DPupStretch (32 bit) PPM Update Failed (not fully-SOLVED)

[lizardidi]

So here it goes...

Days after days... months after months.. years after years passed.. My last PPM update was like.. last year?? Today when I try to search for packages in the PPM, the database update was a failure, as shown below:

The file in /var/woof/0setup_fail_report_yes:

This is a report on the last time the '0setup' script was run.
Date and time '0setup' last run: Fri Apr 28 09:41:11 +08 2023
Compatible-distro and release-name: debian, stretch
Mostly only errors get logged, so the less seen below, the better.
Log of last run of '0setup':

Failed to download db file:
http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/ ... ackages.xz
...exited from 0setup script.

I not really know the cause.. my guess is the link for the database no longer worked. Can someone teach me or point me to a resource bout how to update the links in PPM so the update works again?

Many thanks.

edit 29.06.2023: After messing around many stuffs, there seems to be one error from debian stretch-update repo, which is supposed to not enabled by default. All other repo list will download, but some package will show error when download, while some simpler package will probably download okay. So yeah, the effort to make PPM work again in this Debianpup is not very successful.. yet.
In case any user found this post and need it, I will post the the updated DISTRO_COMPAT_REPOS file content here:

#
# DISTRO_COMPAT_REPOS
#

if [ "$DISTRO_COMPAT_VERSION" = "" ] ; then
[ -f ./DISTRO_SPECS ] && . ./DISTRO_SPECS
fi

case "$DISTRO_TARGETARCH" in
x86) DBIN_ARCH=i386 ;;
x86_64) DBIN_ARCH=amd64 ;;
esac

#----------------------
#PKG_DOCS_DISTRO_COMPAT - where to download the compat-distro pkgs databases from
#---------------------
# 1|2|3
# 1 - domain. for testing the url.
# 2 - full URI of the database file.
# 3 - name of db file when local and after being processed into standard format

PKG_DOCS_DISTRO_COMPAT="
z|http://archive.debian.org/debian/dists/ ... SION}-main
z|http://archive.debian.org/debian/dists/ ... }-non-free
z|http://archive.debian.org/debian/dists/ ... N}-contrib
z|http://archive.deb-multimedia.org/dists ... multimedia
"

#-------------------
#REPOS_DISTRO_COMPAT - hardcode the compat-distro repos in here...
#-------------------
# 1|2|3
# 1 - domain. for testing the url.
# 2 - full URI of the repo
# 3 - name of db-file(s) associated with that repo. it may have glob wildcards.

REPOS_DISTRO_COMPAT="
z|http://archive.debian.org/debian|Packag ... _VERSION}-*
z|http://archive.deb-multimedia.org|Packages-debian-${DISTRO_COMPAT_VERSION}-multimedia
z|http://mirrors.kernel.org/debian|Packag ... _VERSION}-*
z|http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian|Package ... _VERSION}-*
"

#---------------
# fix variables
#---------------
PKG_DOCS_DISTRO_COMPAT="$(echo $PKG_DOCS_DISTRO_COMPAT)"
REPOS_DISTRO_COMPAT="$(echo $REPOS_DISTRO_COMPAT)"

DISTRO_COMPAT_REPOS.gz

remove the fake .gz to open

(1.88 KiB) Downloaded 49 times

[mikeslr]

debian stretch Puppy was published 5 years ago. It is 'binary-compatible' with the stretch version of debian, and its PPM provided direct access to the repositories maintained by debian.The stretch version of debian was a 'long term' release, meaning that it would be maintained and updated with security updates and 'bug fixes' for five years. Those years have come and gone. If you 'google' for the debian stretch repositories you'll discover they are no longer available. Hence, PPM can't reach them.

When a distro is first published, even though it's been tested, there's a good chance that among the myriad hardware 'in the wild' it may run on, some problem may be later be discovered. That's the purpose making available 'bug fixes'. By about two years after its first publication, most bugs will have been fixed. But see, dimkr's comment about fossapup64, which is even newer than dpup-stretch, https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewto ... 762#p87762
Not all the applications are compiled 'from scratch' by distros: example, firefox, chrome, libreoffice, any video editor. A distro takes the version published by their creators and re-engineers them to work with that distro's package management system. So as new versions of those become available, a distro's repositories may offer them as a convenience. Until some fundamental change occurs in the composition of such independent applications --e.g. using the newer Qt5 framework rather than the older Qt4-- an independent application can be obtained directly from its publisher and used OOTB.

