Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Hello all:

This afternoon I installed Puppy Linux to boot Friendly uPup from a thumb-drive.
New installation, new (i.e. old netbook) with Windows (probably XP) still on the HDD.
The HDD is NTFS file system. This is a low-power netbook, 64-bit Atom N270 CPU with 2Gi-bytes of RAM.

At the moment, when I shut down, Puppy only offers the option of writing PupSave to the USB (thumb) drive.

Is this because the HDD is formatted to NTFS? <---<<

Some info: Distro is BionicPup32 19.03 (Friendly Puppy)
Kernel Command Line psubdir=/friendly_Pup_boot pmedia=usbflash pfix=fsck
PUPMODE=5
PUPSFS=sdb2, ext3,/friendly_Pup_boot/puppy_uPupbb_19.03.sfs
PUPSAVE=
As I write this, I have not made a save-file; this is a fresh installation.

do I need to add additional info?

Thanks,

собака

cobaka wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:51 am

Hello all:

This afternoon I installed Puppy Linux to boot Friendly uPup from a thumb-drive.
New installation, new (i.e. old netbook) with Windows (probably XP) still on the HDD.
The HDD is NTFS file system. This is a low-power netbook, 64-bit Atom N270 CPU with 2Gi-bytes of RAM.

At the moment, when I shut down, Puppy only offers the option of writing PupSave to the USB (thumb) drive.

Is this because the HDD is formatted to NTFS? <---<<

Some info: Distro is BionicPup32 19.03 (Friendly Puppy)
Kernel Command Line psubdir=/friendly_Pup_boot pmedia=usbflash pfix=fsck
PUPMODE=5
PUPSFS=sdb2, ext3,/friendly_Pup_boot/puppy_uPupbb_19.03.sfs
PUPSAVE=
As I write this, I have not made a save-file; this is a fresh installation.

do I need to add additional info?

Thanks,

собака

@cobaka

Nope. Puppy can save to NTFS using a save file. A disk image file formatted in linux fs. The reason why your hard drive doesn't see upon saving session because of pmedia=usbflash boot parameter. Just remove the pmedia boot parameter on your bootloader settings in order to save puppy on hard drive

Why do you not want the save to be on the USB drive?
For booting with a USB install of Puppy Linux, that is the best place to store the save, so it is always with the USB, if you use it on some other computer.

One caution if you do end up putting the save on the ntfs formatted internal drive partition.
First in Windows.
Run defrag program to make sure the drive partition file system is not fragmented.
Storing the save on a fragmented drive partition, can cause problems with a Puppy save, which will also be fragmented.

I can't speak for Cobaka, but when I tried to keep mysave file on, admittedly cheap, USB drives, I only could only get about 100 to 200 sessionis on it before it got corrupt. I now do what Cobaka is trying to do. What sort of luck have others had?

@chris_r
You:

... when I tried to keep mysave file on, admittedly cheap, USB drives, ....

Background to my situation: I installed Friendly Puppy on an ASUS netbook. This is a smaller PC, from around 2008 (I think). Had HDD with an existing Windows installation. 64bit CPU - but I don't need that sort of processing power for word-processing. After the installation, I began the shutdown process. Puppy only offered me the thumb drive device to store the save-file; it ignored the HDD. That's why I wrote here about putting the save-file on the hard-drive. Generally I put the save-file on the HDD. Generally (for the first installation) I boot from a CD. Then I partition/format (re-format) the HDD following bigpups advice. (sda1 -> FAT32, bootable, about 1GiB; sda2/3/4 etc -> ext3/4) Either sda2 or sda3 will be called OS_BOOT, that will be (you guessed it) the device where the principal puppy lives. But this ASUS was different.

I could be wrong here, but I suspect that Puppy looks for a Linux format drive when making the first save-file. Note: just my guess.

My experience with thumb-drives. I bought a variety of thumb-drives; at first I bought 8GiByte capacity because my computing really needs only a few tens of Megabytes storage. Some were cheap, other well known brands. I tested these a little. After a little use one of the 'economy' drives became so hot I couldn't hold it in my hand. After that I decided my work was so valuable I would only buy well known brands. Also, my idea was that the smaller drive has less silicon on it and therefore less likely to fail. But 8GiByte drives are becoming scarce now.

