Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 6:50 pm
by Governor
The standard FrugalPup failed, but I had success with e3StickPup.
Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup. I booted from it. How can I tell if it really did boot from the thumb drive and not some other location?
None of my drives in pMount have a lock icon. That strikes me as odd. I only worked a short time so far, but the GUI seems faster than before.
Ok, it looks like I answered my own question.
The UUID: "bb0ff474-57ff-4e7a-84b3-17c2ffb8a21e" matches the UUID of the drive listed in blkid, so it looks like it really did boot from the thumb drive.
Amazing, and all I did was run the program after installing the PET. Go figure.
I was told that I would be offered a chance to save my configuration settings on shutdown. How can I confirm this? I was told I could save my settings manually without shutdown or reboot, does that apply here?
Thanks!
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 7:19 pm
by bigpup
e3StickPup
Formats and installs a single Puppy to a usb stick, in a small "fat32" partition and a large Linux "ext3" partition.
This makes two partitions on the drive.
Have you tried to shutdown and see if it offers to make a save and offers the USB drive as the place to put it?
It may give you a selection of different locations to place the save.
Different drives (partitions) it sees on the computer.
The partitions of the USB stick will be one of them.
(usually it auto highlights the USB stick partition to select) But still make sure it is correct one.
What you want to select is the 2nd partition on the USB drive. The ext3 formatted one.
This allows making a save folder on it, because it is a Linux format.
Before shutting down.
Look on the desktop drive icons for the ones for the USB stick you are booting from.
If only one USB drive is plugged into the computer. Usually it is sdb drive.
If you have other USB drives or internal drives. You will need to figure out what their desktop drive icons are, so you know it is not that one.
Example may be sdb1 and sdb2 for the USB stick.
sdb2 would be the one to select to place the save on.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First time you boot with the USB install.
It will not lock the drive partition, because there is nothing being used, that is still on the partition.
It is all in memory.
After you place a save on the USB stick.
Boot using the save.
The partition the save is on will be locked and not able to UN-mount.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 7:33 pm
by bigpup
I was told I could save my settings manually without shutdown or reboot, does that apply here?
Must do this first.
After you do first shutdown and make a save.
Boot using it.
You should have a save icon on the desktop.
Clicking it at anytime, will manually update the save, with anything that has been changed.
In menu ->System ->Puppy event Manager ->Save Session
It gives options for how you want the save to update.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2024 7:45 pm
by bigpup
If you are seeing options in the boot menu to boot RAM only.
Example: menuentry "fossapup64 9.5 - RAM only"
Do not use this entry.
That tells the boot process to never use the save.
The first boot menu entry should be a normal boot.
Use it.
Puppy always loads everything into RAM when it boots.
Except the save. It only loads into the file system.
A boot menu entry that uses nocopy option, does not load into memory anything but what actually needs to be in memory, to run Puppy.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Boot parameters:
pmedia=<atahd|ataflash|usbhd|usbflash|cd>
Indicates the type of boot device.
If it's "cd" then the partitions are searched for a save layer file, the only situation that triggers such a search.*
If the first 3 characters are "usb", then any searching is restricted to only usb devices.
If the last 5 characters are "flash" the top layer in the stack remains the tmpfs in memory, otherwise any found save layer becomes the top layer in the stack.
This boot parameter should always be provided.
once you are booted......
on the first partition of your thumbdrive, in grub.cfg, line 18. change pmedia=usbhd to pmedia=usbflash and you will see a new save icon on the desktop on subsequent boots
* concerning CD boots......
its not a bug, its a documented feature!
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Boot parameters:
pmedia=<atahd|ataflash|usbhd|usbflash|cd>
Indicates the type of boot device.
[/size][/b]
8<-------snipped--------
If the first 3 characters are "usb", then any searching is restricted to only usb devices.
If the last 5 characters are "flash" the top layer in the stack remains the tmpfs in memory, otherwise any found save layer becomes the top layer in the stack.
This boot parameter should always be provided.
once you are booted......
on the first partition of your thumbdrive, in grub.cfg, line 18. change pmedia=usbhd to pmedia=usbflash and you will see a new save icon on the desktop on subsequent boots
8<-------snipped--------
Thanks. Did that. If there is another USB that is mounted and has system files on it, will the files from the second USB be loaded instead of the system files on the boot USB (CD behavior)? I just want to make sure.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 3:24 pm
by bigpup
You seem to have the setup that actually tests all this.
