Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

After my initial learning curve, I am now left with a Full installation when I now know that a Frugal would be better [3Gb RAM quad core cpu, 32 bit] My question, can I replace the Full with a Frugal installation, and keep my settings? Just to ask before I start from scratch...

Might be difficult without the save file / folder that a frugal installation has. Which is a strong point of the frugal install, being able to move or restore a system very easily.
Not so much with the full install which writes changes directly to the file system and does not have the exclusive top file system layer.

I would say start from scratch and model the new frugal install to match what you have done on your full installed version.

There might be some tricks some of the others know, I haven't done a full install in years.

Well,the standard remaster script is worth a try. You will need files from the original iso, most definitely vmlinuz and initrd.gz as well as the kernel files (zdrv and fdrv also the boot files). There will be duplication but because the remaster script copies directly from / it may work. Don't know, I'm guessing but worth a try. Boot with pfix=nox if you do get that far and run xorgwizard at the prompt. Also - the folders /proc, /tmp and /mnt will have to be included in the new remastered sfs. This won't be so you will have to edit the remastered sfs and include (you can create them) these empty folders otherwise puppy will not boot. But - To be honest, I just think you should start all over, best way to get a clean a frugal install.

G'day LLiam53,

I don't think it will work as you want - the Full set-up is quite different to a Frugal in terms of using your own personalisations (e.g. added software) as well as Puppy's file structure, but you could install the Frugal to the same partition as your existing Full, so they are together 'in a sense'.
Maybe some things could be copied from the Full to the Frugal - running the Frugal and just finding stuff in the Full's files?

Setting up things in a Puppy is usually very quick - well, after a while of playing around. And you've already done it with a Full to a large extent. So just create the Frugal and go for it.

A Frugal Puppy only needs its own sub-folder so it would be simply another sub-folder in that partition. One partition can hold many different Frugal Puppies (32- and 64-bitsers together) but only one Full. I usually have about 10-20 different Pups on each computer and just pick one from the particular menu.lst as I feel like it.

David S.

Thanks one and all: I just went for a new clean installation, my Frugal system is working just fine. Consider this solved. LLiam53
PS I had first shrunk the original partition where the Full was installed, and all still worked, or did it? When I came to format the partition before the Frugal installation there was 'data' on both parts of that original partition so that shrinking was questionable. All done now.