Cloud puppy, advise asked...

[wizard]

Thanks @TerryH

saved me doing the detective work, I was going to edit the script

wizard

[Volhout]

Hi Wizard,

I hope I can answer your questions.

1/ The iconset. Well I see 2 options.
a/ The simplest option is to use the icons used in the upper taskbar. The green WIFI symbol for network, the loudspeaker symbol for sound volume.
But honestly the black loudspeaker with the pink sound waves should have been all pink.
Then leave the rest as is.
b/ I like the iconset used by Ubuntu a lot. It is logical, and at a dark background very readable.
The icon set is called "ubuntu-mono-dark" and you can download the tar.gz from their website.
There are 6 icons in the tray:
browser: keep as is, or take the Chromium icon.
power. Either keep as is, or use /actions/system-shutdown-panel.svg from the set
calculator: th set does not have a calculator ison...
network: use the /status/gnome-netstatus-75-100.svg
volume: use the /status/audio-volume-medium-panel.svg
wallpapen: take a simple monitor symbol like /apps/gsd-xrandr/svg

2/ In these laptops I have better experience with Frisbee than with SNS. So if you have the possibility to make Frisbee default that helps.
Frisbee has one other advantage: it opens WIFI scan page directly. Not a menu where you choose eth0/wlan0. Disadvantage is that Frisbee looks a bit cluttered with the connect button hidden between other buttons, and no clear message that you have connected succesful.

3/ I will try TerryH's suggestion.
EDIT: that works. Interval 0, ask unticked.

Regards,

Volhout

P.S. I am using RC2 at the moment, And have in my tests not seen any difference between RC1 and RC2 other than the remote desktop icon in the top bar.
I think RC2 will be fine, so you have to maintain only one version.

[wizard]

@Volhout

RC2 has a setup icon on the far left of the top taskbar, be sure you check that you want it

wizard

[Volhout]

Yip, forgot about that. Then I prefer RC1

Volhout

[wizard]

@Volhout

RC3 will be posted today. It is based on RC2, but you can remove the top taskbar setup from Desktop>JWMDesk Manager>Tray1>Launch.

wizard

[wizard]

@Volhout

RC3 is up

viewtopic.php?t=4816

[wizard]

@Volhout

When you install to the sdcard:
IMPORTANT: after installing, be sure the file cloudpup-220102-rc3 from the ISO is copied to the
same directory as puppy_fossapup64_9.5.sfs

wizard

[Volhout]

@wizard,

Will try the iso tonight....

Volhout

[wizard]

@Volhout

RC3b is up

It's a bug fix, read post 13 for details

viewtopic.php?t=4816

Also, like the wallpaper

wizard

[Volhout]

@wizard,

Started out with the version RC3: nice icons in the bottom tray. Thanks.
Ten I saw at the forum there was a new version.

Downloaded RC3b. Unetbootin to used RC2 USB drive. Booted right to the desktop. Is it possible it used the RC2 save file ? It inherited settings from RC2 (-or- you have made the same changes in RC3b, which I think is unlikely).

I will try to install on SD card tonight after re-formatting to EXT3 to make sure there is no remaining save file.

Regards,

Volhout

[Volhout]

@wizard,

WAUW, that is a nasty one... I will try to work around it but not sure yet.

OK, laptop with 16GB SD card
Use Gparted to remove partition, and create a new EXT3 partition size 2Gbyte.
Finish succesfull. Leave rest of SD card unallocated. So the SD card has an empty EXT3 partition in it size 2Gbyte.

Switch off laptop
Plug in USB stick with installed CloudFossa_RC3b
Boot manager (laptop F12) boot legacy mode USB stick.
In Grub menu choose default.
Remember, you are booting from USB stick !!!

From grub menu...next is says.
Loading fossa SFS
Resizing partition on SD card ... what the f*ck !!!... While booting Fossa, it resizes a media it is not entitled to...??
Fossa should limit to USB stick, not scan other media, and automatically resize media partitions.. !!!

I checked in gparted, and yes, fossa resized the SD card to 14Gbyte.

Wauw....

[wizard]

@Volhout

Is it possible it used the RC2 save file ?

Yes

WAUW, that is a nasty one... I will try to work around it but not sure yet.

Not sure what you are referencing

Resizing partition on SD card

That's a surprise, but I don't use sdcards. To verify.
-using my e6430 I inserted a sandisk 16gb sdcard
-booted from RC3b USB
-gparted reports sdcard as 14.84gb
-formatted to ext3
-rebooted RC3 from USB
USB booted with no issues and gparted still reported sdcard as 14.84gb ext3

Try using cloudpup>gparted to reformat the card.

wizard

[Volhout]

Hi wizard,

This is what I did..

Boot from USB Cloud-Fossa
Insert SD card (16Gbye, 14Gbyte partition EXT3 on it)
Resize SD card partition to 2Gbyte (gparted) by first deleting it, and creating a new one size 2Gbyte (actually I made it 1.9Gbyte).
//When I tried resize 14Gb->2Gb I ended up with an error. So that is why I deleted the partition, and made a new one. Since the 14G partition was used previously, I thought it may have contained some info, and could not be resized to 2Gbyte. Sounded logical.

