How to boot Puppy from USB with Secure Boot enabled?

[unL33T]

Is it possible to get Puppy running off USB with Secure Boot enabled? Everything I read says to just disable it but I do not have that option. I did find something about FatDog64 working on it but I ended up on a screen to add security keys to something and the page I got it from didn't explain what to do there so I just got security errors and never got it to boot.

I was able to make bootable Ubuntu, Lubuntu, and Fedora live USBs but ended up with issues trying to use persistence on all of them. Fedora was most successful but due to bugs in the livecd-iso-to-disk creator I'm limited to 4GB worth of changes to the system and 4GB Home.

I tried LICK but this put the bootloader on my Windows partition instead of the USB stick.

Thanks all!

[bigpup]

Always, always, always tell us what specific Puppy version you are trying to use.

Is it possible to get Puppy running off USB with Secure Boot enabled? Everything I read says to just disable it but I do not have that option.

All computers with UEFI have option to do this.
Just as computer boots, press whatever key will open UEFI setup. Should tell you the key on the initial boot screen. (escape, delete, F7, F11, etc.....)
In the UEFI setup it may not specifically state disable secure boot.
May call it enable legacy boot or enable CSM.

If you can get a Puppy version booted and running by say the Lick install.
Use the Frugalpup Installer to do the install to USB.

Do it by using this method:
viewtopic.php?p=15734#p15734
You will have to do this from a running Puppy version and have the iso file of the Puppy version you want to install.
Choose to install the UEFI boot loader on the USB.

When you first boot the USB stick, on a UEFI computer, with secure boot enabled.
A process will start, to allow you to install the Puppy security key, to the computer.
It will add this Puppy key, to the other ones, loaded on the computer.

If you still have problems getting the security key installed and able to boot.

Give specific details on where you are getting hung up.
You do what?
You see what?
You are probably just missing a step or doing it wrong.

[bigpup]

If you have any issues with a specific Puppy version you run.
This is information we always need.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=218

[unL33T]

Thank you. I will review those links.

The computer I am trying to use is an HP Probook 650 G2 with an Intel i5-6300U and 8GB RAM. The reason I can't change the BIOS is because they are password protected. If I cannot use a compatible bootloader with Puppy I don't think I will be able to use Puppy.

My old USB that does not boot on this computer (I think because it is MBR) was Tahrup 6.0.5.

I was trying a Fossapup Live. I was able to boot this on another computer (Phenom II 1035T with 16GB RAM usually running Win 10 Pro) that does not have Secure Boot nor UEFI BIOS and then used the built in installer to install to another USB drive. Secure Boot on the computer I wanted to use it on would not allow me to boot off of it. I did try to use LICK to install this on yet another computer (Dell M4600 running Win 7 Pro) to install to USB again and it would not even attempt to boot on the other computer. I think because the bootloader was installed on the hard drive of the other computer rather than the USB drive).

[bigpup]

The reason I can't change the BIOS is because they are password protected.

So you password protected UEFI setup and do not know the password?

[foxpup]

@unL33T Welcome to the kennels.

I suppose you can enter a boot menu (with F12 or some other key), since you report bootable Ubuntu, Lubuntu, and Fedora usb sticks.

You can use frugalpup and enter the puppy/fatdog(?) key on your machine, as bigpup says.
If you do not find it straightforward to do, this may help:
http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/fru ... p-mok.html

You can also try frugalpup-13 to install to usb.
An earlier version may work as well,
but version 13 is the last one where you may be able to boot with secure boot on and without entering the puppy key
and it is in the repo from @gyro for frugalpup https://www.mediafire.com/folder/rdyc5l ... /frugalpup

Frugalpup has to be installed on a Puppy that works.
So you will have to do it on another machine that does run Puppy.

[unL33T]

I don't get an option to enter anything.

Currently I am trying FossaPup64-9.5. I get the Grub menu. I select "Load grub.cfg from local disks."

Then I get the FossaPub64 menu. I select "fossapup64 9.5"

Then I get:

Bootloader has not verified the image loaded.
System has been compromised. Halting.

Then it shuts off.

I'll be honest, I gave up and just used Fedora for awhile. It starts fine.

[unL33T]

The reason I can't change the BIOS is because they are password protected.

So you password protected UEFI setup and do not know the password?