USB booting should only look on the USB stick booting from for files.
About the CD booting and using files from another location than the CD.
Any of these other (drives) locations you have the Fossapup64 9.5 SFS files.
Are the SFS files just on a drives partition or are they in a directory or folder?
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
You seem to have the setup that actually tests all this.
USB booting should only look on the USB stick booting from for files.
About the CD booting and using files from another location than the CD.
Any of these other (drives) locations you have the Fossapup64 9.5 SFS files.
Are the SFS files just on a drives partition or are they in a directory or folder?
A funny thing, I tried booting from my closed CD and it failed.
On the thumb drive, I changed "pmedia=usbflash" back to "pmedia=usbhd" and rebooted, but there is no change in the locked external USB drives, or Thunderbird behavior.
I found this,and I don't know how it got there:
/mnt/nvme0n1p1/zz_initrd_tmp
Found this:
/mnt/nvme0n1p3/lost+found
How does the boot process select which folder to use? If it is the first physical location where system files are found, how do I replicate that in Rox?
I know from experience that the sort in Rox does not sort correctly by alph-numeric.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
You seem to have the setup that actually tests all this.
USB booting should only look on the USB stick booting from for files.
I'm not clear as to why you had him change pmedia to flash, was that so he has a save icon?
Seems to me @Governor should have it writing as it goes, not needing to do anything to make a save.
If he was getting saved settings on the USB to begin with, he should stick with that, and then delete all those files on his other drives and begin a solid internal drive install.
This is the sidetrack that keeps happening since day one, to which my advice has always been run only ONE OS from the USB and examine how it saves on that install partition and in it's own directory, then configure a second boot internally, and learn how to move that save to the internal install, or use pupsave backup to put his save on the internal drive.
Slowly....with ordered steps.
and @Governor, it's very simple to test whether you have a save. Make a blank text file, put in a location like /root/Documents, shutdown and reboot. If on reboot the file is still there, you are saving your changes.
If you want to see where they are saved then navigate to /mnt/home/[pupinstall-folder-name] and you should see a folder (or sfs file -- hopefully not a file, but rather a folder) called fossapup64save-{something or other]. That's your save, and that's what can be eventually copied to a brand new clean install of fossapup64 on your nvme.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
You seem to have the setup that actually tests all this.
USB booting should only look on the USB stick booting from for files.
I'm not clear as to why you had him change pmedia to flash, was that so he has a save icon?
Seems to me @Governor should have it writing as it goes, not needing to do anything to make a save.
If he was getting saved settings on the USB to begin with, he should stick with that, and then delete all those files on his other drives and begin a solid internal drive install.
This is the sidetrack that keeps happening since day one, to which my advice has always been run only ONE OS from the USB and examine how it saves on that install partition and in it's own directory, then configure a second boot internally, and learn how to move that save to the internal install, or use pupsave backup to put his save on the internal drive.
Slowly....with ordered steps.
and @Governor, it's very simple to test whether you have a save. Make a blank text file, put in a location like /root/Documents, shutdown and reboot. If on reboot the file is still there, you are saving your changes.
If you want to see where they are saved then navigate to /mnt/home/[pupinstall-folder-name] and you should see a folder (or sfs file -- hopefully not a file, but rather a folder) called fossapup64save-{something or other]. That's your save, and that's what can be eventually copied to a brand new clean install of fossapup64 on your nvme.
Fine for me to start with the thumb drive.
I would like the save folder to be saved to the thumb drive I am booting from, so it is independent of the internal drive, and portable, so I can boot from a different computer. Plus, I would like to have the option of booting into RAM.only mode. For both options, I would like to be able to save on demand and save on shutdown/reboot. I really don't want automatic saves. I can decide that for myself.
How do I set that up? I only have 14GB on the ext format, but that should be enough to get started.
Thanks..
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
I would like the save folder to be saved to the thumb drive I am booting from, so it is independent of the internal drive, and portable, so I can boot from a different computer. Plus, I would like to have the option of booting into RAM.only mode. For both options, I would like to be able to save on demand and save on shutdown/reboot. I really don't want automatic saves. I can decide that for myself.
How do I set that up? I only have 14GB on the ext format, but that should be enough to get started.
