HD Install :: Posting this from a newly Frugalled laptop



Whew, I made it this far.

I've sucessfully "frugalled" my NEC Ready 120LT. Specs (in case they are important later) are: Cyrix MediaGX 200MHz processor, 128 MB RAM, 20.0 GB HD partitioned as 1 gig hda1 (KNOPPIX), 1 gig hda2 swap, and 18 gig hda3 persistent home and opt. Network adapter is an NEC NWL-100A (Atheros 5400G) PC Card.

I specified hda3 as the location of mydsl, as well.

I'm working on developing my understanding of how a "dynamic installation" like this works and I'm still not sure on a few points. I've read through the other big frugal thread and am still left hanging on a few things.

1. I can see that there is a backup.tar.gz file on my hda3 that I assume is created at shutdown and contains only those files specified in filetool.lst. When DSL starts, are the actual contents of that file loaded into the ramdisk or are only symlinks created? That is, if I have 4 gigs of persistent data, what exactly happens to it at startup and shutdown?

2. What exactly do I do with MyDSL files in a frugal scenario? I have successfully downloaded them and installed them from /tmp, and they go away at restart. It's supposed to be that way, I understand. So what do I do with it when I want to KEEP it, then? Where should I download the files, since I did specify hda3 as the mydsl location?

3. Where do I save my stuff? If I type a text document and want it to be there next time I startup without having to specifically add it to filetool.lst, where should I save it? Is that what /home is for? Dang it, where's My Documents!!! :)

4. On my tiny little 640x480 screen, windows often open larger than my screen. Dillo is a perfect example. Every single time I launch Dillo, I have to Alt+drag just to get to the corners or the maximize button. How do I set a default launch size for things, and have it remembered after a restart?

5. When I click on a category, such as "Games," in MyDSL, it takes a verrrrry long time for the next window to appear. 3-5 minutes, usually. Nothing else on the system is running even remotely slowly, what could be causing a delay right there?

Sorry if these are terribly easy questions, but I haven't quite wrapped my head around this yet. Thanks.
I can help with a couple of those. Once you have your .dsl files move them to /mnt/hda3/optional. I beleive that is your persistant directory. You will have to create the /optional. Then these .dsl will show up in your menu. If you want the .dsl to load during os load put them in the root of /mnt/hda3/. I think they should load then.

To save your docs create a directory in your home folder and add that folder to your filetool.lst file. It should then be saved.

I'm still tryin' to figure some of this stuff out myself so I could have screwed some of this up.

David
1. the backup.tar.gz file is extracted into ramdisk.  If you have 4gb of data it's best to set up a persistent home or opt and store it there.

2. put the mydsl packages in the root of your frugal install to have them load automatically. The root would be the same directory that contains the boot and KNOPPIX directories (the partition specified as root in your bootloader).  An alternative is to set a mydsl=blah boot option, where you can specify a partition or a particular subdirectory.

3. /home/dsl is your personal directory, just like "My Documents" in Windows.  The default is located in ramdisk, so if you are not using a persistent home, or a backup of some kind, the contents will vanish when you reboot.

4. In Fluxbox stable, window sizes depend on individual applications.  Some can be set to a particular size, and some may not have that ability.  Read the documentation for an application to find out how to do it (Google.com/linux will quickly point you to home pages of most applications).  Sometimes it can be set in a configuration file (rc file), which can then be added to your backup.  Others may use commandline parameters.  In this case you might be able to create aliases in .bashrc, which can also be added to backup.

5. First thing i'd consider is perhaps you're running low on ram.  Is your swap partition being used at all?
Here is some help on the 640x480 issues:

http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin....80+xbox
Thanks to everyone's answers so far. mikshaw, I'm still confused, though,as it seems I'm missing some fundamentals that you have grasped.

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1. the backup.tar.gz file is extracted into ramdisk.  If you have 4gb of data it's best to set up a persistent home or opt and store it there.

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3. /home/dsl is your personal directory, just like "My Documents" in Windows.  The default is located in ramdisk, so if you are not using a persistent home, or a backup of some kind, the contents will vanish when you reboot.


OK, what IS the backup.tar.gz? I thought it WAS somehow my home and opt getting archived at shutdown and restored into RAM at startup, thereby making them "persistent."

This is where I start to get lost. I did specify hda3 as the location for my persistent home and opt, but don't see anything in hda3 except backup.tar.gz.

The home and opt I DO see seem to be in a ramdisk, but why? And are they really? Files that are stored there but listed in filetool.lst are saved somewhere at shutdown. What exactly is happening?

Furthermore, I don't seem to be able to write anything directly to hda3, like it's somehow tied to the ramdisk that isn't really a ramdisk ... or something like that.

I think that's my sticky point now.

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5. First thing i'd consider is perhaps you're running low on ram.  Is your swap partition being used at all?


Does the "100%" in the Slit display next to the swap size indicate full usage, or full availability?

Thanks again, everyone, for your answers ... don't give up on me yet!
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