I didn't password protect it. It's a work machine. I just want to be able to run another OS off a USB stick when I'm not at work. Other distros work. They just don't really work as well off a USB stick as Puppy does.

[bigpup]

I was trying a Fossapup Live. I was able to boot this on another computer (Phenom II 1035T with 16GB RAM usually running Win 10 Pro) that does not have Secure Boot nor UEFI BIOS and then used the built in installer to install to another USB drive.

You probably used the Universal Installer that does not do installs for UEFI.
Puppy is full of programs that are still there for supporting very old hardware. That installer is one of them.
It needs to be updated or stop being in Puppy Linux.

Do this same thing, running from a booted Fossapup live USB, installing to a different USB, but use this specific installer to do the install to a USB stick.
menu->Setup->Frugalpup flexable frugal installer
Do it the way I posted here:
viewtopic.php?p=15734#p15734

When you get to installing the boot loader.
Just install the UEFI one.

[mikeslr]

Just to supplement what bigpup wrote.

When you boot a Puppy from a USB-Stick, your actual operating system is in RAM. When you install an application as bigpup suggested it is also only in RAM until a Save is executed. Until then, however --if you don't reboot* the computer-- you can still use the application you installed. Open Menu>Exit>Restart graphical server (AKA restart-x) and Puppy 're-catalogs' what applications make up its system.

--=-=--=-=-
* On reboot/shutdown Puppys clear RAM.

[unL33T]

I was trying a Fossapup Live. I was able to boot this on another computer (Phenom II 1035T with 16GB RAM usually running Win 10 Pro) that does not have Secure Boot nor UEFI BIOS and then used the built in installer to install to another USB drive.

You probably used the Universal Installer that does not do installs for UEFI.
Puppy is full of programs that are still there for supporting very old hardware. That installer is one of them.
It needs to be updated or stop being in Puppy Linux.

Do this same thing, running from a booted Fossapup live USB, installing to a different USB, but use this specific installer to do the install to a USB stick.
menu->Setup->Frugalpup flexable frugal installer
Do it the way I posted here:
viewtopic.php?p=15734#p15734

When you get to installing the boot loader.
Just install the UEFI one.

I used Rufus to create the USB from the ISO. I will try to follow this now.

[unL33T]

Thanks bigpup. Those steps worked! I was prompted to add the key and selected the .cert file from the EFI folder and it seemed to be happy with that.

Now time to get tweaking some things on this. Here's what I've got to set up next:

1. Figure out how to get the monitor to turn off after a certain time of inactivity.

2. Figure out of there's a way to disable the touchpad during typing (it keeps selecting stuff while I'm typing, think in Windows the drivers manage this automatically as I've not had that issue there).

3. Figure out how to get BOINC to work. So far I've installed it but I have to manually start the background client in terminal. The manager works from the menu but if I add the icon to the desktop it gives me an error:

Code: Select all

Failed to change to directory "/var/lib/boinc-client" (No such file or directory).

Additionally in the terminal when running I keep getting "could not open directory 'locale' from /root". It appears the BOINC data is just getting stored in root for some reason. Maybe I'll try installing it from the BOINC website instead of from the PPM.

[unL33T]

Maybe I'll try installing it from the BOINC website instead of from the PPM.

Well that didn't work. Missing libwebkitgtk-1.0.so which I can't find in PPM.

[mikeslr]

Maybe I'll try installing it from the BOINC website instead of from the PPM.

Well that didn't work. Missing https://pkgs.org/search/?q=libwebkitgtk-1.0.so which I can't find in PPM.

Because it's not in Ubuntu Fossa Focal's repos. When things like that happen, try pkgs.org, e.g., https://pkgs.org/search/?q=libwebkitgtk-1.0.so. Following the links eventually produced a link to Ubuntu Bionic Beaver's repos. [Knowing which debian OS Ubuntu used when creating its version can sometimes help. For Fossa, it would be debian buster. But that library was also dropped by debian.]
Download, UExtract and manually place ONLY the required file. The package might contained others which might conflict with those Fossa uses.

But how did you initially install BOINC if not via Fossa's PPM or downloading from BOINC's website?

Trying to run BOINC showed one lib missing. There may be others. Find it's executable. If it created a menu entry, file-browse to its desktop file in /usr/share/applications and open it in a text editor. The argument following Exec= will show it. Then pfind the executable, file-browse to it, Right-Click and select ListDD. Clicking the "Missing" Tab at the bottom will provide a list of all missing libs. If BOINC doesn't have a desktop file* a reasonable guess as to where its binary may be is /usr/bin. If all else fails, it's also reasonable to guess that its binary is named boinc. pfind using that term.