Thanks..
Will need to see the present boot stanzas on the USB drive. Since it's a thumb drive and it looks like the pmedia=usbflash should be right.
But honestly, I would to have put fossapup64_9.5 on two different drives and test it to really know where this is happening, and that still wouldn't replicate your setup.
I have some ideas, but not enough info.
So what I'd need is the USB boot stanzas, a screenshot or even just copying the terminal text of your directory structure of all connected drives, something like
nvme
......./fossapup64_9.5
................adrv.sfs
................ydrv.sfs
................initrd
................whatever else is here
fossapup64save-whatever_name
In other words all the files at least one level deep on that drive presently and the same for the other drives. You might have a screenshot of that already buried in a topic.
Then the boot stanzas on the USB, and any information about other boot partitions you might have like on the nvme. Are you certain from the boot messages that it's booting from USB?
But there is another option you could try:
One thing I still don't understand: If booting from USB is acceptable for you, why keep fossapup system files on the other drives? You could boot into RAM using USB, move the saves you have on the internal drive to your USB stick, but create folders and put them a couple of levels deep where they won't be found on boot, like /mnt/home/filesystems/f95/gov-saves/internal-drive/archive/fossapup64save-govs_save
Or better yet, after moving them, rename those files also with a prefix so they don't get loaded: BKP_fossapup64save-govs_save
And then delete all those puppy.sfs files, the initrd, the pdrv.sfs and any other puppy system files from nvme, so that there are no other files for the USB boot to load.
And of course detach any other external drives that have these files on them.
Then reboot and see what happens.
And if you really want to eliminate the confusion, erase the boot partition from your nvme, so we know that somehow it's not doing the actual booting.
This is the goal, reconfiguring your computer's internal drive so it's truly useful again. If that's not your goal, and you want to boot from USB with the nvme loaded with puppy system files, it's gonna take a lot of careful fiddling to set up a circumstance where you get a predictable boot.
Somehow you have to figure out how to use process of elimination to get to the boot you want.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
I would like the save folder to be saved to the thumb drive I am booting from, so it is independent of the internal drive, and portable, so I can boot from a different computer. Plus, I would like to have the option of booting into RAM.only mode. For both options, I would like to be able to save on demand and save on shutdown/reboot. I really don't want automatic saves. I can decide that for myself.
How do I set that up? I only have 14GB on the ext format, but that should be enough to get started.
Thanks..
Will need to see the present boot stanzas on the USB drive. Since it's a thumb drive and it looks like the pmedia=usbflash should be right.
But honestly, I would to have put fossapup64_9.5 on two different drives and test it to really know where this is happening, and that still wouldn't replicate your setup.
I have some ideas, but not enough info.
So what I'd need is the USB boot stanzas, a screenshot or even just copying the terminal text of your directory structure of all connected drives, something like
nvme
......./fossapup64_9.5
................adrv.sfs
................ydrv.sfs
................initrd
................whatever else is here
fossapup64save-whatever_name
In other words all the files at least one level deep on that drive presently and the same for the other drives. You might have a screenshot of that already buried in a topic.
Then the boot stanzas on the USB, and any information about other boot partitions you might have like on the nvme. Are you certain from the boot messages that it's booting from USB?
But there is another option you could try:
One thing I still don't understand: If booting from USB is acceptable for you, why keep fossapup system files on the other drives? You could boot into RAM using USB, move the saves you have on the internal drive to your USB stick, but create folders and put them a couple of levels deep where they won't be found on boot, like /mnt/home/filesystems/f95/gov-saves/internal-drive/archive/fossapup64save-govs_save
Or better yet, after moving them, rename those files also with a prefix so they don't get loaded: BKP_fossapup64save-govs_save
And then delete all those puppy.sfs files, the initrd, the pdrv.sfs and any other puppy system files from nvme, so that there are no other files for the USB boot to load.
And of course detach any other external drives that have these files on them.
Then reboot and see what happens.
And if you really want to eliminate the confusion, erase the boot partition from your nvme, so we know that somehow it's not doing the actual booting.
This is the goal, reconfiguring your computer's internal drive so it's truly useful again. If that's not your goal, and you want to boot from USB with the nvme loaded with puppy system files, it's gonna take a lot of careful fiddling to set up a circumstance where you get a predictable boot.
