Is it possible to have a working pupsave on a Ventoy USB?

[Pupper]

Hi everyone! This is a bit embarrassing but I just now realized that my fossapup while working from a usb using ventoy is not saving after every shutdown. I keep writing save files but I can't find them and I'm not even given an option to look for them or to direct fossa to a save file when I boot the fossa ISO from ventoy. Is ventoy's file system on the usb immutable or something? Am I doing something wrong? If I want to save my fossapup does that mean I need a separate USB just for fossa?

[Pupper]

Small update: I've heard there is a way to pick witch pupsave to use but on my on disk fossapup it does load the pupsave but it doesn't look like there is any way to actually get it to give me the option to pick a pupsave. At least on my hard disk fossapup it does keep my progress when I click "save" and does load into when I reboot. Now that I think about it, there doesn't seem to ever be a "save" shortcut on the desktop in the ventoy USB pup but there is on my hard disk one... I'm like heckin confused man

[bigpup]

This is the problem with using Ventoy for Puppy Linux.

After using Ventoy to setup the USB drive.
After the installation is complete, the USB drive will be divided into 2 partitions.
The 1st partition was formated with exFAT filesystem.
You just need to copy iso files to this partition.

exFAT format is the problem.
Puppy will not see and use exFAT.

So, do this before you put any ISOs on this first partition.

Use some program like Gparted, to change the format of this first partition.
ext 3 or 4 format is good to use.

Now put the Puppy ISOs on the partition.
When you are asked to make a save.
The option, to place the save on this partition, should be offered.
Note:
This will also give you option to make the save a file or a folder.
Save folder is better.

I am guessing, any saves you had made, are being placed on the computers, internal drive.
When you run the save process and made the save.
It should have the info, for where the save is being placed.

[bigpup]

If you make multiple saves.

To be offered which one to use.
Each one has to have an additional name on it.
That is an option when you make the save.

If the save is made using only the default name.
That is all that is seen.
That named save.

You could actually be writing over the same single default named save.

Where it is actually being placed, could be causing issues being found and used.

You do not provide that info.
So all I can do is guess.

[Pupper]

This is the problem with using Ventoy for Puppy Linux.

After using Ventoy to setup the USB drive.
After the installation is complete, the USB drive will be divided into 2 partitions.
The 1st partition was formated with exFAT filesystem.
You just need to copy iso files to this partition.

exFAT format is the problem.
Puppy will not see and use exFAT.

So, do this before you put any ISOs on this first partition.

Use some program like Gparted, to change the format of this first partition.
ext 3 or 4 format is good to use.

Now put the Puppy ISOs on the partition.
When you are asked to make a save.
The option, to place the save on this partition, should be offered.
Note:
This will also give you option to make the save a file or a folder.
Save folder is better.

I am guessing, any saves you had made, are being placed on the computers, internal drive.
When you run the save process and made the save.
It should have the info, for where the save is being placed.

Yep this is the reason! I realized that on the puppy from ventoy I couldn't mount the first partition because it is in exfat. I'm not really sure what you mean though about formatting the first partition? Wouldn't that reformat ventoy and make it (the ventoy) not work? Or would it magically somehow go from exFAT to ext4 without destroying any of the files already on it? Is there any way to point to a save in a different drive that does have the correct filesystem? Or does the pupsave have to be on the same drive as the puppy is being booted from? I'm probably just going to flash a new drive to be completely ext4 with just puppy on it and no ventoy and just have a drive solely for puppy lol. I actually slowly came around to realizing how useful having an operating system on a usb can be lol.

If you make multiple saves.

To be offered which one to use.
Each one has to have an additional name on it.
That is an option when you make the save.

If the save is made using only the default name.
That is all that is seen.
That named save.

You could actually be writing over the same single default named save.

Where it is actually being placed, could be causing issues being found and used.

You do not provide that info.
So all I can do is guess.

