Problem installing (frugal) UPup into flash drive,Solved

[tosim]

Have unsuccessfully made 7 attempts to frugal install UPupupFF+D-20.12+4.iso into the sdb1 of my flash drive, using the FrugalPup Installer app on FossaPup64. I've used this to install several other pups there, and there is ample space. I've even placed, and successfully ran
this iso on a "Pentoy" multi-boot card. Here is a ss of the popup error message:

Screenshot.png (23.17 KiB) Viewed 1615 times

Thank you for any suggestions.

14May2021
UPDATE: Deleted all that I had with UPupFF32(for about the 6th time), dl'd the Base ISO,+5delta,+v32 FrugalPup Installer to start totally anew.
IT WORKED!, and I am writing this update using the Light browser from it.
A great many thanks to those whom gave me assistance! THANKS

[bigpup]

Make sure the drive partition, that the iso is on, is mounted.
I assume you are selecting the iso as source?

[tosim]

Thanks for the reply. I found the problem just a short while ago.In grub.cfg after changing all the media from cd to usbflash, using Geany, then clicking Save and closing, it turns out that is write protected, and reverts to cd. I've tried changing permissions, etc., to no avail. Am really in a quandary on how to proceed.Any assistance gratefully accepted.Thank you.

[rockedge]

@tosim Looks like you will need to edit the ISO! Not that hard to do at all. You are trying to edit the grub.cfg that is in the ISO image file?

You might find doing your edit then re-mastering to be the easiest but a quick jab with an iso editor to extract that one file, change it and let the iso editor re-compress it, could be more to your liking.

In a while I'll have more time to lend a hand if no one else has an easier approach and some instructions to share.

[mikeslr]

rockedge, that's not how I interpreted this "In grub.cfg after changing all the media from cd to usbflash, using Geany, then clicking Save and closing, it turns out that is write protected, and reverts to cd". I read that to mean that the USB-Key --or at least the first partition on which the boot-loader would reside-- is write-protected.
I don't know anyway to overcome that except use gparted to reformat. And that will wipe out anything on that partition --which I take to mean everything as the OS is also on sdb1.

[tosim]

Thank you both for the (quick) replies.I'm pretty sure that ONLY the grub.cfg file is write protected. I even tried, after making the "usbflash" changes in Geany, to make a copy of it, and to use that as the grub.cfg, but also to no avail. Also, in the past I've had troubles trying to use the iso master(?) app.

[mikeslr]

...I'm pretty sure that ONLY the grub.cfg file is write protected....

Can you write a text file to the USB-Key? If you don't have a UEFI-computer, what happens if you run Menu>Setup>Grub4dos to the USB-Key?

[tosim]

mikesir: I'm afraid you lost me on that reply.

[mikeslr]

mikesir: I'm afraid you lost me on that reply.

That's because you previously lost me and reading your last post before I had finished my first cup of coffee I didn't even know I was lost.
I just re-read your first post which I now read to mean that attempting to add UPupupFF+D-20.12+4.iso to the USB-Key you used frugal-installer and received a notice that "frugalpup-dopupdir" could not find a source. It also tells me that you are still using frugalpup version 20.
Your subsequent post was about an inability to change the grub.cfg on the USB-Stick because it alone was write-protected. That was the ONLY condition my last post addressed.
You did not mention decompressing the UPupupFF+D-20.12+4.iso. I don't recall frugalpup version 20 being able to work directly with an ISO. Ventoy can. SuperGrub2 can. frugalpup-installer writes a grub2 grub.cfg and grub2 can. But I don't recall frugalpup-installer version 20, itself, being able to read the contents of an ISO which is a pre-requisite to finding a source it would need to write a grub.cfg listing.
At any rate, frugalpup-installer is now up to version 31. viewtopic.php?p=24366#p24366. version 31 can not only use ISOs as a source, it can just update a grub.cfg rather than replace it. gyrog published version 31 in both pet and sfs formats. Download and install the pet. Applications you install to your SaveFile/Folder have priority over builtins and SFSes.

FrugalPup v31(1).png (81.16 KiB) Viewed 1501 times

However, the 'Boot Button' Option does not offer ISOs as a 'source' choice. The 'Puppy Button' Option does. But then you must choose between using an ISO or a partition housing several Puppy as the Source. If you choose 'as the directory' the partition holding BOTH one or more Puppy folders AND an ISO the grub.cfg created WILL NOT include a listing for the ISO.

