BionicPup64 8 doesn't load save files in Qemu-KVM

[EfficientPup]

I tried it out after seeing a video with it installed and really liking what I saw and after getting around I was blown away, I love this little guy! I am worried though that there are going to be many issues getting in the way and the first big one is after installing within my VM and restarting it just doesn't load the save. I did locate it to make sure there was one. What concerns me even more is when I searched for solutions this top result is of someone who apparently spent 40 hours trying to figure out why the save wasn't being loaded and there was never closure as to if it was solved:

https://www.linuxquestions.org/question ... 175648246/

I'm pretty new to linux still and I have no desire to spend even 4 hours figuring this out, I've been down that road before and I'm sick of frustration like that. I already checked the VM boot order to make sure it was pointed to the right drive (sda1). Since that question in the link from 2019, is there a priority list of what to first try to troubleshoot the lack of loading? I don't know what info to paste from system info to assist. Thank you.

[rockedge]

So when you reboot the QEMU virtual machine Bionic64 starts like it's the first time? Does the /mnt/sda1 belong to the virtual machine? Is Bionic64 running booted from the ISO or did you create and format the QEMU HDD and frugally install Bionicpup64?

I have a few VirtualBox machines running different Puppy's and Dog's and unless I specifically create the virtual hard drive there is no saving

[Jafadmin]

Just in case someone searches and lands in this thread, here is how to specify savefile location by UUID

Where the savefile is at /BionicPup64/bionicpup64save.4fs on the disk partition with UUID "1497e69d-143d-4236-ac03-cd6e05d11de1"
menu.lst Example:

Code: Select all

title BionicPup64 TEST
  uuid 1497e69d-143d-4236-ac03-cd6e05d11de1
#   Now tell it to use the savefile on the HDD
  kernel /BionicPup64/vmlinuz   psubdir=BionicPup64 psave=1497e69d-143d-4236-ac03-cd6e05d11de1:BionicPup64/bionicpup64save.4fs pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
  initrd /BionicPup64/initrd.gz 

[mikeslr]

....
I have a few VirtualBox machines running different Puppy's and Dog's and unless I specifically create the virtual hard drive there is no saving

Emphasis supplied.
Puppys are designed to run as a 'Frugal Install' from a storage media: copy files from there into RAM, run in RAM and save changes --settings, customization, installed applications-- to that storage media from which those changes will be copied into RAM on subsequent boot-ups.

[EfficientPup]

So when you reboot the QEMU virtual machine Bionic64 starts like it's the first time? Does the /mnt/sda1 belong to the virtual machine? Is Bionic64 running booted from the ISO or did you create and format the QEMU HDD and frugally install Bionicpup64?

I have a few VirtualBox machines running different Puppy's and Dog's and unless I specifically create the virtual hard drive there is no saving

I remember creating and formatting the Qemu HDD when doing the frugal install of Bionicpup. /mnt/sda1 belongs to the virtual machine confuses me since it couldn't otherwise? It can't see my real OS system.

When setting up the VM I had to create the virtual HDD and it shows up on everything like Gparted and System Info. I learn best by example so what do I need to check in what as some of what is happening is nebulous.

[bigpup]

Not sure what you see when you boot Bionicpup64 8.0.
If you see a boot menu with options to boot Bionicpup.
Make sure to select the normal boot ("Start bionicpup64 8.0"), which should be the first boot menu entry.

Do not use the entry that is ram only. ("Start bionicpup64 8.0 - RAM only")
That tells Bionicpup to boot and not use the save.

A frugal install is always running in RAM.

[EfficientPup]

Not sure what you see when you boot Bionicpup64 8.0.
If you see a boot menu with options to boot Bionicpup.
Make sure to select the normal boot ("Start bionicpup64 8.0"), which should be the first boot menu entry.

Do not use the entry that is ram only. ("Start bionicpup64 8.0 - RAM only")
That tells Bionicpup to boot and not use the save.

A frugal install is always running in RAM.

I get the boot menu and select the first entry. It just simply doesn't see my save . I guess I'll try different pups out and cross my fingers that it does what its suppose to do or its game over very early.

I don't even see an option for RAM only in the boot menu.

[rockedge]

Do you see an option for "Advanced Menu" on the boot menu? In the advanced menu is a RAM only boot.

Can you copy and paste here the menu.lst boot stanza you are using?

I think the problem lays in the boot stanza in the menu.lst or grub2 configuration. The system is being told not to load and or look for a save file/folder. We know the save file exists and is on /mnt/sda1. Where is Bionic64 booting from? The HDD?

So if the file is written and exists it must be something in the configuration preventing a load of the file system.