Don't have a touchpad nor a clue as to how to turn one off.
Menu>Desktop>Screen Save Control enables you to set a delay for blanking the screen when there's not been any activity.
-=-=-=-
And occasionally it somewhere other than /usr/share/applications.

Edit Supplemental: Interesting. I was running Bionicpup64 and had no problem using PPM to download Boinc & dependencies and use PaDS to create an SFS which seemed functional. Then switched into Fossapup64 and loaded that SFS. There were missing dependencies, not for boinc, but for boincmgr. From that exploration I learned that there are 3 binaries involved, all found at /usr/bin and all having 'boin' in their names. The one missing dependencies was boincmgr.
But before posting this, on a hunch, I checked and discovered that Fossapup's PPM can download boinc. Likely a newer version, and using newer libraries. So there's probably no reason to use bionicpup's version.
Suggest that you use Fossapup's PPM to install boinc, both boinc-client and boinc-manager & any other 'boinc' offering which may be appropriate to your needs. Then run ListDD on the three binaries you'll find in /usr/bin and report any missing. We'll attempt to help you locate them. If you find any missing, see if a later version is already part of your system.
Example: libicui18n.so.60 => not found. But pfind with the search term "libicui18n.so" --note the absence of ".60" found libicui18n.so.66.1. What you do is tell Puppy to use the 66.1 version when it's looking for the 60 version. You do this by opening a terminal in the folder of the library you have and creating a symbolic link:
ln -s libicui18n.so.66.1 libicui18n.so.60
ln -s name-of-library-which-exists name-of-older-library-being-sought.

But start another thread specific to running boinc under fossapup. The rule of thumb is 'one-thread for one subject' so that, in the future, its easy to recover information already available.

[mikeslr]

Just re-read the first post mentioning boinc. From Puppy Package Manager did you install the offered boinc-client_7.16.6+dfsg-1?
The reason all the files show up in /root is that Puppy run as Root. So the folder /root is the equivalent of a User's Home folder on other Linuxes.

Edit: Well, had a couple of minutes so booted back into Fossapup64 and used its PPM and PaDS 1.17 to build a boinc SFS. [You can find PaDS here, viewtopic.php?p=6355#p6355. It may still require installation of xdotool from PPM]. Once installed you can download all the necessary files via PPM, (Download All packages and Dependencies rather than AutoInstall) then move/copy the files into a folder you created with an appropriate name, e.g boinc-fossa-7. Right-Click the folder and select Combine2SFS which PaDS provided. An SFS of the name you chose will be created in /root. Move it before testing the SFS. Right-Click and SFS-load.
With the SFS so loaded I was able to discover that the main problem seems to relates to the desktop file. It was structured to work with Ubuntu, which Puppy is not.
I edited /usr/share/applications/boinc-manager.desktop to read:
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Version=1.0
Exec=boincmgr
Icon=/usr/share/pixmaps/boincmgr.png
Categories=Network
Name=BOINC Manager
GenericName=BOINC monitor and control utility
... other arguments not important to speakers of English so not presented here.
The argument "Path=/var/lib/boinc-client" was deleted entirely. Not used by, confuses Puppys.
Categories=Network had been selected while running PaDS. It provides a choice of many which Puppys recognize. Ubuntu's categories might not be understood by Puppys.
Icon= was changed. The original was just "Icon=boincmgr.xpm". boincmgr.xpm. was located in /usr/share/pixmaps. But recent Puppys may have a problem with that file format. Without a recognizable file format it won't display on the menu. So, I right-clicked it and opened it in mt-paint, then saved as a .png and provided the path to it [might not be needed, but can't hurt].
After saving the above and Exit>Restart-x Boinc opened without a problem by left-clicking /usr/share/applications/boinc-manager.desktop. But a listing on the menu didn't appear. Opened Menu>Desktop>JWMDesk Manager, Clicked the "Menu" Tab at the top, Clicked the Menu Manager Icon, then clicked OK in the GUI which opened. [Telling Puppys to re-build the menu now seems to be often necessary]. A listing for BOINC Manager then appeared in Menu>Network.

