Release Candidates :: DSL v4.0 alpha1



Quote (lucky13 @ July 21 2007,12:19)
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/

The netfilter modules are currently cut, with the possiblity of being combined into the firewall extension. No final decision has been made.  There are other modules up for review. DSL offers an enormous amount of modules (768) versus other small distros.

Yet, I have an easy mechanism to load additional modules at boot time (mydsl/modules). I think this is an area that could be disucssed with the less used modules being made available separately.

Quote (roberts @ July 21 2007,18:36)
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.

Thinking about this more, I am inclined to remove the pendrive installation scripts from core and more to a MyDSL extension.

I really don't want to allocate the space to also offer extlinux.

But if an extension is created then the user could be given the option of syslinux, or extlinux and newer versions of these programs could be more easily handled. Seems extlinux offers some advantages that should be considered.
Quote

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.

The top placement is nice!
BTW, What is the difference than just setting the x=0 and y=0 ?

With the tray at the top, I like the desktop icons along the bottom. Select left->right, bottom->up and then update or sort.

Very flexible.

I am open to trying different layouts during the alpha cycle.
Quote
Thinking about this more, I am inclined to remove the pendrive installation scripts from core and more to a MyDSL extension.
A nice idea, but I'd be concerned that this would create a barrier to entry for new users wishing to boot from USB. At present you need to figure out how to burn and boot a CD and then select from a menu - if in addition you had to figure out how to find and download an extension, it might be a step too far...
Quote (lucky13 @ July 19 2007,16:46)
Quote
What else can I try?
Will you add SATA support to DSL 4.0 as well?


Try setting ATA/IDE in your BIOS to legacy (from enhanced; this disables SATA) and see if that helps.

I remember this BIOS "ATA/IDE" setting from an older computer, when SATA has recently been introduced.

On an ASUS Pundit P1 AH2, there is unfortunately no such Bios adjustment possible.

I don't know where to adress this issue to :)
Adress it do DSL 2.1 b or ask for a 100% working SATA support in DSL 4.0 ?

At the moment, I only see the possibility to boot the live-CD on an older computer with ATA/IDE. Burn the data to an USB-drive and try again on the new computer. But I am of course interested to know, if there is a possibilty that the final 4.0 version will have full SATA support?

I have the following drive:
Samsung SH-S183A SATA beige bulk (SH-S183A)
Maybe this information will help?

I am the only user having problems with SATA support in DSL 2.1 b ? Maybe it could work in DSL 4.0 with the even newer kernel ? I am a little bit disappointed, as it still doesn't run and I have to wait and hope ..

But it seems currently, that I am the only DSL user having an SATA drive and a bios where no "old" compatibility adjustments can be made. Hmmmmmmmm ...
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