[petef]

If you run MS Windows as your main operating system you can benefit by
having a Puppy Linux CD on hand for emergencies when your MS Windows
crashes or needs to be fixed. Some practical uses are listed below:

* MS Windows will not connect to the interent and you need to know if
it's software or hardware related. You boot to the Puppy Linux CD and
connect to internet using the ethernet connection and the built in
Seamonkey browser. Now you know your hardware is ok and you can go
back to toubleshooting the software in MS Windows.

* You performed a malware scan and identified the nasty file that
needs to be deleted but your anti-malware program can't delete it.
You boot to the Puppy Linux CD, mount the drive, view it's contents,
navigate to the file, and delete it.

* Your MS Windows fails to startup and you desparately need to
get online or check your Web-based Email. You boot to the Puppy
Linux CD and use the Seamonkey browser to surf the web and
process your Email.

* Your MS Windows crashed beyond repair and need your personal
data. You boot to the Puppy Linux CD, hookup a USB flash drive
or large external USB drive. You mount the Windows drive as well
as the USB drive and copy your personal files to the USB drive.

* In general, whenever you have a serious problem in MS Windows
and don't know if it's hardware or software realted, you can boot to
your Puppy Linux CD to see if the same thing occurs in the Puppy OS.
If the same problem occurs in Puppy, you know it's hardware related
and don't have to waste any time troubleshooting MS Windows
software or drivers.

Those are just a few reasons why you need your Puppy Linux CD.

The next message in this thread will show you
how to create your Puppy linux CD.

---pete---

[petef]

How to download and run Puppy Linux version 4.0

* Phase 1 - Download and Burn the Bootable Puppy CD
* Phase 2 - Run the Puppy Linux CD
* Ending and Saving your Puppy Linux Session


Phase 1 - Download and Burn the Bootable Puppy CD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.) Visit the link below and download file...
puppy-4.00-k2.6.21.7-seamonkey.iso

ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/puppylinux/

Make a written or mental note of the location on your
hard drive that you downloaded this file to.


2.) If you already know how to burn a bootable CD using an *.ISO file,
then skip to step # 4, otherwise download the free Image Burner program
(ImgBurn) from the link below and install it. You will need this program
to create the bootable Linux CD.

The Official ImgBurn Website


3.) After Installing ImgBurn, burn the bootable Linux CD as follows:

* Insert a blank CD-R disc

* Start ImgBurn and click.. Write Image File to Disc

* For the Source, click the little folder icon and navigate to select
file... puppy-4.00-k2.6.21.7-seamonkey.iso

* For the destination, select your CD burner drive.

* Make sure the check box is checked to VERIFY after the burn.
This will ensure no errors and create a reliable CD.

* Click large Icons at the bottom to begin the burn.
It will only take a few minutes to burn the CD.

* Click DONE and exit from ImgBurn.

That's it, you now have a bootable Puppy Linux CD.

Skip to.. Phase 2


4.) Assuming you already have a CD Burning program and know how to use it
to burn a bootable CD using a *.ISO file, burn the bootable Puppy Linux
CD at about 4x speed using the file.. puppy-4.00-k2.6.21.7-seamonkey.iso .
It will only take a couple of minutes to burn the CD.

Exit your CD Burning program and proceed to.. Phase 2


Phase 2 - Run the Puppy Linux CD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.) Ensure your computer is setup to boot from the CD drive.

Note: Don't worry about corrupting operating system already
installed on your computer. This Puppy Linux CD runs totally
off the CD and in RAM of your computer. It will not effect
your current operating system. However, as you exit your
Puppy session you will be offered an opportunity to save
to your hard drive all your Puppy Linux settings and
environment to a single Puppy Linux file.


2.) Insert the Puppy Linux CD and boot to it.
Follow the prompts to run Puppy and in just a few
minutes you should be at the Puppy Desktop.


3.) If you don't hear the dog barking as the desktop is initially
displayed, it means your sound was not automatically setup.
If you have a high speed Internet connection on your ethernet
port but you don't see the Internet connection Icon (dual
monitors icon) down on the taskbar in the far right area, it
means your ethernet connection was not automatically setup.

If your sound or ethernet connection was not automatically
setup then click the SETUP icon on the desktop and use the
appropiate wizard to get them setup properly.

