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I tried the usb-boot gpt image on a micro sd card and successfully booted 812 on my Acer Chromebook 714 from the sd card. I w2ould like to know more about how it works, the grub2 blob configuration etc. I was able to point to a grub.cfg on the mmcblk and boot from there too.
Excellent project.
stemsee
Not telling you. It's a trade secret 
Just kidding, what exactly do you want to know?
the grub2 blob configuration etc
It's just standard grub.cfg from grub2, nothing special.
Both BIOS and UEFI uses the same grub2 configuration.
I was able to point to a grub.cfg on the mmcblk and boot from there too.
Excellent project.
I'm glad you find it useful.
So the boot sequence seems to be as follows: grubx64.efi checks fatdog64-2041.cer then calls grldr which loads menu.lst which calls grub2.lnxboot which searches for and loads a grub.cfg, a local one if another is not manually specified. Grub.cfg then loads the kernel.... it could chainload isolinux.bin, can it be configured to load syslinux.conf? Why not have menu.lst load the kernel directly? Why not load fatdog's efi.img efiboot.img? What are the advantages of this triple chainload mechanism?
stemsee wrote: Wed Feb 09, 2022 10:23 amSo the boot sequence seems to be as follows: grubx64.efi checks fatdog64-2041.cer then calls grldr which loads menu.lst which calls grub2.lnxboot which searches for and loads a grub.cfg, a local one if another is not manually specified. Grub.cfg then loads the kernel....
No, not like that. The flow is like this:
For BIOS: MBR -> grldr (grub4dos) -> menu.lst -> grub2.lnxboot (grub2) -> search for grub.cfg -> boot OS.
For UEFI: bootx64.efi (shim) -> grubx64.efi (grub2) -> search for grub.cfg -> boot OS.
BIOS and UEFI share the same grub.cfg file.
fatdog64-2041.cer is the certificate you need to add using MOK manager when booting under Secure Boot.
it could chainload isolinux.bin, can it be configured to load syslinux.conf?
Don't worry about chainloading isolinux.bin.
Grub2 understands, and can read and execute commands in syslinux.conf directly.
Just use the command syslinux_configfile (or syslinux_source) and Bob's your uncle.
Why not have menu.lst load the kernel directly?
The point is to have one single configuration file (grub.cfg) that will boot both BIOS and UEFI systems.
Why not load fatdog's efi.img efiboot.img?
efiboot.img is redundant. The relevant part of efiboot.img (shim and grub2) has been extracted and included in the usb-boot image.
jamesbond wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 3:12 pmNo, not like that. The flow is like this:
For BIOS: MBR -> grldr (grub4dos) -> menu.lst -> grub2.lnxboot (grub2) -> search for grub.cfg -> boot OS.
For UEFI: bootx64.efi (shim) -> grubx64.efi (grub2) -> search for grub.cfg -> boot OS.BIOS and UEFI share the same grub.cfg file.
fatdog64-2041.cer is the certificate you need to add using MOK manager when booting under Secure Boot.
Thanks for the clear explanation! Now I can play with it some more!
I read about syslinux_source which I thought had to be a .bin file, syslinux_configfile is new to me.
Here's how I was able to open mhtml extension files in fatdog linux.
I have downloaded a lot of these files using my chromebook .
I install ripmime .
Download: https://github.com/inflex/ripMIME/archi ... master.zip
I can now use uextract on the files to open them up.
Installation notes....
make
make install
[ Make install will install the ripmime binary to /usr/local/bin,
there are no other support files required. ]
To use ripMIME...If you have an MIME encoded archive (say from sendmail's output)
called recvmail001.mime and you wish to unpack it to a directory
(which already exists) called "/var/tmp/unpack", then use ripMIME
as follows...
ripmime -i recvmail001.mime -d /var/tmp/unpack
________________________________
Also there is an app..
https://github.com/lsowen/mht-rip
_______________________________________
I made a gui app for mht-rip
http://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=5291
I tested in fatdog 802 and fatdog 812
_________________________________
This is NOT critical...merely an observation.
jamesbond wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 3:12 pmFor BIOS: MBR -> grldr (grub4dos) -> menu.lst -> grub2.lnxboot (grub2) -> search for grub.cfg -> boot OS.
How would this work if grub4dos step was eliminated?
Is there a sample of such?
Reason: one less package to be concerned, as the 'real/only' intent is to boot the PC (with the FATDOG logo , of course 
)
It will stop working.
Reason: one less package to be concerned, as the 'real/only' intent is to boot the PC (with the FATDOG logo , of course
There is no package to be concerned. Extract the boot images, use Balena Etcher, and you're done.
I noticed following....
BarryK is using recordmydesktop version 0.5.1
Fatdog64 repository has..
recordmydesktop-0.3.8.1debian
Not sure if it makes any difference. I haven't had any problems with recording Xwindow.