Does the save file have any content in it? Meaning it isn't at 0 bytes?

[EfficientPup]

Do you see an option for "Advanced Menu" on the boot menu? In the advanced menu is a RAM only boot.

Can you copy and paste here the menu.lst boot stanza you are using?

I think the problem lays in the boot stanza in the menu.lst or grub2 configuration. The system is being told not to load and or look for a save file/folder. We know the save file exists and is on /mnt/sda1. Where is Bionic64 booting from? The HDD?

So if the file is written and exists it must be something in the configuration preventing a load of the file system.

Does the save file have any content in it? Meaning it isn't at 0 bytes?

Yes I see the Advanced Menu with more options.

The menu.lst :

Code: Select all

# menu.lst produced by grub4dosconfig-v1.9.3
color white/blue black/cyan white/black cyan/black
#splashimage=/splash.xpm
timeout 10
default 0

# Frugal installed Puppy

title Puppy bionicpup64 8.0 (sda1/Pup8.0)
  find --set-root uuid () 564667ca-3c2b-4404-96a0-dca8bfc8af10
  kernel /Pup8.0/vmlinuz  pdrv=564667ca-3c2b-4404-96a0-dca8bfc8af10  psubdir=/Pup8.0 pmedia=atahd pfix=fsck
  initrd /Pup8.0/initrd.gz

# Windows
# this entry searches Windows on the HDD and boot it up
title Windows\nBoot up Windows if installed
  errorcheck off
  find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd  /bootmgr
  chainloader /bootmgr
  find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd  /ntldr
  chainloader /ntldr
  find --set-root --ignore-floppies --ignore-cd   /io.sys
  chainloader /io.sys
  errorcheck on

# Advanced Menu
title Advanced menu
  configfile /menu-advanced.lst
  commandline

BionicPup is booting from /var/lib/libvirt/images/BionicPup64.qcow2 through "IDE Disk 1".

There is data in the save folders in the hundreds of MBs and I see my other 2 saves when trying to troubleshoot. The latest one I saved I noticed a menu I don't remember asking about what size it can be with the default chosen at 512 MB. This time when I booted just now that startup screen doesn't appear which is progress I guess but none of my 3 open windows are present plus I was never given the option to choose a save.

Another thing I noticed in my mnt/home dir is that my very first save has folders and all, but the latest two only have the 5 "main" files. I did play around a lot with the first save so there was more to store? My latest save is stored in an additional folder level so mnt/home/Pup8.0 .

[EfficientPup]

I tested some and I may have mis-understood what the save files are actually for as it was my impression that it saves the RAM to the file so your "session" would also be saved with all windows that were open to be reopened in a save state. It does load the latest save fine that I read in the startup output. I'm not able to choose the save though.

[bigpup]

It does load the latest save fine that I read in the startup output. I'm not able to choose the save though.

If there is only one save, the boot process just uses it. Nothing to select.
When you shutdown.
If a save was being used, no need to ask if you want to make a save, so it does not ask.
If you have made more than one save. (They are made correctly)
On boot up a list of saves should pop up.
You choose the one to use.

I am not really sure you have more than one save.

Think of the save as the storage location Puppy Linux uses.
Any changes, added programs, settings, etc..... are stored in the save.

Puppy booting using the save, always boots to a working desktop and you go from there.
But any programs you may have installed are installed.
Any setting changes or configuration changes you made, are in affect.
Anything you changed and made different from the very first original boot up.

The core Bionicpup OS is kept read only.
The save stores anything that is different from that.

Puppy Linux has no save session ability.

[EfficientPup]

It does load the latest save fine that I read in the startup output. I'm not able to choose the save though.

If there is only one save, the boot process just uses it. Nothing to select.

I am not really sure you have more than one save.

...

Puppy Linux has no save session ability.

I have 3 saves now. I kept making new ones as I wasn't able to get one loaded at startup but something changed during my attempts so restarting until it was "fixed" worked this time.

That's too bad it doesn't do save sessions, after reading/watching how saves work a few times I still don't get why it needs to be 512 MB+ or so if the session isn't saved so I just assume its a flexibility feature for robustness (running off low-end hw/non-mass storage).

[bigpup]

If the save you made has a specific size 512MB.
You made a save file.
It is a special type of file.
It is actually a file system inside a file.
A save file is made a specific size, because a file cannot adjust in size as you put stuff in it or remove stuff.
Again the save is a storage area for Puppy to use.
So, lets say you put 100MB of stuff in the save file.
That 512MB save still has 412MB of free space, to but stuff.

If you run out of free space in the save.
You can make it bigger using menu->Utility->Resize Personal Storage.