Numbered boot choices have gone away [SOLVED]

[bigpup]

pfix=ram is telling the boot process to not use the save file or folder.

Boot with no save.

It will boot into pupmode 5 and run as it does the very first time it ever booted, before a save was made.

This is a way to boot, if you think the save is bad, and you can still get it running to a usable state.

Shutdown and you get asked to make a save.

Note:
RAM was used for the name of the option, because it boots with everything loaded into RAM.

When booted using a save file/folder.
It is not everything loaded into RAM. All the Puppy SFS files are in RAM.
The save file/folder is just layered into the file system, but is still at the location it is stored at. Not in RAM.

[Governor]

pfix=ram is telling the boot process to not use the save file or folder.

Boot with no save.

It will boot into pupmode 5 and run as it does the very first time it ever booted, before a save was made.

This is a way to boot, if you think the save is bad, and you can still get it running to a usable state.

Shutdown and you get asked to make a save.

Note:
RAM was used for the name of the option, because it boots with everything loaded into RAM.

When booted using a save file/folder.
It is not everything loaded into RAM. All the Puppy SFS files are in RAM.
The save file/folder is just layered into the file system, but is still at the location it is stored at. Not in RAM.

But, I am getting a choice of which save to boot from with this in grub.cfg:
linux /pups/BookwormPup64/vmlinuz net.ifnames=0 pmedia=usbflash pdrv=lin69bb0f74 psubdir=/pups/BookwormPup64 [b]pfix=RAM,fsckp[/b] TZ=XXX1

I can tell everything is not loaded into RAM, because of the frequency of accesses to the boot stick.

----------
Once again, I tried to do a frugal installation to my nvme drive. Afterward, I was unable to locate grub.cfg(!)
So, I ran grub2config and created a grub.cfg. I was able to boot the nmve drive, but no settings were loaded. Is that because of the pfix=RAM paramerter?
I took that out and will try booting again.

[Governor]

The nmve drive booted with saved settings when I removed pfix=ram from grub.cfg.

Why didn't the frugal install work by itself, without me using grub2config?

[Governor]

@bigpup @geo_c @williwaw @Clarity@mikewalsh

1) I want all or as much of the OS as possible to be copied to RAM.
2) I want to have a choice of all saves or backups on boot.
3) In addition to using the desktop 'Save' to save to the current 'save' folder, I want to have the dialog box on OS-exit where I can choose the name and location of a new or existing 'Save' folder.

How can I achieve these objectives?
Thanks!

Here is my current pupstate.

Code: Select all

▶—— /etc/rc.d/PUPSTATE ——◀

• PUPMODE=12
 • PDEV1='nvme0n1p2'
 • DEV1FS='ext3'
 • PUPSFS='nvme0n1p2,ext3,/Bookworm64_10.0.6/puppy_dpupbw64_10.0.6.sfs'
 • PUPSAVE='nvme0n1p3,ext3,/Bookworm_save/dpupbw64save-2024-06-25-basic-02'
 • PMEDIA='atahd'

ATADRIVES is all internal ide/pata/sata drives, excluding optical, excluding usb...
 • ATADRIVES='nvme0n1 '

ATAOPTICALDRIVES is list of non-usb optical drives...
 • ATAOPTICALDRIVES=''

These directories are unionfs/aufs layers in /initrd...
 • RW_LAYER='/pup_rw'
 • SAVE_LAYER='/pup_rw'
 • PUP_LAYER='/pup_ro2'

The partition that has the dpupbw64save file is mounted here...
 • PUP_HOME='/mnt/dev_save'
(in /initrd) ...note, /mnt/home is a link to it.