Miscreants constantly publish malware; so distros publish updated counter-measures. The counter-measures are most often addressed at close to the 'foundation' level: the kernel and/or glibc -- a library used by a considerable amount of a distro's software, or --such as openssl-- employed by all web-facing applications. An operating system can only internally have one version of glibc. A subsequently published openssl incompatible with the glibc employed can not be used.

It is possible, but very difficult, to add to PPM repositories not built-in. It is far easier to install pkg-cli [you could find it somewhere in the Additional Software Section]; then add a repo to it. So, for example, you could add current debian repos. But you'd face many incompatibility issues attempting to use the applications in those repositories under dpup-stretch.

You are, however, not completely stymied. Unlike its binary compatible debian-stretch, dpup-stretch, being a Puppy, has other tricks up its sleeve. The most important applications requiring updating are those which access the web. Although recent 32-bit web-browsers are becoming scarce, some current or more-recent-than-the-one-builtin can be found on this Forum's Additional Software Forum. You may also find there newer versions of other types of software, such as Office Suites. And as long as originators continue to publish newer 32-bit version, you can also try to use them. Ask how. Puppy is not constrained by PPM.

dpup-stretch is modularly built. You can swap the kernel (vmlinuz) and drivers (zdrv) packaged in its ISO for newer versions that provide newer counter-malware measures.

But despite our fondness for the Puppy we have and know, at some point it just becomes prudent to obtain a newer version. Remember, unlike other distros which require an entire partition, Puppys only need their own folder. So, you can keep and use dpup-stretch and its applications, perhaps just booting into your new Puppy as and when you need to access the web securely or the new Puppy offers some application not available under dpup-stretch or lacking some 'Bell or Whistle'.

[dancytron]

The Stretch repos still exist, but frozen. They've just been moved to archive, but changing them in old versions of Puppy isn't trivial iirc.

Here they are. (edit better link)

http://archive.debian.org/debian/README

http://archive.debian.org/debian/

Radky's Stretch Puppy is one of my favorites.

edit: none of the modern browsers support Stretch anymore, if that's why you want to upgrade. Even running Debian Dog 64, trying to use "backports" to do it looked way too sketchy.

[amethyst]

The Stretch repos still exist, but frozen. They've just been moved to archive, but changing them in old versions of Puppy isn't trivial iirc.

Here they are. (edit better link)

http://archive.debian.org/debian/README

http://archive.debian.org/debian/

Radky's Stretch Puppy is one of my favorites.

edit: none of the modern browsers support Stretch anymore, if that's why you want to upgrade. Even running Debian Dog 64, trying to use "backports" to do it looked way too sketchy.

none of the modern browsers support Stretch anymore,

Instead of trying to upgrade from repositories the user should use mikewalsh's portable Palemoon and Firefox (to name a few) 32-bit versions which should work. These versions include the library upgrades to run with older Puppys. There may still be life in DPupStretch afterall.

[dancytron]

The repos are more useful to install something new or find a new driver for new hardware.

Like I said, they are frozen and the backports don't seem useful.

[lizardidi]

Thanks @mikeslr for the time and very detailed sharing.

Also thanks to @dancytron and @amethyst.

I rarely use PPM.. I obtained/made most of my needed applications into sfs some years back.. Also compiled some simple applications.. and been since using them without even update my puppy save file except very occasional event.

Pkg cli is among my favorite as the "sc" option allows me to quickly create a sfs for the applications i need. However, pkg cli is also no longer working as the debian stretch repos changed.

As for browser... The portable firefox-esr is working very well and still receive latest updates.

Is it possible to update debian stretch repos manually either in PPM or pkg-cli?
If yes, which repo should i use?

[dancytron]

I did it a long time ago.

I googled up the file you have to edit. /root/.packages/DISTRO_COMPAT_REPOS

https://oldforum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=65650

Look at the readme I linked for which repo to use. It should be the same path except archive.debian.org, but that's really just a guess.

It's been frozen for a while. You may already have all the upgrades.

edit: You've got my curiousity peaked. I've set my version up and am posting from it now. I will see if it is easy.

edit again: it was not easy. I was able to get it to go further (downloaded 3 things) by replacing http.us with archive in the DISTRO_COMPAT_REPOS FILE, but it failed with the same error a little bit later.