That's basically it!
Enjoy Puppy Linux


Ending and Saving your Puppy Linux Session
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: Upon exiting Puppy Linux it will offer you various
options for saving all your customized settings and environment.
It will save any files or program setting you make during the
session. If you accept this option to save the Puppy session,
start by saving to the default value of 512 mb file space
and have it save to the hard drive. This file will simply
be stored on your hard drive and will in no way effect your
current operating system, other than take up 512 mb of
disk space. Next time you boot to the Puppy Linux CD, it
will restore all your settings. If you choose NOT to save
the Puppy session you will have to repeat the entire setup
process next time you run the Puppy CD.


Welcome to the world of Puppy Linux!

---pete---

[rowal5555]

After 2 Windows crashes last night, I was very interested in getting this up and running, but am now looking at a dead screen saying
puppyserialdetect is running 1 done.
This is after a long delay after Loading kernel modules.

What next??

Stay tuned Rob, Pete will be most concerned that this has happened and will get back to you asap.

[rowal5555]

Hi Bob. 0230 here now so will see you on the morrow.
Cheers

Ok Rob, cheers mate.

[petef]

Originally Posted by rowal5555

After 2 Windows crashes last night, I was very interested in getting this up and running, but am now looking at a dead screen saying
puppyserialdetect is running 1 done.
This is after a long delay after Loading kernel modules.

What next??

Not knowing the nature of your windows crashes it's impossible to tell
what might be happening on your system so i'll just make some general
comments about Puppy Linux.

I'm realtively new to Linux but I've loaded Puppy Linux on probably
20 or more PCs to date with about 95% success rate where it loads
to the desktop with no problem.

On occasion I've tried loading Puppy Linux or Freespire Linux Live CD,
on computers that had Windows installed but were also having hardware
problems and what typically happens is it stops loading before it
gets to the Linux desktop. So my guess is that you indeed have some
kind of hardware problem.

The best thing to do with Puppy Linux is to create the CD and test
it *BEFORE* you ever experience problems with your Windows OS.
This way you know for sure whether it will work or not.

Another big lesson I've learned with Linux is not to get too involved
with tweeking Linux trying to make it work with your hardware. It's
so much easier and less frustrating to adjust your hardware to work
with Linux.

For example, if it won't recognize & setup a driver for your sound
card or network card, it's often eaiser to change the card. Either
that, or change the Linux distro. For newbies, I don't recommend
struggling with Linux if it won't work with your hardware. Switch
to a different Linux distro (version) and see if that solves the
compatibility issues.

I will say that Puppy has worked successfully with so many desktop
and laptop computers that I've tried it on in the past year or so.
If you are having problems getting it to boot up, you most likely
have a hardware problem or you just need to try selecting a
different video mode as it prompts you during the boot up process.
If you don't even get that far, you most likely have a hardware
problem or else the Puppy CD you burned has errors.

As for burning the Puppy CD you should always verify the CD
after the burn process is completed using the verify feature
in your burner software. It also helps to burn at very low speeds
of x4 or less to produce a reliable bootable CD. Another possibility
is that the downloaded file has errors and you'd need to DL and
burn again.

My next suggestion would be to try your Puppy Linux CD in
a computer know to be 100% functional in order to ensure
the Puppy Linux CD is burned properly.

---pete---

[Seth]

Thanks for your time and effort into this Pete.

Can you please give a quick briefing on how to mount the drive? Does the Master drive mount automatically?

[petef]

Originally Posted by Seth

Can you please give a quick briefing on how to mount the drive? Does the Master drive mount automatically?

Real simple...

* Click the desktop icon that looks like a flash drive.
A small window is displayed showing all the drives of the computer.

* Click the Mount button for the drive you desire to mount and in a few
seconds it's mounted and a new icon/button appears for that drive.
If you click that new button and it opens an applet similar to Windows
Explorer where you can browse the folders and copy, move, or delete files
amongst other things.

PS: No drives are mounted automatically/initially.

---pete---

[Seth]

Nice.

Thanks

[rowal5555]

Thanks Pete
My Windows problems appear out of the blue but usually involve Explorer so I'm tending to incriminate DEP but there is nothing useful in Event Viewer.
The Linux issue could involve screen resolution as all mine are set higher than 1024x768. The initial screen disappears too fast for me to study it, so will try the typing puppy thing in a minute.
I just brought the screen resolution down on the Compaq laptop and booted with the CD. Think I have configured everything now so will have a bit of a play. All looks good and I now know the CD is OK. I've tried Linux sporadically over the years, but this is the first one that worked.
Will have another crack at the desktop later as that is the one I really need working.
Cheers
Rob