This file has extra kernel drivers and firmware...
 • ZDRV='nvme0n1p2,ext3,/Bookworm64_10.0.6/zdrv_dpupbw64_10.0.6.sfs'
 • FDRV='nvme0n1p2,ext3,/Bookworm64_10.0.6/fdrv_dpupbw64_10.0.6.sfs'
 • ADRV='nvme0n1p2,ext3,/Bookworm64_10.0.6/adrv_dpupbw64_10.0.6.sfs'
 • YDRV=''
 • BDRV='nvme0n1p2,ext3,/Bookworm64_10.0.6/bdrv_dpupbw64_10.0.6.sfs'

Partition no. override on boot drive to which session is (or will be) saved...
 • PSAVEMARK=''
 • PSAVEPART='nvme0n1p3'
 • PSAVEDIR='/Bookworm_save/'
 • PSUBDIR='/Bookworm64_10.0.6'
 • PUNIONFS='overlay'
 • DOIMODS='yes'
 • DOMIBS='no'

▶—— Common Pupmodes ——◀

PUPMODE 02 : full install
PUPMODE 03 : full install, flash drive
PUPMODE 05 : first boot [or pfix=ram]
PUPMODE 06 : pup_save is a partition
PUPMODE 07 : ditto, but flash drive
PUPMODE 12 : normal running puppy
PUPMODE 13 : ditto, but flash drive
PUPMODE 66 : pup_save is tar.gz archive, flash drive

[williwaw]

The nmve drive booted with saved settings when I removed pfix=ram from grub.cfg.

Why didn't the frugal install work by itself, without me using grub2config?

nice to see your nvme frugal working

if you deleted everything in your boot partition as possibly reported with .....

The first 3 partitions of the nvme drive are empty, FAT32, ext3, ext3, respectively.

then installing a boot loader was helpful.

if you are in fact booting with a new bootloader created by recently running grub2config on the empty fat partition on your nvme, then my advice is to never again run another boot loader installer or try to install another OS to a partition unless you can absolutely guarantee it will not mess with your new grub2config install.

Having too many boot apps and configs on the nvme has been a problem since you first reported in 2022

After installing fossapup64.9.5 to my internal nvme SSD drive (formatted to one ext4 partition and one swap partition) using the pup installer non-efi, grub4dos reports "No supported file systems found."

I can see the fossapup files on the drive, but grub4dos can't see the file system.

What bootloader should work in this situation?

My install procedure can be found here:
https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewto ... 236#p75236

I first had a FAT32 partition, but I read that it was better for Puppy to have a ext4 partition, so I changed it to ext4.
Then someone said GRUB wouldn't work on a ext4 partition so I changed it back to FAT32.
Someone else said that GRUB would work, so I changed it back to ext4.

I would like 2 independent boot drives, my internal drive and my thumb drive.

Thanks!

I would actually refrain from ever running grub2config again also. the only further purpose it could serve is to add a boot stanza to the existing new grub.cfg, which can also easily be done with a manual edit. Its nice to know exactly where you are booting from. Always.

Can you physically remove all the USB and CD paraphernalia and duplicate?

The nmve drive booted with saved settings when I removed pfix=ram from grub.cfg.

[williwaw]

@bigpup @geo_c @williwaw @Clarity@mikewalsh

1) I want all or as much of the OS as possible to be copied to RAM.
2) I want to have a choice of all saves or backups on boot.
3) In addition to using the desktop 'Save' to save to the current 'save' folder, I want to have the dialog box on OS-exit where I can choose the name and location of a new or existing 'Save' folder.

How can I achieve these objectives?
Thanks!

with more than one save in your nvme frugal you should get the list at boot time
th make this happen, copy a save from your usb to your nvme install folder, while you are booted from your nvme it will allow the choices on the next boot.

choosing 0 at boot time from the list of saves is the same as booting with a seperate grub.cfg boot entry with pfix=ram, and will allow you to get the shutdown dialog to make new savefolders

one boot entry in grug.cfg with pmedia=ataflash will give you the save icon on the desktop

[Governor]

I started a new thread here:
How to configure dual boot with bookworm and fossapup on internal NVMe
https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewto ... 41#p124541