I don't have time to look at it more today, but someone who actually knows how it works should be able to do it.

edit again:

This is the error.

Code: Select all

This is a report on the last time the '0setup' script was run.
Date and time '0setup' last run: Sun Apr 30 04:13:45 CDT 2023
Compatible-distro and release-name: debian, stretch
Mostly only errors get logged, so the less seen below, the better.
Log of last run of '0setup':


	Failed to download db file: 
	 http://archive.debian.org/debian/dists/stretch-updates/main/binary-i386/Packages.xz
	...exited from 0setup script.

The /stretch-updates directory doesn't exist in the archive repos because [reasons]. If you were in regular debian, you make sure that line wasn't in your sources.list file.

Code: Select all

deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ stretch main contrib non-free
#deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ stretch-updates main contrib non-free
deb http://archive.debian.org/ stretch/updates main contrib non-free

0setup is one of the main woof files. If that has to be modified, I wouldn't know where to even look.

[lizardidi]

After reading and tried to understand all the inputs here, my question is:

1. After a puppy is "end of life", how do i install an application? For example, i wanna find a rss feeder, which i not yet created a sfs in my collections. What can i do, apart from trying to search in puppy forum and hope to find what i needed? The applications may not be the latest versions, but the 'archive' version that is compatible with my puppy.

@dancytron Thank you very much for your reply! Not sure whether it is the solution, BUT your suggestion fulfilled my need to search an application with PPM after the repo is archived.
edit: after replace all the words "http.us" in the DISTRO_COMPAT_REPOS FILE with "archive", the PPM updates almost success completely with a final error on the stretch-update repo. this however should provide a solution for whom may need to download applications from the archived repo.

edit: trying to disable the stretch-update repo from the PPM, but doesn't found any solutions that worked.. yet

[dancytron]

Debian does this to all their distros as they age out, so it's an issue that will repeat with all the Debian based puppies.

I'd ping @Radky, one of the wolf CE devs or maybe @fredx181 and see if they know. I think it would be worth it to have a "patch" to get old debian puppies hooked up to their repos correctly after they go to "archived" status so people can use them if they want.

[dimkr]

I'm not sure if PPM will work 100% if you just change the URLs.

Puppy doesn't receive updates from Debian, package versions are frozen. If the dpup you're using was built when Debian 11.7 was the latest stable 11.x version, Debian 11 is EOL now and the last stable release was 11.20, you're basically asking PPM to install packages from 11.20 while core packages are stuck in their 11.7 versions. That's not how Debian works - packages for 11.20 depend on other packages for 11.20, and the archived repo contains the packages for 11.20, not 11.7. You might need to rebuild your Puppy with the latest Debian packages for that EOL version if you want to ensure this Puppy is compatible with this Debian version when it was declared EOL.

(Maybe it will work, maybe it will 80% work - I don't know. You're in dangerous territory anyway, with a years old OS.)

[dancytron]

It seems like there should be a configuration to hook the ppm up to the archives on archive.debian.org so that it can retire gracefully in the same way the dpkg based debian distros do.

It's going to happen over and over again as different debian based puppies go eol and their repos get archived.

edit: I am in Debian Dog stretch. I was able to get it hooked to archive.debian.org with the following sources.list file.

Code: Select all

deb https://fredx181.github.io/StretchDog/amd64/Packages/ ./ 
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ stretch main contrib non-free 
# deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ stretch main contrib non-free 

#deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security/ stretch/updates main contrib non-free 
#deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security/ stretch/updates main contrib non-free 

[lizardidi]

Thanks all for helping me and also all the valuable inputs. My problem is solved for now so i will mark this topic as solved. . At least i am able to search applications in the archived repo.

I also agree that if things get too complicated, its better to use a newer and modern puppy that is suitable for the job.

Thanks all.
Thanks Puppy Linux Forum.

[greengeek]

It's pretty sad that a useful Puppy becomes EOL just because the Debian repos go offline.
I am having to use Dpup Stretch because it is one of the few modern puppies that correctly support the wifi interface in a Compaq CQ60 laptop - so I will need to find as much software for that distro as I can.
So far have Librecad and WPS word processor going. Also running with Chromium Ungoogled which is great for most modern websites (not Netflix i suspect).
Will post back if anyone wants to share software for this distro. It is still totally great for some hardware.