While what I wrote before this edit is true, after deleting the "Path=/var/lib/boinc-client" argument from the desktop file, the previous bunch of files in /root no longer appeared.
You could stop here. But if I were going to use Boinc often --and having the memory of a sieve-- I would take this opportunity to produce a final, functional SFS by:
a) Right-Click an empty space and select New>Directory. Give it a meaningful name such as BOINC_fossapup64-7.16. [When creating pets Puppys use alphanumberics following a - as a version number. Hence, the use of the _ between BOINC and fossapup64. Might as well get use to Puppy's customs even while creating SFSes].
b) Left click the current boinc.sfs and select View.
c ) Copy all files from the window which opens into the BOINC_fossapup64-7.16 folder.
d) Make the necessary changes to usr/share/applications/boinc-manager.desktop
e) Right-Click the BOINC_fossapup64-7.16 folder and select dir2sfs. A new SFS with the name of that folder will be created.
Unload the old SFS and test the new. If everything is OK you can delete the folder you created at step 'a', and all other now unnecessary packages and files.

[unL33T]

I actually got it all working.

I didn't even see the "download all dependencies" option. Thanks for that, should be important and useful. Wonder if I needed that for the dependency warnings that came up for Firefox (exist but not accessible or something like that). But it seems to be running fine?

I just created a bionc folder where I wanted the files, opened the .desktop file as text and changed the dir to that one. I did start my system over from scratch and didn't run boinc or the manager until getting this sorted out because I was worried I'd have extra files kicking around I didn't catch to move.

The script in init.d for starting the boinc client doesn't work because it wants the boinc user to exist which I wasn't able to figure out but just the command "boinc" starts it so I just copied the BOINC Manager.desktop file, edited it to start "urxvt -e boinc" instead, but with the same working directory. All seems good there now except I need to start the icon manually. I intentionally made it open the terminal so I can see warning messages. Next step is to have it open this way as soon as I start the system.

I got the monitor to sleep with the command "xset dpms 180 180 180" which will make the monitor turn off after 3 minutes of inactivity. I believe first number is time to sleep, next is time to suspend, next is time to off. I don't know what difference this makes on an LCD as they all appear to turn it off. Still have to make this take affect every startup as it doesn't follow reboots from what I read.

Still need to figure out a way to get the touchpad to ignore accidental touches while typing. That was getting really annoying while typing this.

I also want to put a link to the screenshot app next to the menu so that's on my list, too, but I don't think that'll be too hard to get going.

Thanks everyone for your help!

[unL33T]

Easily added 'Take a Shot!' to the panel with the 'JWMDesk Manager'.

Added the xset command to startup using 'Startup Control'.

Found the command for disabling the touchpad while typing here: https://oldforum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=751811

Added that command to the startup as well.

To have my 'BOINC Client' and 'BOINC Manager' shortcuts run at startup I just copied their .desktop files to the /root/Startup folder.

Everything is working as I'd like so far now!

[unL33T]

Well here's a weird one...

Autorunning my xset command doesn't work unless I have external monitors connected.

Like if I have no external monitor connected I turn on the laptop and the screen will never shut off. If I run the command again and wait, it will.

If I have an external monitor and turn on the laptop and let it sit the screens all go to sleep when they should.

Thought it was related to the mouse but no, does the same thing whether mouse is connected or not.

Weird.

[unL33T]

Well here's a weird one...

Autorunning my xset command doesn't work unless I have external monitors connected.

Like if I have no external monitor connected I turn on the laptop and the screen will never shut off. If I run the command again and wait, it will.

If I have an external monitor and turn on the laptop and let it sit the screens all go to sleep when they should.

Thought it was related to the mouse but no, does the same thing whether mouse is connected or not.

Weird.

Posted too soon because I fixed it already.

There was an "ss-off" script in the Startup folder with these lines:

Code: Select all

xset s off dpms 0 0 0 -dpms

This disables the screensaver (ok, no problem), sets all the monitor timeouts to zero (no thanks), and then disables the monitor power saving completely (no thanks).

Moved it to the 'disabled' folder, copied it with a new name back into Startup but changed it to:

Code: Select all

xset s off dpms 0 0 180

Then moved my xset command in 'autostart" to "disabled" as well since it should not longer be needed. Rebooted.

Now monitor sleeps after 3 minutes regardless.