Somehow you have to figure out how to use process of elimination to get to the boot you want.
After my last boot, I was unable to unmount internal drive 4 where I keep my portable programs, ie. Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, Palemoon, Brave, VLC, Audacity. There was a hidden process running.
Unable to unmount nvme0n1p4.png (522.82 KiB) Viewed 829 times
I removed all system files on internal partitions, and rebooted from the thumb drive. The first 3 internal drive partitions have no files at all.
My external drives can mount in pMount, but are not writable, just as before. So no change there.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Will need to see the present boot stanzas on the USB drive. Since it's a thumb drive and it looks like the pmedia=usbflash should be right.
.....
So what I'd need is the USB boot stanzas, a screenshot or even just copying the terminal text of your directory structure of all connected drives, something like
nvme
......./fossapup64_9.5
................adrv.sfs
................ydrv.sfs
................initrd
................whatever else is here
fossapup64save-whatever_name
In other words all the files at least one level deep on that drive presently and the same for the other drives. You might have a screenshot of that already buried in a topic.
Then the boot stanzas on the USB, and any information about other boot partitions you might have like on the nvme. Are you certain from the boot messages that it's booting from USB?
set default=0
set timeout=10
set menu_color_normal='yellow/blue'
set menu_color_highlight='black/cyan'
if [ $grub_platform = 'efi' ]; then
loadfont /boot/grub/fonts/DejaVuSansMono18.pf2
set gfxmode=auto
terminal_output gfxterm
fi
menuentry "Puppy fossapup64 9.5" {
insmod ext2
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root bb0ff474-57ff-4e7a-84b3-17c2ffb8a21e
echo "Loading vmlinuz"
linux /pups/fossapup64/vmlinuz net.ifnames=0 pmedia=usbhd pdrv=lind992288c psubdir=/pups/fossapup64 pfix=fsck,fsckp TZ=XXX1
if [ -e /pups/fossapup64/local-initrd.gz ]; then
set local_rd=/pups/fossapup64/local-initrd.gz
else
set local_rd=
fi
if [ -e /pups/fossapup64/ucode.cpio ]; then
set ucode_rd=/pups/fossapup64/ucode.cpio
echo "Loading ucode.cpio and initrd.gz"
else
set ucode_rd=
echo "Loading initrd.gz"
fi
initrd $ucode_rd /pups/fossapup64/initrd.gz $local_rd
}
if [ $grub_platform = 'efi' ]; then
menuentry "System BIOS setup" {
fwsetup
}
fi
menuentry "Shutdown computer" {
halt
}
menuentry "Reboot computer" {
reboot
}
Will need to see the present boot stanzas on the USB drive. Since it's a thumb drive and it looks like the pmedia=usbflash should be right.
..........
So what I'd need is the USB boot stanzas, a screenshot or even just copying the terminal text of your directory structure of all connected drives,
.........
After my last boot, I was unable to unmount internal drive 4 where I keep my portable programs, ie. Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, Palemoon, Brave, VLC, Audacity. There was a hidden process running.
Unable to unmount nvme0n1p4.png
I removed all system files on internal partitions, and rebooted from the thumb drive. The first 3 internal drive partitions have no files at all.
My external drives can mount in pMount, but are not writable, just as before. So no change there.
So do I have this correct? nvme is writeable but these 3 below are not? (sdc1 should not be because it's a cd drive)
The running process on your one nvme portable partion could be a lot of things, I run into this often when some application still has some process accessing it, but it could be a clue. It would be good to figure out what applications/processes/OS tools you were using prior to getting that condition.
I'm not super fluent in grub.cfg, but I have to wonder what's on those exfat/ntfs drives since those appear to be the only drives that aren't writeable. Either it could be something to do with the fact that these are exfat, ntfs, or I'm also wondering about the search statement in grub.cfg, setting the local_rd, if somehow searching for it it locked those drives. Just documenting this thought, and it might be nothing. OR do you possibly have pup system files on the any of the ntfs/exfat partitions
Can you check the write permissions of the exfat/ntfs partions? You could mount them, navigate to them in rox and view with details list, like this: My /sda1 shows read/write/execute permissions for /root
So my observations so far:
1) The install drive wasn't setup like this
/sda2/fossapup64
and instead it was setup like this:
/sda2/pups/fosspup64
-- did you create it that way? or did the tool you used to create the thumb drive boot set it up that way for you?
