Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Texaspilot wrote: ↑Sun Dec 20, 2020 5:35 am

S243a. Thank you. I found that in the package manager. Is there a button for a general system update, or is that it?

I will check out the midnight commander. I generally think I prefer working through the command line...

The puppy way of doing upgrades is to replace the base_sfs file (e.g. puppy_upupgg+d_20.10.sfs). Peebee uses xdelta to do updates. One applies the updates to the original iso. Then you can replace the sfs files on the iso with those on your system. However, this isn't a perfect update because some files might be blocked due to white-out files. Puppy will clean out these whiteout files if you boot with pfix=clean. You should backup your savefile prior to doing this.

if [ "$pfix" ];then
 for ONEFIX in $(echo -n "$pfix" | tr ',' ' ')
 do
  case $ONEFIX in
   ram)     PRAMONLY="yes";;      #run in ram only (do not load ${DISTRO_FILE_PREFIX}save).
   rdsh)    RDSH="yes";;          #exit to shell in initial ramdisk.
   xorgwizard) PXORGWIZARD="yes";;#force xorgwizard for this session
   nox)     PNOX="yes";;          #do not start X.
   clean)   PCLEAN="yes";;        #force version upgrade and cleanup.
   trim)    PTRIM="yes";;         #add "discard" to mount options if SSD
   copy)    PCOPY="yes";;         #copy .sfs files into ram.
   nocopy)  PNOCOPY="yes";;        #do not copy .sfs files into ram (default is copy if enough ram).
   fsck)    PFSCK="yes";;         #do a fsck of ${DISTRO_FILE_PREFIX}save file.
   fsckp)   PFSCKP="yes";;        #do fsck before first mount of ext partitions
   [0-9]*)  PIGNORELAST=$ONEFIX;; #blacklist last $ONEFIX folders (multisession).
   *)       echo "pfix=$ONEFIX is not a known boot parameter";;
  esac
 done
fi

/woof-CE/.../initrd-progs/0initrd/init#L796

  if [ "$PCLEAN" = "yes" ];then
   #do upgrade processing
   touch /tmp/version_update_flag
   CURDIR="$(pwd)"
   cd "$SAVE_LAYER"
   #delete critical system files
   #keep rc.local - user customisations and/or fixes.
   echo "Removing $(ls ./lib/modules/$KERNELVER/modules.*)"
   rm -f ./lib/modules/$KERNELVER/modules.*
   RC_STUFF="$(ls ./etc/rc.d/rc.* | grep -v "/rc.local$" | tr '\n' ' ')"
   rm -fv $RC_STUFF
   rm -fv ./etc/rc.d/funct*
   #iterate over all files in save
   for ONE_FILE in $(find . \( -type f -or -type l \) -print); do
    ONE_BASE="${ONE_FILE##*/}" #basename
    if [ "${ONE_BASE:0:4}" = ".wh." ]; then #remove most whiteout files
     [ "${ONE_BASE:4:4}" = ".wh." ] && continue #internal aufs files
     [ "${ONE_FILE%/*}" = "./root/.config/autostart" ] && continue #keep autostart changes
     echo "Removing ${ONE_FILE}" 
     rm -f "$ONE_FILE" #remove whiteout file
    fi
   done
   cd "$CURDIR"
   sync
  fi
  check_status 0
 else
  check_status 1
 fi
 

/woof-CE/.../initrd-progs/0initrd/init#L483

Scottman is working on this problem:
"Updating builtin or system packages"
https://gitlab.com/sc0ttj/Pkg/-/issues/86

As an alternative to updating the base_sfs you can change the repos to a newer version of the compatible distro and then re-install all packages using the "-f" option on pkg. For built-in files you will will have to use the environmental variable "HIDE_BUILTINS=false". You'll also need to uninstall incomparable packages after upgrading to newer versions of these packages. PKG might not know to do this because the package in the compatible distro might have a different name than was given to the built-in package (e.g. glic vs libc6). This problem could be resolved by using aliases.

Anyway, presuming that you pull off the above, then you can remaster, replace the base_sfs with the remastered version. Delete any files that are in the bases_sfs and finally cleaning the whitout files by booting using the pfix=clean option. To say that this is unsupported is an understatement. I would say that it isn't implemented yet or even flagged to be implemented for that mater. That said, the basic structure of how to do this is there so it could be done.

However, the above procedure is more of a remaster approach. The puppy approach is to make builds reproducible by using woof-CE. This aproach is more maintainable and reduces possible issues of incompatibility that can result from upgrades. Many puppy distro developers often recommend that you start with a fresh save file when sufficient changes have been made to the distro. This is safer, cleaning and will result in a better performing system.

I think you will like the puppy way. The alternative is analogous to hording and can not only bog down your system but can at times cause things to at times not work. Since puppy aims to be a light-weight distro, an upgrading approach to development is a bad idea because lots of artifacts from the upgrade could be carried over that aren't needed.

Thanks for the thorough answer. There is alot to chew on, but it all makes good sense.

Can I make it run from the hard disk?

yes, the essential files unetbootin wrote to your usb can be copied and ran from the harddisk also. this is referred to as a frugal install. it can co-exist with the operating system already on the disk. you will have to configure the existing boot loader to also be able to load your puppy, or install a new boot loader and configure it to dual boot. If you wish puppy to live along side windows, it can be done, but many prefer to utilize a separate disk or usb for puppy. Some prefer a low profile usb, but you will still be constrained by the older usb2 speeds when loading apps and booting.

Now back to figuring out the linux command line. That seems so fascinating to me. Reminds me of msdos when I was a kid...

have you seen viewtopic.php?f=160&t=1670 (there is a link to a tutorial at the old forum on the bottom of the reference card that might also interest you)

Thanks Williwaw,

I have the reference card, but I didnt pay much attention to the link. It is fantastic and just what I need!

I did the frugal install and am having a bit of a problem. Now when I boot off hard disk (usb is ok) it just boots to setup like it is fresh and doesnt seem to find the save file? I wonder what i did wrong, and how i can fix this if its fixable...

I solved the install problem. Just did it again and it worked...

Is there a way to shortcut to the console through a keyboard command like ctrl alt t?

Winkey+T should pop up a text terminal.
Winkey+E should pop up a Rox Filer window.

Or you can right click the "console" icon on the desktop, click "Edit Item", then click to set your own shortcut key.

Thanks!