Coming soon: ISOfile booting 64-bit PCs

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This thread offers guidance to 2 "Drag & Boot" methods for booting modern PUP-DOG Linux found across the forum.
Below this post, is additional post giving locations of steps for one-time setup of a USB that you will use forevermore. On that USB, you will merely download your PUP/DOG to the USB and boot the USB with NO additional steps required!

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_________ A hardware layout of a single keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) controls multiple PCs ___________
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This is a temporary area where, in this post, I will describe a test-bed constructed with old 64bit PCs. My only monetary investment is the KVM switch of $25 (ca). Everything else gotten from gimme by various people who no longer wanted these old Windows PCs.

I have an USB stick with all my PUP-DOG ISO files that I routinely test on either of the 4 PCs.

Folder layout for consistent management of distro operations

• The ISO files are ALL kept on the USB in its 'BOOTISOS' (actual name) folder.

• Each PC has a Linux partition with a 'Sessions' (actual name) folder where ALL save sessions from every distro is contained.

In this post in the future I will describe each of the various boot assistants that I have tested over the past 2 years for running these Live distros.

The post intends to share how every user can exist in a download and boot world with little to no USB hassles, yet have ALL of the functionality that PUP and DOG developers have provided in desktop operations. Any user will create their USB stick only ONCE! And forever more afterwards, they will merely add their PUP-DOG ISO files and boot it directly. There is NO post-processing of the PUP/DOG ISO required. User will just boot their desired PUP/DOG.

It is hoped that the ease of use approaches not only provide a productivity gain by reducing effort, but also increase satisfaction that new users would experience in their Puppy Linux effort to get started with no headaches.

My current Test-bed

4 PCs to KVM.gif (220.87 KiB) Viewed 3708 times

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The SG2D approach is the oldest of the "modern" direct boot technologies in Puppyland. It is "modern" as it is centered around the current boot methods of all modern PUPs and DOGs since December 2019.

A simple solution is found here.

It is the first of the "drag and drop" methods to booting a WoofCE PUPPY forum distro to desktop, directly via ONLY their ISO file.[/quote]

USB stick-smallest.jpg (20.73 KiB) Viewed 2758 times

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More and more forum users this year (2021) are discovering Ventoy as another boot-time subsystem to boot distro with little to no effort on the user's part. Externally, this is a process that achieves the same result that 'Super Grub2 Disk' (SG2D) achieves; namely boot the distro to desktop directly from its ISO file with no user manipulation or effort required for a Frugal PUP usage.

A comprehensive boot thread dedicated to Ventoy will be posted, forthcoming. For now, the closest to that is a post here.

Ventoy USB stick-smallest.jpg (25.88 KiB) Viewed 2756 times

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Reserved

This section is a bit of an issue because of the PC industry manufacturer changes via reference platforms since 2006. All 64bit PCs and their firmware used to start the PCs at power-on time has gone thru evolutions with inconsistent methods to be backward compatible.

The firmware, I speak of, is:

• BIOS

• EFI

• 32bit UEFI

• 64bit UEFI

• hybrid UEFI

Then too, there is the issue of non-secure boot, secure boot, non-secure boot without UEFI, etc that leads to very differing behaviors in how USBs and system drives are used to initialize an OS.

Each of these technologies which have occurred over the years poses very interesting behaviors in and of themselves. Thus, I, personally, am struggling with a boot fashion that is accurate for each of these differing technologies as well as what the users will do.

At this point, if I publish a preferred standard for booting, I overlook the fact that some/many users will ignore or overlook the prescribed standard to follow for use,,,as it would certainly differ in how the manufacturers ship the PC to the users for running their MACs or WINs OS. And since the firmware is different from year to year from the manufacturers, it becomes tough to have ANY standard that can be suggested at this point in time.

So, this area may not have a timely addition, as was originally conceived, for guiding simple methods of tools to use to boot a 64bit PC via its ISO file.

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BEWARE, ALL SG2D users: The author, years ago it appears, added an April Fools JOKE for those booting SG2D on April 1st.

IT IS A HARMLESS JOKE, but in these troubled times some/many may not find it FUNNY!

So if you boot your SG2D CD/DVD/USB on TODAY, April 1st..."April Fools Day" you may get a message that is 'Alarming'. Its the author, Adrian's, version of a joke. It is harmless as it does NOT do anything to your physical system...just his "scary" message.

DONT PANIC!!! And understand that the prank intends to be comic relief.

SG2D is on Github. You might want to acknowledge his prank, or ...

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Reserved

Note to self: Reset title tomorrow to "Re: Coming soon: ISOfile booting 64-bit PCs"

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USB pictures applied to above posts to expand, visually, what the words project.