2) best I can tell, everything is writeable (your nvme, your sda1 and sda2 boot drive) except for the 2 drives with exfat/ntfs partitions.
3) SINCE we aren't talking about SAVE FOLDERS yet, this might be a premature observation, BUT, I'm now wondering about the SAVEMARK and AUTOSAVE files in your install directory in light of this frugalpup installer update: viewtopic.php?p=27339#p27339
now you used e3StickPup, and I know NOTHING about that tool. Hopefully somone who does will see this.
So, I'm still not at solution stage here yet, just clarifying the picture as much as possible. Whatever you can add to this observation list would help us figure out where to look next.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 1:14 pm
by geo_c
As a followup to my previous post, I'm just noticing this in one of your posts above:
I found this,and I don't know how it got there:
/mnt/nvme0n1p1/zz_initrd_tmp
Now that you erased all the files from nvme, do you get this again after booting the fossapup thumb drive?
Also noticing that your /sda2 drive has a folder called /mnt. How did that get there? I don't think that should be there.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
After my last boot, I was unable to unmount internal drive 4 where I keep my portable programs, ie. Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, Palemoon, Brave, VLC, Audacity. There was a hidden process running.
Unable to unmount nvme0n1p4.png
I removed all system files on internal partitions, and rebooted from the thumb drive. The first 3 internal drive partitions have no files at all.
My external drives can mount in pMount, but are not writable, just as before. So no change there.
So do I have this correct? nvme is writeable but these 3 below are not? (sdc1 should not be because it's a cd drive)
Yes, I can write to the USB thumb drive I booted from which is sda1/sda2, and I thought I could not write to the remaining external USB drives, but that was incorrect. My CD drive is not plugged in. And here is what I just confirmed:
On the sdc1/sdc2 drive which is a USB hdd (NTFS), only the sdc2 partition is writable.
If I try to write a file to sdc1, I get an error message: "ERROR: Read-only file system" I also can't change any permissions on that drive, and get the same message.
ERROR - Read-only file system.png (240.98 KiB) Viewed 738 times
The sdd1 drive which is a USB hdd (vfat) is writable.
The sde1 drive which is a USB sdd (exfat) is writable.
All internal drives are writable. And all external drives show a lock symbol in pMount.
The running process on your one nvme portable partion could be a lot of things, I run into this often when some application still has some process accessing it, but it could be a clue. It would be good to figure out what applications/processes/OS tools you were using prior to getting that condition.
I'm not super fluent in grub.cfg, but I have to wonder what's on those exfat/ntfs drives since those appear to be the only drives that aren't writeable. Either it could be something to do with the fact that these are exfat, ntfs, or I'm also wondering about the search statement in grub.cfg, setting the local_rd, if somehow searching for it it locked those drives. Just documenting this thought, and it might be nothing. OR do you possibly have pup system files on the any of the ntfs/exfat partitions
Can you check the write permissions of the exfat/ntfs partions? You could mount them, navigate to them in rox and view with details list, like this: My /sda1 shows read/write/execute permissions for /root
So my observations so far:
1) The install drive wasn't setup like this
/sda2/fossapup64
and instead it was setup like this:
/sda2/pups/fosspup64
-- did you create it that way? or did the tool you used to create the thumb drive boot set it up that way for you?
I used e3stickpup to create the 2 partitions and install the boot files on the thumb drive. Everything was done automatically. I believe it created the pups directory, so the user can add other puppy versions.
2) best I can tell, everything is writeable (your nvme, your sda1 and sda2 boot drive) except for the 2 drives with exfat/ntfs partitions.
Yes, I have confirmed that the sdc1 partition which is a USB hdd (NTFS) is not writable.
3) SINCE we aren't talking about SAVE FOLDERS yet, this might be a premature observation, BUT, I'm now wondering about the SAVEMARK and AUTOSAVE files in your install directory in light of this frugalpup installer update: viewtopic.php?p=27339#p27339
now you used e3StickPup, and I know NOTHING about that tool. Hopefully somone who does will see this.
So, I'm still not at solution stage here yet, just clarifying the picture as much as possible. Whatever you can add to this observation list would help us figure out where to look next.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 3:10 pm
by geo_c
You say that all external drives have a lock symbol in pmount.
