Release Candidates :: DSL v4.0 alpha1

I have started a separate topic thread under "Other Help Topics" as kernel 2.4.34 development. As development dicussion here is not what I am looking for in this area.

I am looking for functional issues, bugs, and operational questions on the new DSL v4.0 system.

Thanks,
Robert

Quote

Try loading gcc-2.95 followed by gcc-with-libs followed by gnu-utils.dsl in that order.

Hmm, interesting - I tried this twice (from a terminal window) and everything froze within a few seconds of loading gnu-utils (note that I was using unc extensions).

As a test, I tried almost the same thing with the same extensions in DSL-3.4 (except that gnu-utils was loaded at boot in order to load alsa) without problems. I also tried building modules in DSL-3.4 using Roberts 2.4.34.1 tarball and the build ran until the end without errors...

The drm module thus built is only 8 bytes (as it was under 2.4.34.1 now that I look) - perhaps this is something to do with the fact that CONFIG_X86_CMPXCHG is not set in .config (the dri site says it should be for 3d acceleration).

Edit: sorry - I saw your post after I posted this.

OK - back to testing the functionality

I copied the alsa and gnu-utils extensions to /mydsl and added the boot code alsa. On boot DSL-4 acts like DSL-3.4 in that it says it is going to auto configure alsa but after boot there are no alsa modules loaded. The alsa boot code had the effect of stopping the oss modules being loaded however.

After boot, I tried this:

Code Sample

# /opt/alsa/usr/sbin/alsa_init
Preparing modules for alsa...
Building card database..
Configuring intel8x0...
Running update-modules...
Creating snddevices...
Setting default volumes...
aumix: error opening mixer

Maybe I should be using dsl extensions?

Edit: Ah, yes - the alsa modules would need to be be compiled for 2.4.34.1 I guess...

Robert, the rc.firewall extension doesn't work with 4.0. I got a fatal error and was prompted about filter tables and if all necessary modules were compiled...

BTW, jwm is much more convenient with a top-down tray. That way the menu also starts with the apps where the cursor is rather than having to move all the way up past exit, etc. See screenshot at:
http://lucky13.blogsavy.com/2007/07/21/damn-small-linux-4-tweaks-etc/

Quote (Juanito @ July 19 2007,23:02)

I tried DSL 4 for the first time today - a few notes:

1. USB boot from Cruzer Micro 1GB
2. I initially burnt a CD and ran the USB-HDD install script. I could not boot from USB - it appears that the ldlinux.sys file was not written. As I thought this might be due to the size of the USB stick (i.e. >512MB), I copied all of the files to /tmp, formatted the USB stick ext2, wrote all of the files back, renamed syslinux.cfg to extlinux.conf, ran extlinux and now the USB boot works fine.
3. The boot process loads KNOPPIX at about 12MB/s as opposed to DSL 3.4 which loads at about 6-7MB/s
4. The card manager no longer complains about my TI smart card reader
5. As per all other versions of DSL, I got a wierd looking display due to video ram problems with my Intel 855GM chip. Using xorg72.uci fixed this problem - now the display looks good @ 1024x768x24 and DSL 4 seems to handle the fonts better than DSL 3.4 (but this could be my imagination). I will need to look at building the drm and i915 modules for DSL 4.
6. Whilst I was getting the display sorted, I mounted another USB stick, copied some files and then unmounted it - this seemed to freeze the "/" icon and I could only mount another USB stick by using a terminal window. Similiarly, exit to prompt no longer worked and I was obliged to use exitcheck.sh from the terminal window.

Looks good so far

The lack of the ldlinux.sys is caused by the failure of the syslinux command, typically

syslinux /dev/sda1

This seems to happen more frequently on larger drives.
A work-around seems to be...

Create a .mtoolsrc file which contains mtools_skip_check=1
e.g.,

echo "mtools_skip_check=1" > .mtoolsrc

Then running the usbhdd script seems to correct the problem.
I will add the .mtoolsrc file to the next release.

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