Best wishes,

Собака

@cobaka

This is a low-power netbook, 64-bit Atom N270

Those two things don't match, the atom n270 is only 32bit. Used a Acer Aspire netbook with one for a long time. It was dual boot Win7 and Puppy. You shouldn't have any problem putting Puppy, including the savefile/folder on the internal hdd if that's your goal.

wizard

You:

The atom n270 is only 32bit.

Ме Quite so. I misread the spec from PupSys-info. It said: 64-bit capable: No
The moral for me: read the spec more carefully!

Собака

I installed Friendly Puppy on an ASUS netbook. This is a smaller PC, from around 2008 (I think). Had HDD with an existing Windows installation. 64bit CPU - but I don't need that sort of processing power for word-processing. After the installation, I began the shutdown process. Puppy only offered me the thumb drive device to store the save-file; it ignored the HDD.

So the actual install is on the internal hard drive?
If yes.

Try booting with no USB drives plugged into computer.
This will provide only the hard drive as a device to put the save.

You posted earlier that the boot loader menu entry that boots the install on the internal hard drive, has the pmedia=usbflash in it.
Change this to pmedia=atahd.

@bigpup
You:

So the actual install is on the internal hard drive?

Me: No - I created the wrong impression. I stayed with the config. you suggested. (Config == Installation).
Puppy Linux -> installed on small USB drive.
Save-file on same (boot/USB) drive.
Windows remains, untouched, on the HDD. Will boot into Windows if I remove the thumb-drive.

My Q: If I open Puppy Event Manager and change the Save Session interval to zero, will Puppy create a save-file every time I shut down normally? (But not until I click the shut-down button).

Thank you for your reply.
Собака
On the ASUS netbook: Friendly Puppy, 32-bit. Works well.

My Q: If I open Puppy Event Manager and change the Save Session interval to zero, will Puppy create a save-file every time I shut down normally? (But not until I click the shut-down button).

You have to first shutdown and make a save.
Boot using the save.
Then if the save session interval is set to zero.
The save is only updated, if you click on the desktop save icon, or do a shutdown.

In the Puppy Event Manager -> Save Session
If you check ask to save on shutdown.
On shutdown, it will only update the save, when you select save.
If you choose no save or you do nothing after 60 seconds, it shuts down not updating the save.

@bigpup

This question borders on trivial, but here I go!
You:

The save [file] is only updated, if you click on the desktop save icon, or do a shutdown.

From this, I infer that if the OS crashes (or I turn the power off etc) I retain (the save-file retains) every change up to the last boot. Correct?
Hard not to be otherwise, methinks.

This takes me to a question I should be able to answer myself (but I can't):
Question: Are the files found under /home/spot/Downloads .... kept in pup-save?
Final observation: If the answer to the last Q is 'yes', then /home/spot/ and ../Downloads should be kept small, yes?

Thank you for your reply.
Собака

From this, I infer that if the OS crashes (or I turn the power off etc) I retain (the save-file retains) every change up to the last boot. Correct?
Hard not to be otherwise, methinks.

Basically yes.

In pupmode 13 operation, which is usually the pupmode for an install to a USB.
What is in the save is based on the last time it was updated. (clicked on save icon, auto update set time period, or when you did the last normal shutdown and if set to ask, you selected save)
I have used Puppy in pupmode 13 and not updated the save, for many complete shutdowns.
I just do not tell it to save.
So, the save could be many days or weeks old, with nothing new in it.

Are the files found under /home/spot/Downloads .... kept in pup-save?

Yes.

then /home/spot/ and ../Downloads should be kept small, yes?

That is up to you.

The only time the save file size is an issue is when it is on a fat32 formatted partition.
Fat32 has a max file size limit of 4GB.
That is as big as the save file can be.

If the save is a folder.
Size really is not an issue.
A folder is only limited by free space on the partition, available to use.