The lock symbol usually means they can't be removed because system files are being accessed from them. It should not mean they can't be written to. So we expect the USB thumbdrive partitions to be locked because you're booting from that drive, so you can't remove it while running or it'll crash of course.
However the exfat and vfat shouldn't be locked. And that's why we need to know what's on those drives if there are possibly system files on them.
So still these important questions to answer: 1) Now that you erased all the files from nvme, does this file show up again after booting the fossapup thumb drive?
I found this,and I don't know how it got there:
/mnt/nvme0n1p1/zz_initrd_tmp
2) Your /sda2 drive has a folder called /mnt. How did that get there? Is there anything in it?
EDIT: Just received an answer to question 1 and 2: the zz_intrd_tmp is a log file, and the /mnt directory appears to be some kind of artifact left from I believe the installer. If there's nothing in it, I would remove it.
Still, if you haven't done this below, go ahead and test it:
3) Have you tried booting with only the USB boot thumbdrive plugged in and not the other two vfat/exfat drives? If not, try that and then see what happens. Check to see if the above file showed up on nvme again. If not, then plug your exfat/vfat drives in and see if they are writeable.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 3:37 pm
by bigpup
Using e3stickpup program to do an install of a Puppy Linux version on a USB stick.
It is setup to make a boot menu entry in grub.cfg file on the USB, that will make the USB boot, so the Puppy OS will be running in pupmode 12.
This makes the save update as anything changes. Exactly when the change is made.
(I think this was for new Puppy users, so they would not have to make choices of saving updates to the save)
But running in pupmode 13 provides save choices.
To get Puppy to run in pupmode 13 that will allow options for how the save is updated.
You have to make a manual change to the entry in the grub.cfg file on the USB stick.
Anyplace in the entry that has pmedia=usbhd
Change it to pmedia=usbflash
@Governor change this line in the grub.cfg file on the USB stick
linux /pups/fossapup64/vmlinuz net.ifnames=0 pmedia=usbhd pdrv=lind992288c psubdir=/pups/fossapup64 pfix=fsck,fsckp TZ=XXX
Now when it boots it will run in pupmode13 After making a save, making sure you selected to place it on the 2nd partition of the USB stick, and rebooting using the save from that location.
There will be a save icon on the desktop.
Save options to select in Puppy event manager ->Save sessions
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 4:05 pm
by bigpup
@Governor
How about doing something to help all of us.
Make a new complete install of BookwormPup64 10.0.6 Puppy version, to a USB stick, using e3stickpup installer.
Try booting with it.
What happens?????
Hopefully your computer will boot it OK.
This should eliminate anything getting used that is on some other drive, because you have never used BookwormPup64 (I hope).
The only place it can get needed files will be from the USB stick install.
Plus BookwormPup64 has many new improvements, to everything, that are not going to be in Fossapup64 9.5, and never will be.
When you do the first shutdown and make a save.
Make sure to select to place it on the 2nd partition of the USB stick.
Make sure you know by looking at the drive icons on the desktop, what this 2nd partition is labeled. sd what?
It will boot in pupmode 12
So if you want it to boot in pupmode 13 and provide options for how the save works.
The grub.cfg file (on the USB stick) edit of pmedia= to pmedia=usbflash, will need to be done.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 4:52 pm
by geo_c
@bigpup I appreciate the suggestion, and it's a sensible and good one,
however, before we add a whole new process of downloading and configuring a boot, I think it would go a long way to simply have @Governor boot his current fossapup USB without his exfat drives attached and check on the results FIRST.
If in doing that he finds the nvme seems to be funcitnonally normally at least for basic reads and writes, and the fossapup USB install is running well, he could even make a save of fossapup settings on his USB.
Then, he could plug in his exfat drives AFTER he is booted and running fossa, and see if they are then writeable. I just don't see how they could be locked at that point unless fossapup is simply deficient in some kind of drivers to write to them, or somehow the usb hub is interfering, which is a real possibility.
Because best I can tell, at this point @Governordoes have a working USB fossapup, he just can't write to his exfat partitions that are showing up locked. If we eliminate those drives at boot, see if they function hotplugged, it might eliminate a few nagging questions, and then he could move in a new direction.
My two cents.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
You say that all external drives have a lock symbol in pmount.
....