[mikeslr]

See my post here, https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewto ... 44#p112044: Obtaining Alien & Difficult Applications. The closest debian to Stretch whose repos haven't been archived is debian 10 (Buster). However, you might want to try Puppys based on debian-buster. Two were published: three if you consider my remaster. Links from here, viewtopic.php?p=4070#p4070. These have resource needs/usage as low as DPupStretch. But also see https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewto ... 47#p100547 for even newer 32-bit Puppys for 'low-RAM' computers.

Regretably, there's nothing we can do to alter 'Major Distro's' decision not to provide continuing support for 'old computers' and to archive (which re-organizes packages by name) rather than just move entire repos.

[mikewalsh]

@greengeek :-

Regrettably, Ian, under normal conditions NetFlix is indeed inaccessible via any 32-bit browser. Reason? Google - in their "wisdom" - decided to deprecate 32-bit Widevine (required for decoding NetFlix's DRM content) some 3 1/2 years ago now. 'Twas all part of their rationalisation program at the time, since 64-bit hardware HAS been around in usable form for about 20 years.....ever since AMD kicked things off with the immortal Athlon64, back in 2004.

And as you know, things have just steadily snowballed from there.....to the point where many distros have dropped their 32-bit offerings.

As you're aware from the other thread:-

viewtopic.php?t=10445

...I developed a perhaps rather convoluted method - involving a pair of 32-bit Puppies, one running as a chroot and modified with peebee's fantastic 64-bit compatibilty SFS - which WILL let you run 64-bit browsers (and thus access NetFlix) from the other 32-bit Puppy. It may seem needlessly complex, but it does work.....and is very stable, too.

(I had to do it that way for Slacko 560 because the SFS won't run directly there.....even WITH all my modifications & upgrades. I believe many of the 'native' 560 libs'n'stuff are a bit too old for it to work correctly).

=============================

IF DPup 'Stretch' will run peebee's 64-bit_compat SFS directly (I'm thinking it should), you ought to be able to run 64-bit browsers right there in DPup 'Stretch'.....without need to resort to the chrooted Puppy. I haven't tried it - I mainly do this with a special build of Xenialpup 7.5 I set-up specifically for this, which I call Xenialpup32 (+64) - but Xenial and Stretch both use approximately the same age of libraries, the same glibc, etc. May be worth investigating..?

@mikeslr and I can both offer advice with this one if you want to pursue it further. Basically, it involves 'loading' the special SFS from peebee, and swapping over to a 64-bit kernel; it's no more complicated than that.

Then, you should be able to run any of the 64-bit 'portable' browsers.....

Mike.

[dancytron]

It's pretty sad that a useful Puppy becomes EOL just because the Debian repos go offline.
I am having to use Dpup Stretch because it is one of the few modern puppies that correctly support the wifi interface in a Compaq CQ60 laptop - so I will need to find as much software for that distro as I can.
So far have Librecad and WPS word processor going. Also running with Chromium Ungoogled which is great for most modern websites (not Netflix i suspect).
Will post back if anyone wants to share software for this distro. It is still totally great for some hardware.

It seems like you should be able to hook it up to the final archived debian repos and upgrade it one final time and install apps out of that repo, but I couldn't figure out how to do it.

[greengeek]

IF DPup 'Stretch' will run peebee's 64-bit_compat SFS directly (I'm thinking it should), you ought to be able to run 64-bit browsers right there in DPup 'Stretch'.....without need to resort to the chrooted Puppy. I haven't tried it - I mainly do this with a special build of Xenialpup 7.5 I set-up specifically for this, which I call Xenialpup32 (+64) - but Xenial and Stretch both use approximately the same age of libraries, the same glibc, etc. May be worth investigating..?

Hmmm, very interesting and worth a try. I am likely to start some threads with regard to updating Dpup 7.5 functionality so that is one more test to be added to the list... Thanks!

[greengeek]

The Stretch repos still exist, but frozen. They've just been moved to archive, but changing them in old versions of Puppy isn't trivial iirc.

Here they are. (edit better link)

http://archive.debian.org/debian/README

http://archive.debian.org/debian/

I don't understand the content at that link - I expected lists of software such as we see at ibiblio's Puppy sites - but nothing I recognise on the Debian site. Is that just some sort of listing that the PPM would make sense of?

none of the modern browsers support Stretch anymore, if that's why you want to upgrade. Even running Debian Dog 64, trying to use "backports" to do it looked way too sketchy.