I'm sorry thats my mistake. On the USB i kept making new saves and calling them different things but I did not realize that they where not actually being saved on the exFAT ventoy drive. I assumed that no matter what you called them it would always load the most recently created one or something because I was never given the option to choose them. On my on disk one I only made one save with one name and I've been updating it ever since. I didn't realize that you actually had to make multiple different savenames for it to ask which one to use, although that design decision does seem perfectly logical

You do not provide that info.
So all I can do is guess.

Also sorry for making you so depressed that you start writing in haiku
I'll try to do better next time!

[bigpup]

The idea in Using Ventoy.

After you let Ventoy setup the USB stick the way it does it.
Before you put any ISOs on it.
Reformat the first partition from exfat to a different format. One Puppy can use.
Now put any ISOs on the first partition.

Yes, formatting will delete anything that was on the partition.

All the Ventoy working files are on the 2nd partition.
You are not changing it, so it still boots, as it should.

[Shortstop]

Ah, so the idea is just to reformat the 'exfat' partition to then FAT32 in that case?

What filesystem type would Puppy need in order to be OK with saving to it?

Good to know that other people have my same issue as I was struggling with Ventoy use with Puppy as well.

[Jean-Louis CANONNE]

Hi everybody. I'm very interested about using Fossapup with ventoy. About the json file, it seems ok, persistence is proposed .I have formatted the main ventoy partition in ext4, wher iso are leaved, but Fossapup dont save itself when i shut it down. I have tried to choose the third partition when i say something is wrong during some saving stage when it is proposed to choose an other place. Unfortunately, always fails.

Yet i try using ext4 backend files from ventoy leaved in the same partition. I have tried using iSOMaster to be able to modify some .Unsuccesfull. Says two files have the same name. It seems that I could try to use the advice found there:
viewtopic.php?t=3293,
but untill now did'nt succed.
I suppose I could if i became able to open the files like grub.cfg, syslinux.cfg, menu.lst containing the line boot option pmedia=cd and replace it as explained by a valid path

The pupsave option pupsfs= could be used as proposed i guess.
Is there a way to do that and replace this
Im using Easyos as os but i like using Fossa or Bionic pup very much too.
Using all this os since a long time but here seems to be very uneasy for me. Maybe just a little thing missing.
Here i join a screenshoot about ventoy usb flash i'm using.
Thank everybody in advance for your attention and for your help.

Sorry about my poor english (french).
Thanks again

[bigpup]

The Ventoy partition layout looks OK.

but Fossapup don't save itself when i shut it down.

When you shutdown and try to make a save.
Exactly what do you see for options?
Exactly what do you choose?

[Jean-Louis CANONNE]

Hi Bigpup, hi everybody.
At the beginning, it seems to be the usual message asking if i want tou save or not, then giving me the choice between encrypted or not encrypted ant what type of filesave i want to choose. I always in this case have choised non encrypted file and ext4. I always choose administrator and not fido. This is only then that the things seem to turn wrong. Firstly, i get an only and unusual size about the savefile. Then, when the last sanity check comes, it is never offerd a choice about many possible file sizes. Only and last choice when the last sanity check occure if i remember well is to modify the save path concerning the save file, but even if I indicate the path toward the last and free partition on my flash drives it doen't work. No file is saved there
I will take the time, using my camera if needed to take some little pictures about the encountered steps and try sending them in the order in which they appear.
Many thanks for your interest

[mikewalsh]

@Jean-Louis CANONNE :-

to the "kennels".

Um. Since you're formatted with ext4 all the way through, except for the /boot partition, you should be getting the multiple option for either save-folder OR save-file. Are you seeing this step, and if so, what happens next?

Mike.

[Clarity]

Hi @Pupper. It is hoped that all members could see this as it intends to be very simple. It revolves around housekeeping and ease of addressing any boot problems...ANY!

There are several posts on the forum which presents guide which is tested and found to be rather foolproof. Try this very short guide. There is no change to Ventoy as is instructs some mere housekeeping which will become obvious.