EDIT: Just received an answer to question 1 and 2: the zz_intrd_tmp is a log file, and the /mnt directory appears to be some kind of artifact left from I believe the installer. If there's nothing in it, I would remove it.
I had already removed it along with every system file on all internal partitions. I also deleted the extra mnt folder on the thumb drive.
Still, if you haven't done this below, go ahead and test it:
3) Have you tried booting with only the USB boot thumbdrive plugged in and not the other two vfat/exfat drives? If not, try that and then see what happens. Check to see if the above file showed up on nvme again. If not, then plug your exfat/vfat drives in and see if they are writeable.
I booted the thumb drive with no other USB drives. They got locked afterward when I plugged them in.
Here is something new. I took my NTFS USB hdd to a Windows computer and did a chkdsk /f on it and no errors were found. When I returned it to my laptop with fossapup, the drive was no longer locked and I could write to it. Go figure.
A little off-topic sidebar: Windows updates itself automatically even if you turn off updates every which way from Sunday. I wrote a little batch file for the Windows computer that runs in the background and terminates the update program every 30 seconds. Take that, Microsoft!
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
@bigpup I appreciate the suggestion, and it's a sensible and good one,
however, before we add a whole new process of downloading and configuring a boot, I think it would go a long way to simply have @Governor boot his current fossapup USB without his exfat drives attached and check on the results FIRST.
If in doing that he finds the nvme seems to be funcitnonally normally at least for basic reads and writes, and the fossapup USB install is running well, he could even make a save of fossapup settings on his USB.
Then, he could plug in his exfat drives AFTER he is booted and running fossa, and see if they are then writeable. I just don't see how they could be locked at that point unless fossapup is simply deficient in some kind of drivers to write to them, or somehow the usb hub is interfering, which is a real possibility.
Because best I can tell, at this point @Governor does have a working USB fossapup, he just can't write to his exfat partitions that are showing up locked. If we eliminate those drives at boot, see if they function hotplugged, it might eliminate a few nagging questions, and then he could move in a new direction.
My two cents.
I will try Bookworm, I think, to see what happens. If the external USB drives still show a locked symbol, then wouldn't that likely mean it is not the OS that is directly causing it? Here is a screenshot of pMount:
Pmount - locked external USB drives.jpg (79.27 KiB) Viewed 688 times
The boot drive is not locked, but the two USD hdd drives are, I have no idea why. I plugged them in after boot.
EDIT: I found the monitor setting for monitor support.
Hmm. I think I may have booted Bookworm once from my Ventoy thumb drive, but I'm not sure. If Bookworm does not support an external monitor, then I can't use it. I quickly tried a few of the pups where I could not find support for my monitor, and that is a deal breaker.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Using e3stickpup program to do an install of a Puppy Linux version on a USB stick.
It is setup to make a boot menu entry in grub.cfg file on the USB, that will make the USB boot, so the Puppy OS will be running in pupmode 12.
This makes the save update as anything changes. Exactly when the change is made.
(I think this was for new Puppy users, so they would not have to make choices of saving updates to the save)
But running in pupmode 13 provides save choices.
To get Puppy to run in pupmode 13 that will allow options for how the save is updated.
You have to make a manual change to the entry in the grub.cfg file on the USB stick.
Anyplace in the entry that has pmedia=usbhd
Change it to pmedia=usbflash
@Governor change this line in the grub.cfg file on the USB stick
linux /pups/fossapup64/vmlinuz net.ifnames=0 pmedia=usbhd pdrv=lind992288c psubdir=/pups/fossapup64 pfix=fsck,fsckp TZ=XXX
Now when it boots it will run in pupmode13 After making a save, making sure you selected to place it on the 2nd partition of the USB stick, and rebooting using the save from that location.
There will be a save icon on the desktop.
Save options to select in Puppy event manager ->Save sessions
Ok, I changed pmedia=usbhd to pmedia=usbflash and I changed nothing else.
I will have to do the boot later, and report back on it.
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
You say that all external drives have a lock symbol in pmount.
....
EDIT: Just received an answer to question 1 and 2: the zz_intrd_tmp is a log file, and the /mnt directory appears to be some kind of artifact left from I believe the installer. If there's nothing in it, I would remove it.
I had already removed it along with every system file on all internal partitions. I also deleted the extra mnt folder on the thumb drive.