Power down laptop
Power up (with both SD card and USB stick in laptop), boot select USB Cloud-Fossa
Watch it resize your just created SD card.
After some minutes Cloud-Fossa desktop shows, start gparted, and confirm SD card now has 14Gbyte SD EXT3 partition.

I have 3 options
1/ resize the SD card partition and immediately install puppy
2/ use an actual 2GB card.
3/ make a 2Gb partition EXT3, and add a second partition FAT32 directly after it size 100Mbyte, to prevent puppy resizing the partition. Don't know if that works.

[Volhout]

Oh, by the way, just to explain my stupid reasoning behind creating a 2Gbyte partition...

I was not sure if you can create a 14Gb EXT3 partition, install Cloud-Fossa in the partition, using only the first 1 Gb including save file/folder, and use dd to copy only 2Gb of that partition to a new blank SD card.
Would I end up with a working system on the SD card. Maybe the partly copied partition causes errors.

That is why I tried to install on a 2Gbyte partition, and dd that partition completely to blank 16Gb SD cards.

Volhout

Just to save time. dd a 16Gb partition takes an hour o so, and what if it is 14.2Gbyte, and the next SD card has only 14.1Gb free...

[wizard]

@Volhout

Your logic is ok, but I have no experience using dd. You may be better off just using the procedure on page 9, post 6 for each card, then copy over your save folder.

wizard

[wizard]

@Volhout

Another thought about RC3b using the RC2 save folder. It might block the changes that were made to the Chromium HELP bookmark. Check it by clicking it, should look like this:

helpRC3.png (16.38 KiB) Viewed 1642 times

Make sure you have the two entries for updating chromium

wizard

[Volhout]

@wizard,

I imaged a new 2Gbyte card, and all is working and dandy after some tuning (audio, video resolution, save button, save question, remove setup from top bar, but now I end up in the final phase and would like to come to putting the image in cement. The open questions are:

1/ I can monkey proof the image 2 ways

A/ remove the top tray (assuming that also removes the top notification area) completely.
Question : if so, can I get "qbat" in the bottom tray. I saw I could not select it in the jwmdesk manager for tray 2. Not even when I showed hidden.

B/ remove HTOP (kids can kill tasks !!!) and event manager (so many ticks to untick) from the notification area.
The other notifications are more or less harmless (maybe clock set...)
Question : how to do this ? I could not find this in the jwmdesk manager.

Generic question:

2/ can I get the simple volume bar as in the top tray, connected to the speaker icon in the bottom tray. Simply change master volume only, not the capture, speaker, headset, etc...like in retrovol. I'll put these on max in retrovol while configuring.

3/ generic question: each time I start chromium after a power up I have to click away the anoying notification for cookies etc.. Can this be once only (after install) and not every power up.

4/ Generic remark: The installer in RC2 guided through gparted, then installed, and when finished showed a popup it was done. The installer in RC3b does not show the final popup (that it is done). I waited 30 minutes, and then decided it must be time. Powered down. removed USB, powered up, and all was dandy. But I did not get a notification.

Thank you in advance for your help

Volhout

I considered doing the procedure for each of the 12 laptops. Already made a list of things to do, and a field of tick marks for each laptop. But this is roughly 1-1.5 hours of work per laptop. I'll do it when I run out of options. But copying the image from 1 card to another directly worked for me before, so I'll try that first.

[wizard]

@Volhout

A/ remove the top tray (assuming that also removes the top notification area) completely.
Question : if so, can I get "qbat" in the bottom tray. I saw I could not select it in the jwmdesk manager for tray 2. Not even when I showed hidden.

I would leave the tray & just remove things you think might cause troube. qbat is a program file (not a script) and when it runs it puts itself in tray1.

B/ remove HTOP (kids can kill tasks !!!) and event manager (so many ticks to untick) from the notification area.

Good catches
You get HTOP when you click gatotray, remove it from /root/Startup
You get event manager when you click the floppy icon, remove by Eventmanager>save session, uncheck show in tray

The tray1 right side applications are controlled by Menu>Setup>Startup Control, except qbat and gatotray which are in /root/Startup

2/ can I get the simple volume bar

Don't know if possible

3/ generic question: each time I start chromium after a power up I have to click away the anoying notification for cookies etc.. Can this be once only (after install) and not every power up.

Does not do this on native RC3b, can't replicate

4/ Generic remark: The installer in RC2 guided through gparted, then installed, and when finished showed a popup it was done. The installer in RC3b does not show the final popup (that it is done).