For Ventoy is instruct 2 key items to minimize all problems associated with booting and session-saves, while at the same time attempting to make plain your location of your save sessions.

The instructions that I am hoping you have seen instructs to place ALL of your ISO files in a folder on the "ventoy" label'd partition (partition @=#1) folder named "BOOTISOS".

1.jpg (4.43 KiB) Viewed 2339 times

AND the instructions indicate to store ALL of your session saves on a Linux partition on your system in a folder "Sessions", that YOU are to create

2_001.jpg (8.39 KiB) Viewed 2338 times

This is done for 3 reasons:

1. good housekeeping for user understanding with

2. user knowledge of where ALL ISOs are found in a folder that Ventoy at boot time will discover

3. user knowledge that ALL of YOUR sessions; namely save-folders OR save-files are located in a folder on his system's drive

If these 2 items are done, forever more, life in use of your Ventoy USB is a simple understanding of what and where to look for ALL boot needs as well as any follow-up pertaining to booting or rebooting of all distros you'll boot.

Neither of those items change Ventoy OR change PUPPY in any way! The housekeeping is a facilitator.

I ask:

• Is there a chance that you have seen the instructions guide?

There are some keys contained to make PUP/DOG use easily understood and simple.

If so, did you notice the instructions for booting and the use of the "PSAVE=sda7:/Sessions" which I use on ALL pristine boots to guide where I want the PUP/DOG's session info (save-folder/save-file) to be saved.

This, I have found, works for all the modern PUPs and DOGs on this forum I have tested. thus far. since December 2019. Please indicate, there or here, if you find that the instructions are either misleading or inaccurate.

Looking forward to making this all too easy for both clear understanding and use. Your as well as anyone's help with those instructions would be appreciated and welcomed.

[Jean-Louis CANONNE]

Hi again.
Have some screenshots in order to precise the problem

They show the messages after choosing save. I choosed : ext 4 I gave a name, i choosed no encryption
Curiously, in the final sanity check, the line dedicated to the path of the save file is empty

Sorry about the order in which the picture have taken place, don't know why it seems that the first became the last

many thanks again for your interest

.

[Jean-Louis CANONNE]

Hi again
Have tried to assigne a path toward a partition on an other flash drive in fat 32. Got that

finalsanity with mntsdb3.png (13.89 KiB) Viewed 2305 times

and then that:

But no save file foud, Quick shut down.
Have tried with and without persistence and with each ventoy menu choice, but no result till now.
I suppose i did some mistake. I plan to methodically try the combinations of possible choices.
Here the ventoy choice about save or persistence files.
It seems to exist some trouble in the layout of this post

Thanks again for your interest.I cordially greet

[Phoenix]

The size of the Savefile is negative??? I don't think you selected the size right at all.
You are also saving to the wrong partition, when you are given a choice, select the ext4 partition, NOT the iso9660 which is unwritable. (Yes, there are discs that can be, but iso9660 does not allow this)
(Also don't write /mnt/sdb3 that will attempt to place within the partition the path /mnt/sdb3)

[stevie pup]

I've had exactly the same problem. Over the last few months I've tried countless methods to create a Pupsave on a Ventoy USB, but so far everything has failed. I also got the negative figure referred to in previous post. When you boot a Puppy from a "normal" USB then come to shut down you get the option to save, then somewhere along the way you get a screen where you can choose where to save. Right? That's what's missing when you boot from a Ventoy USB, you don't get to choose where to save, and it automatically tries to save in the Ventoy "bit" of the USB, which is only a few Kb hence the negative figure. All the other stages of the save process are there.

When I get chance I'll go through this thread in more detail and see if there's a method I haven't tried yet, but probably won't be until the weekend.

[bigpup]

Read this post and do what it says:
viewtopic.php?p=49273#p49273

Clarity has done a lot of testing with using Ventoy, so the info given should be what you need to do.