Still, if you haven't done this below, go ahead and test it:
3) Have you tried booting with only the USB boot thumbdrive plugged in and not the other two vfat/exfat drives? If not, try that and then see what happens. Check to see if the above file showed up on nvme again. If not, then plug your exfat/vfat drives in and see if they are writeable.
I booted the thumb drive with no other USB drives. They got locked afterward when I plugged them in.
Here is something new. I took my NTFS USB hdd to a Windows computer and did a chkdsk /f on it and no errors were found. When I returned it to my laptop with fossapup, the drive was no longer locked and I could write to it. Go figure.
A little off-topic sidebar: Windows updates itself automatically even if you turn off updates every which way from Sunday. I wrote a little batch file for the Windows computer that runs in the background and terminates the update program every 30 seconds. I was happy to see the batch is still running. Take that, Microsoft!
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Here is something new. I took my NTFS USB hdd to a Windows computer and did a chkdsk /f on it and no errors were found. When I returned it to my laptop with fossapup, the drive was no longer locked and I could write to it. Go figure.
A little off-topic sidebar: Windows updates itself automatically even if you turn off updates every which way from Sunday. I wrote a little batch file for the Windows computer that runs in the background and terminates the update program every 30 seconds. I was happy to see the batch is still running. Take that, Microsoft!
Wait a minute....
What's happening is Windows is accessing it and it's probably not being removed cleanly. Or it's mounting it during the update, something like that, and you are breaking it off mid stream with your script. And you say this is "off-topic?"
You are telling us only now that you have written a script to keep windows from updating, one that terminates the update program every thirty seconds, and you are attaching these drives to that tampered version of windows, and all this time you've been asking the PUPPY FORUM why these drives are locked??
Okay chew on that for awhile and mark this topic SOLVED
Nothing is stopping you from making a save folder now. And you can probably write your own script to do it.
funny. I can't say I've ever to talked to an ordinary Joe User who would even think of writing a script to break off a Microsoft install. I'm not even sure an ordinary Joe User would even understand the concept.
I think Microsoft should provide a "user-friendly" menu to choose what drives get locked when the update gets borked by a user script....
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
@bigpup I appreciate the suggestion, and it's a sensible and good one,
however, before we add a whole new process of downloading and configuring a boot, I think it would go a long way to simply have @Governor boot his current fossapup USB without his exfat drives attached and check on the results FIRST.
Here is something new. I took my NTFS USB hdd to a Windows computer and did a chkdsk /f on it and no errors were found. When I returned it to my laptop with fossapup, the drive was no longer locked and I could write to it. Go figure.
A little off-topic sidebar: Windows updates itself automatically even if you turn off updates every which way from Sunday. I wrote a little batch file for the Windows computer that runs in the background and terminates the update program every 30 seconds. I was happy to see the batch is still running. Take that, Microsoft!
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
Is this the same computer you have been having issues with, you have talked about in other topics?
If yes.
Unless you can tell us, that some specific operating system can run the computer, with no problem.
I think the computer is having hardware issues.
Hardware that is not always working correctly.
You know you could be right, I wonder if it is a hardware failure. This laptop I am using came with Windows 10 pre-installed. I used that for about 1½ years.
When Windows crashed the last time, I was unable to resurrect it with any recovery methods including rescue CD or Macrium Reflect. The only other option I had available was to boot a Linux CD and that is how I got here.
lol.
I wonder how Windows got borked on the NVMe?
Deleting the visible files may not be enough, or even repartitioning the disk, if remnants of previous partition tables and boot code still exist, especially GPT tables at the end of the disk. Sometimes easiest to just overwrite the whole drive and start from scratch when e2fsprogs reports....
Either the superblock or the partitiontable is likely to be corrupt!
......... if the drive is corrupted. you will want to copy all files you desire to keep to an external drive
wipe the drive with dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/nvme0n1 status=progress (this may take a long time)
prepare to use diskpup by planing your new partition arrangement carefully before using gparted http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/fru ... index.html
Re: Created a fossapup64_9.5 boot USB memory stick with e3StickPup
lol.
I wonder how windows got borked on the NVMe? or if windows borked the NVMe?
I knew there was a reason @Governor never answered me when I asked him 2 years ago what lead to his windows install being tanked to the point of not booting.