____________________________________________________________________
Nice to see that twm window manager still remains in the core
Works nicely on a 1366x768 laptop with xrandr --panning set to 2100x2100 (so you can scroll around that large virtual desktop by moving the mouse to screen edges).
The top right mc window when panned to fits the entire laptop display
Ran pclock in a container, didn't run, because it defines Bourne shell interpreter #!/bin/sh but uses bash interpreter syntax (FONTSIZE=$((4100/$TMP)). Changing to #!/bin/bash as the scripts first line resolves the issue.
Saw a reference to using xwin to start fatdog from cli in the help pages. Didn't register at the time so forget exactly where, but shouldn't that read 'startx' instead of 'xwin' ??
We have both programs, startx and xwin. Run xwin to start the fatdog X desktop.
Neo_78 wrote: Fri Jun 10, 2022 10:49 pmIs there a schedule for a new FatDog release?
Looking forward to your feedback.
Well, nothing's set in stone yet. We're on a hiatus/vacation right now, but there should be 813 release (bugfixes and updates), before 900, whenever it's gonna happen...
Thanks for the interest, though.
Greetings!
Would it be possible for the next FatDog release to also offer a minimal, trimmed down "SlimDog" version without any actual software installed? Just the base desktop or even just a cli version to let the user select the preferred desktop?
A bit in the style of the Debian base installer or the Ubuntu base installation that gives an optional media installation package if required?
Neo_78 wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 4:51 pmWould it be possible for the next FatDog release to also offer a minimal, trimmed down "SlimDog" version without any actual software installed? Just the base desktop or even just a cli version to let the user select the preferred desktop?
A bit in the style of the Debian base installer or the Ubuntu base installation that gives an optional media installation package if required?
I'm speaking for myself here, not for the Fatdog team. A problem with any "SlimDog" version is defining what that actually is. "Without any actual software" isn't enough of a definition. A minimal system, in which you take away the pre-installed packages you don't need can be achieved by remastering Fatdog to create your own custom ISO. IIRC, I believe you have remastered Fatdog a few times already.
If your need is to boot to a command line before a graphical desktop has started you could add "pfix=nox" to the kernel boot line. This will stop the boot process right before Xorg starts. Then add a custom script that starts an alternative/customized desktop environment the way you need it.
Debian, for instance, defines a minimal installation as one that "contains just the minimal amount of software to install the base system and fetch the remaining packages over the Internet." You get a working, clean desktop of your choice and install any additional software you might need from the official repository if required. I think that would be a really cool approach and much appreciated by the community.
Yep, I am remastering FatDog on a regular basis and I am currently writing a bash script to automate the process of removing the packages I don't use or need to get to the mentioned "blank" state. I then only install a couple of extra libraries I work with.
Would the Fatdog configuration panel still work on an alternative desktop environment? Have you tested different desktops?
--
P.S.: Suggested "SlimDog" icon...
Neo_78 wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 11:26 pmWould the Fatdog configuration panel still work on an alternative desktop environment?
What is the "Fatdog configuration panel"? Do you mean the desktop panel, lxqt-panel?
Have you tested different desktops?
No, not different DEs. We regularly test just the openbox and JWM window managers. Other window managers can be searched and installed with the package manager and sfs manager.
Hi! Each user who wants a customized version of FatDog64 (remastered) can download fatdog64-iso-builder from https://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/iso/builder/ , in the desired version, edit the sfs-baselist file, removing or adding packages and programs as needed. I download fatdog64-iso-builder and mount fd64.sfs, in my case it is much smaller. However, it requires a bit of dedication, learning how iso-builder works and knowing exactly what you want to remove or add.... 
In version 812, I removed the following packages:
gimp-2.8.22-x86_64-1
libreoffice-6.2.8.1-x86_64-1
libreoffice-dict-en-6.2.8.1-x86_64-1
seamonkey-2.49.5-x86_64-1
flash-plugin-32.0.0.156-x86_64-1.txz
vlc-plugin-2.0.6-x86_64-1_vlc303.txz
armagetronad-0.2.8.3.4-x86_64-1
pipepanic-0.1.3-x86_64-1
xinvaders3d-1.3.6-x86_64-1
gtktetris-0.6.2b-x86_64-1
sven-2020.08-x86_64-1
florence-0.5.4-x86_64-1
I added the following packages, necessary for the proper functioning of other web browsers:
gtk3-3.22.30-x86_64-1
at-spi2-core-2.28.0-x86_64-1
at-spi2-atk-2.26.2-x86_64-1
glib-networking-2.56.1-x86_64-1
gsettings-desktop-schemas-3.28.0-x86_64-1
libsoup-2.62.3-x86_64-1
librest-0.8.1-x86_64-1
libnotify-gtk3-0.7.8-x86_64-1
For the next release, it is necessary to review everything again, and edit the sfs-baselist. If it doesn't work, I do it again, again, again, until it works! A mazochistic way of learn a little more about this distro, to exercise my aging brain and delay the onset of Alzheimer's. 
