HD Install :: Read only HD install



I have noticed that the more dsl files the computer boots up with, the slower it goes.  I'm going to assume that each one of them is unpacked durring boot up, and therefore uses the ram.  Great if you want to use them quickly, but not very good if you have an older system.  Am I correct in also assuming that you can keep the dsl files on the hard drive, and just "install" them when needed?  If that is the case, how would I "uninstall" them without having to reboot?
You are correct...
That's where the beauty of the "/optional" directory comes into play.
The extensions are convienient , but NOT LOADED into your ramspace.

If they are in the "root" of your partition, they DO LOAD and USE RAM.
If you have extensions in BOTH places, this may be why you see
two sets of extensions listed in yellow at boottime.

The extensions cannot be "unloaded" ..

Just like with any other linux distro, installing from sources,
or from tarballs, once installed into your filesystem,
they are there to stay ( until reboot, with a "live" filesystem )

If they are '*.tar.gz' extensions, and not '*.dsl's' ,
they only write to the /home/* , /tmp , and /opt directories..  
It's pretty safe to use the command
" tar -ztf nameofextension.tar.gz > list.txt "
to see what's inside the extension, and then remove all the files
named in the list.txt from your filesystem.

With .dsl's , the loading of an extension may OVERWRITE critical files
in your filesystem with same or updated versions.
Removing these files may result in leaving a "hole" in your filesystem,
causing failure, because of the missing files..

For example,
An extension may contain several files already in your /usr/bin directory.
Easy enough, when you install it, it simply overwrites them with the new copies,
regardless of whether they are the same version or a later build..

But "uninstalling" them, without having the "old" copies somewhere,
leaves you without ANY copies, which leads to filesystem failure...

73
ke4nt
Wow, lots of useful information... Thanks again ke4nt1 (is anyone taking notes here?).  I'll have to check the double loads later, the computer is at a friends house and I am not.  

 I should say that the origional problem has been fixed, and it works like a charm thanks to ke4nt1
Ok, now I've got a question. I'm in the process of building a digital picture and I did a standard HD install. I then enabled apt and used it to install feh and unclutter. I also created a few scripts modified the .xinitrc and added a link in rc5.d to run get the whole shebang running.

I'd like to do a new install with the first partition (/dev/hda1) holding dsl, feh, unclutter, scripts, etc and be read-only and then have a second partition (/dev/hda2) to hold all my pictures and have it be read/write so that I can add pictures.

Would a frugal install still work?


[EDIT] I've booted and run the DSL CD again. Wiped my hard drive and recreated my partitions and made them ext2. I enabled apt and installed feh and unclutter. I rewrote my scripts. I believe this is all now sitting in RAM. Now, I want to install all this to the hard drive, since I want it to be ready-only this means I should do a frugal install. So, I'm at the 2nd step in the frugal install where it asks
Install from [L]iveCD, From [F]ile, from [W]eb. (l/fw)
what option do I want to use so that what's in RAM (scripts I created, feh) get written to teh hard drive?
<bump> I'm itching to make this work
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