[gyrog]

@tosim,
This doesn't make sense.
The "No source specified" error message would indicate that FrugalPup wrote no Puppy files to your sdb1.
But you say the problem is that 'grub.cfg' is read only.
When FrugalPup is trying to write the Puppy files, i.e. the ".sfs" files etc. to the install directory, it doesn't matter if 'grub.cfg' is read only or not.
If you got that error message when using 'StickPup', 'f2StickPup' or 'DiskPup' then the whole app would have exited at that point, and FrugalPup wrote exactly nothing to sdb1.

So, did you use 'StickPup' or 'f2StickPup' to try to do this?
They both completely recreate the whole drive, including a new partition table, and they don't set anything read only.
(Of course, that destroys anything that is curently on the usb stick.)

If you are running 'FrugalPup' itself then the message comes from the "Puppy" facility which writes the Puppy files, not the "Boot" facility which writes the grub2 stuff including 'grub.cfg'.

Is the partition itself read only?

FYI, FrugalPup has been able to extract the contents from an ISO file since before it's first release, that includes v20.

Edit:
FrugalPup did NOT write that boot entry, it never writes "pmedia=cd".

[tosim]

mikesir: Sorry-I wasn't aware of the FrugalPup update as I've been in VA Hospital until several days ago, with no wifi. (Normally, I log into this forum daily, click on new posts, and read the applicable posts.) Anyhow, thanks for the v31 link, which I will dl,
and yes, you were correct-grub.cfg
gyrog: I used th FrugalPup app in FossaPup64. The only thing that was written was the (empty)folder named UPupFF. Partition is not read only.

Thank you both for the assistance. I will get the v31 dl now, and check it out.

[bigpup]

Answer the questions!

We need to know exactly what you are doing using Frugalpup Installer.
Just saying you used Frugalpup Installer, tells us nothing useful to help you.
You may just be using it wrong or the drive is setup wrong.
Our spy satellite, is not getting a good image of your computers desktop!

[tosim]

bigpup:i am adding these 2 screenshots to show what I've already had placed on the flash drive, using Frugal Pup Installer,v20,so as to show I (supposedly) know how to use the app, plus making the changes to grub.cfg file, i.e., "usbflash". All work properly, exception is UPupFF32, which had only wrote the (empty) Save folder to sdb3. The other ss is showing that I used Frugal Pup Installer,v31, again to no avail. As stated by me previously, I again, using Geany, made the change to "usbflash", when I clicked on Save, I received the error message-File truncated.I tried again, this time cloning the reconfigured grub file, deleting the original grub file, and installing cloned file-still not working. Again, thanks to all for your assistance.

pups.jpg (10.52 KiB) Viewed 1359 times

Screenshot.jpg (10.47 KiB) Viewed 1359 times

[bigpup]

Make sure the drive partition, that the iso is on, is mounted.
Is it?
I assume you are selecting the iso as source.
Are you?

What is the partitioning and formatting on this USB drive?
Yes it can make a difference!
What is on each partition?

Are you using the Frugalpup Installer boot button, to install Frugalpup's version of a boot loader, to boot everything?
You should not need to edit it's boot loader grub.cfg file.
It determines what the drive is and makes the correct pmedia= entry.

Also, UPFF32 as the name of the directory, may be confusing.
Frugalpup Installer, boot loader install, looks for names with pup in them.

[tosim]

bigpup: Thanks for the reply.
1.drive partition, that the iso is on, is mounted. 2.iso is the source 3.partitioning is:db1,sdb2,sdb3 these 3 as done by FrugalPup Installer, and also followed FP as what to place on each partition 4.I have tried using the FrugalPup Installer boot button, to install Frugalpup's version of a boot loader, to boot everything, however, as the UPupFF32 never got installed, it did not run 5.I understand what you're saying re "pup in the name" and will make the change. Thank you again.

[bigpup]

When you open Rox file manager at the location of the iso.
Can you left click on the iso and have it open, showing what is in it?
That should tell us it is a good accessible iso.

[tosim]

bigpup: Thanks again for all your replies. Please see first post of this thread. Problem Solved.

[gyrog]

Problem Solved.

Great.