My guess is with multiple monitors something was getting delayed enough that my xset shortcut would run after the 'ss-off' script and work properly but without the external monitors mine must've been running first and then had its settings overwrote but this script.

Sorry if I'm posting a lot, just want others to be able to find the solutions if a search leads them here.

[mikeslr]

Your apology was not only not necessary, it was misguided.
Here we are all explorers, even the most experienced Devs. Your posts have mapped terrain which might not be familiar to many of us; and any of us might someday stumble into.
You've received my for it as I, for one, didn't previously know.

[unL33T]

Your apology was not only not necessary, it was misguided.
Here we are all explorers, even the most experienced Devs. Your posts have mapped terrain which might not be familiar to many of us; and any of us might someday stumble into.
You've received my for it as I, for one, didn't previously know.

Thanks! Good to know.

Anyone know if there's a way to make Rox Filer always show the Path Entry box when it's started? I could not find it in the options.

[mikeslr]

...Anyone know if there's a way to make Rox Filer always show the Path Entry box when it's started? I could not find it in the options.

Well, seeking a solution resulted in a surprise. At least on my system Rox-Filer always opens to /root.

Under Puppys, /root is the analog of a User's Home Folder. In it are hidden files (Left-Click rox's 'eye') for most settings and customizations; and by default /root has a /my-documents folder and similar folders. If you're not using firefox-portable, your first use of firefox will create a /Downloads folder there. And Puppy Package Manager by default downloads to /root. So, there really isn't any need for a display of path.

I thought I had modified my system to always open to /root by editing the Exec=argument in /usr/share/applications/ROX-Filer-file-manager.desktop to read "Exec=roxfiler /root". But that's not the case. Perhaps the Devs have changed rox's default configuration. At any rate, it just reads "Exec=roxfiler".
If you want rox to initially open to a different location just add the path to your chosen folder to Exec=roxfiler.
Hint: rox supports bookmarks, 3rd Tool from the Left at the Top. After file-browsing to a folder which will be frequently accessed you can bookmark it. Then it will only be 2 clicks and a short scroll away.
Hints 2 & 3: Rox makes extensive use of Right-Clicks. Right-Click anything, including empty spaces and see what's available. Also see the post here for some handy but obscure Middle-Clicks, viewtopic.php?p=39586#p39586. Other posts on that thread show how to extend beyond those.
Speaking of your /root folder, there's something unique to Puppys. /root/my-applications/bin is "on the path". You don't have to spell-out the path to executables placed there: 'though that doesn't hurt. I find it a convenient location to place small applications and scripts equally unique to Puppys.
By the way before we both get 'chewed out' let me also pass on this other tip. There's a 'Rule of Thumb' on the Forum: "One thread, one topic". Honored in the breach, especially for Newbies. But keeping some semblance of order helps to find information again. The 'Old-murga' forum had over 1 Million posts with much still valid information provided by fans who may not, themselves, still be available.
I'd add the recommendation that titles to posts also be meaningful.
Edit: Took my own advice and changed the title to my reply.

[unL33T]

Ok. I was worried that might be a faux pas. Since my original issue has been resolved I will create new posts for my future topics.

I understand how to get Rox-Filer to open to different directories. I just like seeing the path entry option and would prefer not to have to open it myself. It's not a big deal if the option doesn't exist.

Cheers.

[mikewalsh]

@unL33T :-

Having had my curiosity piqued by your queries I've just spent the best part of an hour looking through the ROX-Filer user manual over at SourceForge.

I can't find any command-line 'flag' or '--switch' that would start ROX with the path-entry box enabled by default. However; once open, hitting the forward slash key "/" will bring it straight up.....and hitting "Esc" immediately dismisses it again.

I think that's about the best you're going to get on that one.

(Every community forum ever created will do some things perhaps differently to others, but one particular behaviour is pretty much universal across the board.....and that is, as t'other Mike says, that of "One post, one subject". Because if you don't stick to this wherever possible, it all gets dreadfully confusing, and nobody can find anything after a while. Even though it's understandable with beginners.....especially the more enthusiastic ones!)

Mike.

[Abraham]

I don't know how puppy linux can be booted with secure boot. I had faced the same issue.
However Linux Mint can be installed with persistence on usb stick using latest version of Rufus. I am quite happy with the results...

[unL33T]

Looks like my issue came back. Probably due to a BIOS update locking down the computer more?

This is what I get now when I try to boot from the stick that's been working for about a year: