geots wrote:Jim, I don't even run Linux, but this almost makes me want to. I have to tell you this is some fine piece of work.
All the best,
george
Hi George,
You don't have to run Linux to try this out.
System loads from DVD and runs entirely in ram and make no changes to your Windows system.
It is blisteringly fast because it runs entirely in ram. You can remove DVD disc from the drive once the system has loaded.
When you reboot it will be gone unless you choose to create a save file to your hard disc to remember any settings/changes you have made.
Save file will not damage your windows installation either. It will be saved as a regular file alongside your windows installation.
With the regular Puppy Precise Linux distro on which this based you can probably get by with about 300mb of ram.
My distros have much larger requirements. You will probably need about a gig of ram for the 32 bit version and 1.5 gig for the 64 bit version.
This is because of all the extra chess stuff I have put on the disc including a full programming environment. Practically all of the chess software
was compiled from source on the actual distro itself.
Jesse Gersenson wrote:Jim, why did you pick Puppy Linux to remaster?
Having used puppy linux on and off for years my gripe with it is the 'save file' tends to corrupt if the machine's not shut down cleanly.
Consider moving the project to a more stable platform: debian/ubuntu.
Hi Jesse,
I like the fact that it runs in ram, runs very fast and I can carry it with me on a usb stick, plus it comes with an easy to use remastering tool built-in. And I'm not smart enough to attempt to remaster a debian/ubuntu distro.
You are correct about the save file. You should always have a copy of your save file stored somewhere in case of mishaps. Other than that I find it to be a very stable system that is not easily broken.
I've installed the 32-bit distro in VirtualBox to avoid using a physical CD anythime I want to boot the distro.
I've chosen the frugal option with grub4dos on a small virtual HDD (1 GB) for the sfs file (and some other system files required).
Booting from the virtual HDD works fine. When I shutdown the distro it says that it cannot save the sfs file ("failed to mount dev/sda3").
Of course by HDD is /sda1. Is there any configuration to change the partition where the session file is stored when the system shuts down?
I've installed the 32-bit distro in VirtualBox to avoid using a physical CD anythime I want to boot the distro.
I've chosen the frugal option with grub4dos on a small virtual HDD (1 GB) for the sfs file (and some other system files required).
Booting from the virtual HDD works fine. When I shutdown the distro it says that it cannot save the sfs file ("failed to mount dev/sda3").
Of course by HDD is /sda1. Is there any configuration to change the partition where the session file is stored when the system shuts down?
Thanks!
Alex
Hi Alex,
Sorry that's a small remastering glitch,. The save session file wizard which runs when you first shut down isn't working.
There is an icon on the desktop called 'pupsaveconfig' which will take you through setting up the save file properly.
Delete any save session files on the system, reboot, then run the 'pupsaveconfig' program.
Maybe I'll try making a similar system based on xubuntu.
fyi, Once the iso is made is can go on a usb easily enough with a preinstalled program 'Startup disk creator". (i think) Programs and the OS can be loaded into ram ...seem to remember it being an optional boot parameter. End result is about the same as what you've already got, difference is the ubuntu remix is stable.