Not exactly stated in this info.
But fore sure, you need to reformat the Ventoy exfat formatted partition to a ext 2, 3, or 4 format, before putting a Puppy ISO on it.
I suggest ext 3 format.

[wizard]

Also look here viewtopic.php?p=40499&hilit=ventoy#p40499
page 4, post 8

Hope that helps

wizard

[Clarity]

The Guide takes steps to insure your boot is NOT seen as a ISO9660. Please follow the simple steps in the guide while not trying to avoid them...

Those folders and the psave= allows YOU to insure you dont have that problem. So, again, please follow those simple steps. And, secondarily, @bigpup's advice of reformatting can also be done, but is not necessary for PUPs to boot. (I will add an addendum for "Best Practices for partition formats" in the future as his recommendation addresses WoofCE PUPs built before August 2020, when some WoofCE surfaced with exFAT capability when running at desktop.)

[mikeslr]

The problem you are experiencing may be something simple. In the first screenshot here, viewtopic.php?p=49291#p49291 --if I recall correctly-- the words "Change Folder" is NOT a notice. It is a button. Clicking it will bring up a tool to select a partition other than the "ventoy partition iso9660".
After you click it, again IIRC, a GUI will open with a list of available partitions you can scroll thru, select the one you want; then press OK or Enter. The empty line will have been populated ONLY by the name of the partition.
After that, you can provide the name of the folder, if desired, in the 2nd GUI.

[Clarity]

HI @mikeslr

I am not sure the Puppy Shutdown Processing subsystem works like that. If you follow my guide with its Ventoy setup directions, the ISO9660 issue will NOT arise.

@stevie pup If the published guide steps are not followed, and using some other method one does hit the ISO9660 issue, I am unaware of any workaround or selection at Puppy Shutdown Processing that provides a selection to avoid that issue. I did see someone posting here to select a partition-folder combination, but in my past, I have never gotten that to work.

Seems when I was researching past PUPs, someone in its past did request that feature allowing user selection of a alternate partition. And, IIRC, PUP Shutdown was updated to provide a list of selectable partitions for PUP saves. But, this ability in PUP Shutdown is NOT available when booting DVD or ISOs...no matter when one boots from ISO file or from DVD. Last year, I considered reported this for BUG review, but, did not.

Anyway, if you or anyone finds that the directions in the guide posted by me on this forum leads to an ISO9660, please, please alert me either here or on one of the 2 ISO file boot threads provided via this locator. I will update directions/steps accordingly to continue to insure that the ISO9660 issue does NOT surface. That's why those directions are as they are; namely to avoid this specific problem and couple of others not mentioned here.

Again, I cannot stress enough to insure you follow those steps provided in the guides for safe operations without issues. I think the steps are simple as it does NOT require ANY changes to any PUP/DOG to boot via their ISO files. It intends to be both user friendly in understanding and steps. I may, in the future, try to put together a 60 second video of those steps for those who, like me, are visually oriented. I say 60 seconds because that all it takes for me setup my Ventoy USB, make a folder, add an ISO file, and boot following the directions. Then at Puppy Shutdown Processing, the ISO9660 problem NEVER surfaces and the session is saved at the place YOU selected.

Hope this info is useful for anyone booting their modern PUP/DOG ISO files, directly.

IMPORTANT
The Guide for Ventoy use with PUP/DOGs is updated, here. It should be plain and clear on avoiding the ISO9660 problem...I hope. Pay attention to the IMPORTANT note added in the guide. Let me know if you continue having save-session issues. If you do follow its steps, you will never see or know of this ISO9660 problem.