Currently I am finding that Chromium Ungoogled Version 91.0.4472.77 is doing all I need on Dpup 7.5 - Facebook, Youtube, webmail, Trademe, banking, etc etc - although I am not a Netflix user which from Mike's comments would be a dead duck with this version.
I was also focused on getting LibreCad downloaded - no joy from the PPM - but i did manage to find a version that works from my old Tahr archive.
I guess I will have to be satisfied with trial and error to see what I can find. May start a thread identifying any pets that work...

[mikewalsh]

@greengeek :-

Right. To assuage my own curiosity - and to save you a bunch of messing-around! - here's the proof of the pudding.

peebee's 64-bit_compatibility SFS does indeed run very nicely in DPup Stretch 32. I thought it should, for the above-stated reasons. I'm using Fossapup64 9.5's 64-bit k5.4.53 kernel in place of Stretch's OOTB 32-bit k4.1.48 - just swap the vmlinuz and the zdrv from Fossapup64, and rename the zdrv to suit Stretch (zdrv_stretch_7.5.sfs). Then, just load the magic 64-bit_compat SFS from peebee; you can find this here:-

viewtopic.php?t=7779

For a demo, here's Star Trek Voyager, running in NetFlix under my 64-bit Firefox-portable. Sorry for the lack of sound; loopback has never worked normally on this HP Pavilion desktop rig, and even though I can record it via the use of the snd_aloop virtual kernel module, having to merge and sychronise it with a video editor for a video of less than 2 minutes is just a massive PITA. But here IS the proof that this works & is fully-functional :-

So now ya know!

Mike.

[dancytron]

Like I said, I couldn't figure it out, but the *deb files and the source files are all in there if you dig around.

In Debian, you just add this line to the sources.list file and it works.

Code: Select all

deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ stretch main contrib non-free 

Radky's dpup stretch was my go to puppy for using my work laptop for personal use for a long time.

[mikeslr]

debian and Ubuntu archive the same way: from http://archive.debian.org/debian/README

"See http://www.debian.org/ for information about Debian GNU/Linux.

This FTP site is a repository for old debian releases. For new releases
please see ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/.

Releases are stored by their codenames under the dists/ directory.
stretch is Debian 9
jessie is Debian 8.0
wheezy is Debian 7.0
squeeze is Debian 6.0
lenny is Debian 5.0
etch is Debian 4.0
sarge is Debian 3.1
woody is Debian 3.0
potato is Debian 2.2
slink is Debian 2.1
hamm is Debian 2.0
bo is Debian 1.3
rex is Debian 1.2
buzz is Debian 1.1

If you are using APT the relevent sources.list entries are like:
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ $RELEASE main contrib
for example:
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ sarge main contrib"

There are several folders with sub-folders holding debs. The primary one is pool/main. Its sub-folders are organized alphabetically with their content including all versions of a deb without regard to when published or for which version of debian they were used with.

debian_pool_main.png (43.03 KiB) Viewed 273 times

.

Consequently, you have to know which version of a deb you need. LIstDD will tell you. See my post about Obtaining Alien & Difficult Applications. Often you can use a newer version: create a symbolic link to it with the name ListDD indicated was missing. But sometimes a newer version has its own unmet dependencies which requires that you engage in a further search and too often a wild goose chase. As I wrote, a PITA.

Mikewalsh's suggestion to use fred's 64-bit compatibility SFS works, and not only for web-browsers. But it does take a toll on RAM usage.

This may be a good instance where learning how to use PKG-Cli and/or PKG2 may prove worth the effort.

[mikewalsh]

Mikewalsh's suggestion to use fred's 64-bit compatibility SFS works, and not only for web-browsers. But it does take a toll on RAM usage.

Peebee, Mike.....not Fred! But in all honesty, unless you're running very old hardware with limited RAM/ability to upgrade the RAM, most of us are no longer in this position. You yourself have frequently posted about having at least one machine with 16GB RAM. My main rig has 32GB.....so does peppyy's. I know of at least Grey and hundido who are running with 64GB, maybe others.

Too many people make the understandable mistake of thinking that even with copious amounts of the stuff you should still ALWAYS minimize RAM usage as far as possible. Not so. RAM is there to be used; an efficient machine uses as much RAM as it can get away with. I can't speak for Windoze (and have no interest in doing so anyway), but Linux will always free up RAM as and when there's a call for it to do so.....

Remember this?

https://www.linuxatemyram.com/

T'other Mike.