Should be no difference since there are no changes in code, will test

wizard

[wizard]

@Volhout

Here are two things you should do since they increase security (monkey proof)

Remove drive icon from desktop
-edit /root/.xinitrc
-comment out line 133

Remove save icon from desktop
-right click save icon
-click edit item
-press delete to remove text
-click OK
-rename /usr/local/lib/X11/pixmaps/save48.png
-replace with file attached

save48.png.gz

remove the .gz

(886 Bytes) Downloaded 56 times

wizard

[Volhout]

hi wizard,

I implemented your suggestions and removed some items from /root/Startup (move them to /root/Startup/disabled so I can put them back anytime I want).
Played all night yesterday, and it felt rigid and reliable. Tonight I'll add my "puppy" desktop and maybe some final tweaks, and then go to imaging, unless you have more suggestions for me.

Regards,

Volhout

[wizard]

@Volhout

RC4 will go up today that includes the monkey proof changes. It's not perfect, but think how much we've accomplished in just 17 days.

Be sure to tell the children about proper ventilation for a laptop. This is the text from a file I include with every laptop I sell or donate. Probably don't need the part about updates.

Laptops have cooling vents on the bottom of the case that must not be blocked.

Never use it on your lap, carpet, bed or soft furniture which will block the vents

Use on a hard flat surface such as desk, tables, or cut a piece of hardboard or corrugated cardboard
for it to sit on.

UPDATES & UPGRADES
The computer is setup with programs and utilities that work well together. Updates/Upgrades almost always require more power to run and may slow down or "break" other programs. So generally say NO to updates and upgrades.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

wizard

[wizard]

@Volhout

RC4 is up

wizard

[Volhout]

Hi Wizard,

Just noticed one thing.... When going to shutdown, there is menu that allows you to get to the terminal... and be root.
Have to look at this. Actually, the whole menu could be skipped, and shutdown directly. Maybe I could edit /root/.jwmrc_tray2 to fix this ?

Regards,

Volhout

[wizard]

@Volhout

You're not giving me enough details, need step by step so I can duplicate

If you are referring to the Puppy Log Out>Exit to Prompt, there's really not much you can do from it. Give it a try and let me know.

Puppy Log Out is controlled by /usr/sbin/logout-gui and we could disable any of the buttons there.

wizard

[wizard]

@Volhout

Here's a file that disables exit to prompt and lock screen.

-rename /usr/sbin/logout-gui
-replace with attached file

logout_gui.gz

remove .gz

(3.62 KiB) Downloaded 52 times

wizard

[Volhout]

@wizard

Thanks for this. It is exactly what I needed. The change per your instructions was clear. Only needed to make the script executable, and voila...done.

Im am done, and will start reading the image and dd'ing to other cards.I will let you know how it goes...

Regards,

Volhout

EDIT: dd did not work. The system booted, but it started an automatic resizing, and that failed. I am trying to recover the SD card, since Gparted does not recognise it anymore.
Please provide a procedure that you use (imaging from the master, and copying the save folder/file

[wizard]

@Volhout

See if the HP utiliity will recognize a sdcard, or look here viewtopic.php?t=4843 to recover the sd.

Will work on cloning and report back

wizard

[Volhout]

@wizard

Recovered the 2 SD cards. HP utility worked.
Tried copying the save folder from the 2Gbyte card to an Ubuntu system, and got report that some folders (4, I think) could not be copied
i.e. a folder called ".dbus", it has sub folders with very long names that looked like hashes.
There was also a folder that was related to Chromium. do not remember the exact name.
Anyway these where not copied...

Not sure if this is important. Do these folders contain essential configuration information, or only log files ?

Regards,

Volhout

[wizard]

@Volhout

Do these folders contain essential configuration information, or only log files ?

Don't know

Keep in mind I have no valid way to test a bootable sdcard. Need your help. Try this method and let me know results.

Use your USB made with Unetbootin and make another USB using the procedure on pg 9 post 6
-copy these custom files you made to the new USB
-menu.lst
-fossapup64save

Boot from the new USB

-open Setup>Puppy Installer (or press ctrl shift i)
-click BootFlash
-choose target drive
-click Create grub4dos
-click Ext3
-click OK
Wait for Puppy Installed msg
-copy these from USB to sdcard
-menu.lst
-fossapup64save

wizard

[Volhout]

@wizard

That does not work. Let me explain, I tried 2 things.
I used the USB drive formatted with Unetbootin.

1/ Take a brand new SD card, use gparted to format to EXT3.
Use your procedure, and I get to "wait for Puppy installed message". Instead, within 10 seconds I get a message "cannot mount USB drive".
When I use gparted to inspect SD card, there is an unallocated partition size 4Mbyte (not 4 Gbyte), the rest is unknown.

2/ Take a brand new SD card, use gparted to format to FAT32 (as if it was from the package)
Use your procedure, and I get to "wait for Puppy installed message". Instead, within 10 seconds I get a message "cannot mount USB drive".
When I use gparted to inspect SD card, there is an unallocated partition size 4Mbyte (not 4 Gbyte), the rest is unknown.

Secondly, I am not sure I understand you correctly.
A USB stick formatted with Unetbootin uses grub. There is a /mnt/home/boot/grub/menu.lst on the USB stick.
But I am not sure that file can be used by Grub4DOS when copied to the SD card. For Grub4DOS the menu.lst should be in /mnt/home I guess

Volhout