[Jean-Louis CANONNE]

Thank you all. I'm just coming back
It will take time for it will take me some time to read

I will try to understand and apply all what is explained. Very interesting.
As stevie pup said, no way for me to choose the size as puppy shut down and it's only in the final sanity check windows that i can be drivent to a path choice. Négative size value was not from me. Don't know from where it happens
I have this last hours formatted in ext4 with gparted a new flash drive. Had at the end of the shutdown process in order to save puppy wrote the path of this already mounted partition but nothing was recorded there.
Now following the link given by Big pup. Many things to read and try to understand as i already said.
About the creation of a BOOTISOS file, it is done, but i have to modify the ventoy.json file. May take some time.
About what happened in my last test, no saving despite the path i had entered as you can see on this screenshoot

I'm completely neophyte about SuperGrub2Disk. Just downloaded the iso. and i suppose it might take me some time to tame it.
I will continue and let you know.

Screenshot(5).png (29.91 KiB) Viewed 2147 times

Thanks to all again

[Clarity]

Hello @Jean-Louis CANONNE , et.al.

Your screen does NOT look right so you appear to have missed a key step that the Guide should be making aware.

My Assumption from your post

1. You have a USB with an ext4 format partition.

2. That partition has a BOOTISOS folder and your FossaPUP64 ISO file is in that folder

3. You've booted a FossaPUP64 ISO file from your USB without any issues

4. Great this is normal and expected.

But I fear you missed a key component when you see FossaPUP's Menu which I continue to cover but it appears to be overlooked. You can help by following my steps and sharing either success or again failure. This will allow the Guide's directions to be updated to be much clearer such that this ISO9660 error does NOT occur when the Guide is followed.

Over the past several days, I have tried to understand what is missing in the directions to cause some members to get to this error. There is something I am missing about HOW members are reading the directions. I want to rewrite the directions such that no member repeats this error which 1st surfaced from a prior member, last year, who was unwilling to help discover where he went wrong is his understanding the directions.

I ask

• Please stick with me to help me create better directions, please.

• This appeal is for any others, too.

My testing

1. Like you I have a USB with an ext4 partition where the BOOTISOS folder exist containing the FossaPUP64 (or any of the modern PUP/DOG ISO files)

2. I too boot to the FossaPUP64's Menu

3. At the very 1st line of the PUP's Menu,

   1. I hit 'e' key to edit the line

   2. On the vmlinuz ... line, I add psave=sda3:/Sessions/

      

      boot-screenshot-send1.jpg (20.88 KiB) Viewed 2124 times

   3. I then hit the key which allows FossaPUP64 to continue its boot to desktop

4. I too boot without issues

5. I too tailor the desktop

6. At Shutdown (or Reboot) processing, I am offered a folder or a file for my saving

7. And my Shutdown status screen does NOT look like yours.

I think I know why: I am asking if you will be so kind as to test on your end to arrive at what it should be showing.

I have repeatedly tested FossaPUP64 with various USB types, with various partition formats, and on many PCs using the directions that I hope you have seen and followed. So lets step thru it, together. Depending on the PC, there are other errors, but NOT an ISO9660 error, when the directions are followed.

Questions

• Which of my steps, above, are different from your steps?

• Also, when on your FossaPUP64 desktop:

  • Could you please post the 1st 10 lines of your /tmp/bootkernel.log or send the file via PM to me?

  • And, if you would also post or PM the /etc/rc.d/PSTATE file?

Your (or anyone's) verification of the steps would be appreciated!

@Jean-Louis CANONNE With your help I will see that you receive credit for this ISO9660 solution.

P.S. This iso9660 problem is not a problem with any PUP/DOGs AND is not a problem with either Ventoy or SG2D. It is a directions problem that I am trying to nail. Something about the way it is designed or something is "not said" in the guide that leads to this problem. And, I am helping as best I can to put a finger on it. This is why I keep appealing for discovery of how members are getting it wrong. Help if you can. Most/many of you will not have any issues but, as we see here, few are. So, I want to fix it for the few, if we can.

[Jean-Louis CANONNE]

The problem you are experiencing may be something simple. In the first screenshot here, viewtopic.php?p=49291#p49291 --if I recall correctly-- the words "Change Folder" is NOT a notice. It is a button. Clicking it will bring up a tool to select a partition other than the "ventoy partition iso9660".
After you click it, again IIRC, a GUI will open with a list of available partitions you can scroll thru, select the one you want; then press OK or Enter. The empty line will have been populated ONLY by the name of the partition.
After that, you can provide the name of the folder, if desired, in the 2nd GUI.

