live' the Ubuntu latest ISO file via Ventoy as well as SG2D. ... works!

[thinkpadfreak]

I mean that the iso you first introduced to us is better. The upup-24.04 iso from ubuntu-noble64-1.zip is no good at all.

noblepup64-10.0-alpha2 uses glibc 2.38, while ubuntu noble uses glibc 2.39.
I have come to a conclusion that it is difficult to continue to use noblepup64-10.0 because there are inconsistencies resulting from the version of glibc.

But what if you create noblepup64-10.0 again now that ubuntu noble has been officially released.

p.s.
The iso from ubuntu-noble64-3.zip has also a few problems but it uses glibc 2.39, the same version as ubuntu noble.
ubuntu-noble64-4 has been created. I am going to test it now.

[Jasper]

@thinkpadfreak

I have requested the Moderators to remove the download links.

[bigpup]

IdfbAn seems to still be making posts in this topic.

So give some time to offer an improved version.

Would help if we could get an update on what is going on with this.

[Jasper]

@bigpup

The latest post here was to an announcement that Noble Numbat had been released official by Canonical