Hi mikeslr, just to say that i never thought that change save was not a button. Meanwhile, i never get as i click on it a tool to select a partition, no scrolling menu but a empty line. When i wrote for example sdb3, no result, only failure about saving file. This is why I entered the path like: /sdb3
May be the negative size given whitout choice for me to the pup save makes all fail.
Thanks for your help.
I keep searching. It is slow becaus i a french and my understanding about english texts is slow.
I greet you cordially
Jean-Louis Canonne

[Jean-Louis CANONNE]

Hi @Pupper. It is hoped that all members could see this as it intends to be very simple. It revolves around housekeeping and ease of addressing any boot problems...ANY!

There are several posts on the forum which presents guide which is tested and found to be rather foolproof. Try this very short guide. There is no change to Ventoy as is instructs some mere housekeeping which will become obvious.

For Ventoy is instruct 2 key items to minimize all problems associated with booting and session-saves, while at the same time attempting to make plain your location of your save sessions.

The instructions that I am hoping you have seen instructs to place ALL of your ISO files in a folder on the "ventoy" label'd partition (partition @=#1) folder named "BOOTISOS".1.jpg
AND the instructions indicate to store ALL of your session saves on a Linux partition on your system in a folder "Sessions"2_001.jpg

This is done for 3 reasons:

1. good housekeeping for user understanding with

2. user knowledge of where ALL ISOs are found in a folder that Ventoy at boot time will discover

3. user knowledge that ALL of YOUR sessions; namely save-folders OR save-files are located in a folder on his system's drive

If these 2 items are done, forever more, life in use of your Ventoy USB is a simple understanding of what and where to look for ALL boot needs as well as any follow-up pertaining to booting or rebooting of all distros you'll boot.

Neither of those items change Ventoy OR change PUPPY in any way! The housekeeping is a facilitator.

I ask:

• Is there a chance that you have seen the instructions guide?

There are some keys contained to make PUP/DOG use easily understood and simple.

If so, did you notice the instructions for booting and the use of the "PSAVE=sda7:/Sessions" which I use on ALL pristine boots to guide where I want the PUP/DOG's session info (save-folder/save-file) to be saved.

This, I have found, works for all the modern PUPs and DOGs on this forum I have tested thus far since December 2019. Please indicate there or here if you find that the instructions are either misleading or inaccurate.

Looking forward to making this all too easy for both clear understanding and use. Your as well as anyone's help with those instructions would be appreciated and welcomed.

Hi Clarity, thanks for your explanations. However something distubs me: why does the session folder seem to be in the home folder? May be i have to explain. When i use the flash drive containing ventoy and the BOOTISO folder, i have no home folder. Only have it if my OS, I mean EasyOs has been launched. Actually no hard drive is used. I have unplugged the hard drive containing windows. When i launch ventoy, only the flashdrive containing it is mounted and plugged. II don't know when the third partition of this flash drive becomes usable.
I will next make a new ventoy installation on a new flash drive in order to try to make all complying with your howto and your directions.
Thank for your help and your attention.
Well cordially

[Jean-Louis CANONNE]

Just vorgott about the ten first lines Clarity would like to receive. I have a necessary upgrade about linux to realise in order to copy and send this. Coming soon I hope

[Jean-Louis CANONNE]

@Jean-Louis CANONNE :-

to the "kennels".

Um. Since you're formatted with ext4 all the way through, except for the /boot partition, you should be getting the multiple option for either save-folder OR save-file. Are you seeing this step, and if so, what happens next?

Mike.

Hi Mike, Hii everybody. Thanks for your interest. Since you have posted this, i suppose you have seen that no size choice is proposed to me as i shut down fossa pup. I'm still in trouble.
I tried to follow the explanations given by Clarity I have succeeded about obtaining the little text editor by hitting the e key at the beginning when the fossapup 64-9.5 appears. i succeeded about writing the proposed line: psave=sda3 :/Sessions/ find_iso=${iso_path}, but everything disappears when i hit the enter key. I don'know if it is saved or not. Have now formatted sda3 in ext3.
After all that, i have always no size choice proposed and I always have a negative size proposed for the savefile Something else disturbs me: nothing was said in the forum about is it necessary or not to make a persistence choice in the ventoy dedicated menu and if there is a persistence choice to do at this step, what has to be choosen as persistence file: a casper or a persistence dedicated space?
I'm disturbed too because since i placed my iso in a BOOTISOS folder, when i use the ventoy.jason persistence checker, the results seem very odd.
Not easy for me wrinting (and thinking too )in english because I'm french Apologies about this.
Many thanks to you for your welcome and your help
Best regards
Jean-Louis

[Phoenix]

You can't write /mnt/etc. It will interpret the partition as /. That means /mnt/sdf1 of that partition, not from the / that you would see (in ROX-Filer or terminal). Waiting on your reply to Clarity though, something is amiss since its not giving a partition choice.

[stevie pup]

Just got round to having another go at this, and success at last. Bear in mind I've never had any problem with Puppies booting, my only issue was creating a save file. So started with a fresh USB stick for the purpose of experimenting and installed Ventoy leaving some free space. Used G-Parted to format the unused space and then copied Fossapup ISO to the main partition. Started the boot, pressed "e" twice and entered space, then psave=sdc3. Did couple of initial settings, timezone, internet, etc, then went to shut down.

This time I got the option to choose the size of the save, and I didn't get any silly negative figures either. All looked good so shut down. Then came the next test, booting it back up again, hopefully with settings saved. This was when I found that I need to interrupt the boot process and enter the "psave=" thing each time I boot. If I forget and leave it to boot automatically it won't recognise the save, and I have to start again. Well, that's the way it worked for me. If I've missed something please tell me.

So on reflection, yes it does work and I can see the benefit for somebody who uses a dozen or more different Puppies. But I only use 3, and I only use 2 of those on a regular basis, so it's probably simpler for me to keep those 2 on their own separate, more "conventional", USB sticks. I'll save Ventoy for when I want to try out other Puppies, or other distros.

Hope I've added something useful to this ongoing saga.

[Jean-Louis CANONNE]

Hi Stevie, hi everybody, I'm always searching, i hope that step by step, we will find something easy understandable and usable.
About what Stevie wrote, will try obtaining firstly the same result with a freshly formatted and reinstalled with ventoy usb key. Will format the first and the third and free partition I have choosed to create as i installed ventoy in ext3 too.
I wish here expose that i suppose that there is no hope keeping a fossapup asking normally a normal size choice and normally about a place to put the save file during the first stapes before the save process itself begins if the fossapup iso isn't modified.(I think that a ventoy change would be possible but no idea about this, and i suppose could be more complicated). May be could concern some fossapu config file as it seems to be explained in this readme file extracted from the fossapup iso:

README.txt

(13.48 KiB) Downloaded 72 times

The line number 145 seems to give clues in order to progress in "the saga" but I' have no sufficient knowledge to use it for now . I have never extracted, modified and rebuild an iso file.
I think that the puppy iso should be able to recognise puppy save file already existing as those I had copied both, in the same time, in the first and in the third ventoy partition. In the same order of thinking, it should become able to recognize a save file as this obtained by Stevie without new interruption at each booting. Boring, isn't it ?
At least i would be interested about knowing where the Stevie save file is saved and if he uses the persistence plugin from Ventoy in this case. Does it matter in any way
Hoping not beeing too confusing or confused.
I may be one or two days without using my computer, but I don't give up
Many thanks again for your interest, your patience, your perseverance and your help.
Cordial greetings
Jean-Louis Canonne