Release Candidates :: DSL v4.0rc2



Quote (jls legalize @ Sep. 01 2007,17:53)
I tried the usb-hdd pendrive install, but then when I try to boot it doesn't work.

Booting USB pendrives is still a moving target. Here are the reasons for the change:

1. Because of complaints that usb-zip installations windows could not see the 2nd remainaing partiton. Some users even thought their 2GB pendrive was ruined and somehow became a 50MB drive.
2. The syslinux and mtools were old versions and could not handle larger pendrives.
3. Newer versions of syslinux and mtoolsjust add bloat and still seem to fail at > 512MB
4. Some users prefer ext2 single partiton and then get the Windows ext2 support files.

Therefore the syslinux and mtools were removed. However, still wanting a pendrive installation option and wanting to overcome all of the above and use only that which remained in base DSL, led me to write a USB HDD Grub installation script. It has been tested on pendrives from 64MB to 2GB and booting on four different machines via the USB HDD BIOS settings.

Now the first partition is the remaining larger partition that Windows can use and the second smaller partition (~50MB) is for DSL and Grub files.

Is it a panacea? Likely not! What to do? See the newest extension that provides the latest syslinux and mtools. Read the Wiki on the syslinux approach, and finally Google approaches others use and have had success with.
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Another thing, are u sure the mixer setting are saved and restored?

There has been no change in this area. Saved in /usr/local/bin/exitcheck.sh and restored/loaded in .xinitrc/
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Last: some mydsl appears twice in the dsl menu

Some? I could see all or none, but some? Can you provide a sequence that I can reproduce?
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P.S. Add a : between the year and the month in the calendar program
Just for visual effect or is something failing?
Quote (wavetel @ Sep. 02 2007,05:16)
Well done on the RC2 release. I did not check out the earlier ver 4 but since Ive been messing about with USB DSL3.41 and making some of my own DSL exts  I thought I would check this new v4 out.

Some real differences.
First off I would support the move back to emelfm. I dont use mc at all if I have root access with emelfm. I also learned quickly that mc does not support long file names properly.

Emelfm is back and will be in RC3
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Secondly. after bootup into Jwm a right click on the desktop gives a menu to alllow mount and some desktop config options amongst other things. Thats fine but if I change to Fluxbox and then back to Jwm the right click on the desktop seems to produce the same menu as the DSL button.

I have been unable to reproduce. If you select "restart window manager" will it be corrected?  Perhaps a timming issue.
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Ive made a bootfloppy up and use fromusb frugal at boot.
Made a USB install on 128meg USB flash stick. The boot image is on sda2
Yes, this is the new default. This will allow Windows to see the remaining drive space, as it is now sda1.
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Thirdly. I am really confused about the myDsl exts. Ive tried a few things. Created a modules directory under the mydsl menu
on the USB sda1. Put all the modules in there. It sees the modules on boot ok.

Modules are only "insmod'ed" they don't have menu or icon elements.
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Nothing appears in the MyDSL menu unless I force them to load . When they are loaded some of the apps appear twice in the Menu. Examples of this are Xscreensaver and LinPsk31  Both of these are public MyDsl apps.
So once I have these apps loaded in the Menu they are not loaded next time I boot and not saved to I guess.. I read that we are no longer to put the exts into the MyDsl directory and if I do, I end up with a real mess in the menu of doubled up .app and .dsl files.

Perhaps the confusion is that the .dsl is the "package" closed box icon, the .app is the "open box icon" indicating the application's shortcut to run this app. What is new is icons for mydsl extensions (packages) the closed box icon. All things relating to mydsl extensions are grouped together in the mydsl/ directory. It will likely be that the generic open box icon will be replaced with the actual icon of the application. This requires a batch processs to run on all mydsl extensions.
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Forth.  Some MyDsl Exts actually create a Desktop Icon. Ive made some up myself using PNG files. Apps like LinPsk31 and Oppen Office Org make up their own Icons as a part of the package. The .xtdesktop directory no longer exists as Ive seen mentioned in texts. How do we now make these old apps give us desktop icons?
Currently the application desktop icon is a generic open box. This icon is placed in the MyDSL desktop folder, and not placed directly on the desktop area. This allows easier cleanup of mydsl extensions, which are dynamic by definition.
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Do we need to rework the old apps to make this work again? For that matter how do we make a Desktop icon?
Make a 32x32 .xpm. Although size does not really matter, the new standard is 32x3 reduced from the 48x48 of the DSL 3.x series
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I found something in a menu off the desktop that talks about creating a new icon but it does not work.

Sounds like a mix of 3.x with 4.0. Which would explain double menu items as well. You should test by using "base norestore". The menu element for both fluxbox and jwm are now includes.
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Some of these issues may be works in progress. In all I see some definite advantages in v4 DSL so far but its just understanding and getting a grip on it after using v2 and v3 DSL.

Tony
It would be good to include the filetool and xfiletool list of files/folders in the backup/restore window, giving the ability to the user to edit those lists.
The optionals that appears twice in the jwm menu are the .uci ones.
mplayer.uci does not work.

legalize cannabis, coke, opium
Quote (roberts @ Sep. 02 2007,15:07)
Quote (wavetel @ Sep. 02 2007,05:16)

Secondly. after bootup into Jwm a right click on the desktop gives a menu to alllow mount and some desktop config options amongst other things. Thats fine but if I change to Fluxbox and then back to Jwm the right click on the desktop seems to produce the same menu as the DSL button.

I have been unable to reproduce. If you select "restart window manager" will it be corrected?  Perhaps a timming issue.[quote]

Ok.. Ive had  closer look at this.. I can repeat it on 3 different machines.. I boot from CD with no backups and no MyDsl exts either and it still has this issue.. Using the Restart window manager option does not help. I cant figure out how to get JWM back to normal operation after this little misfit it as.. Just recapping with some detail.

Run it up from CD with no backups and no boot options.
Opens as JWM. Right click on the desktop and you get a big Oval shaped ring with a menu that has DFM for X11 and Mount and Options amongst other menu options.
Try a Left click on the desktop and you get nothing.
Thats all fine.

Now switch to Fluxbox. To access the Fluxbox menu you have to Right click on the destop. Use this to switch back to JWM..

Back in JWM now do a Right click or Left click on the desktop and you get the Apps,MyDSL,System etc menu which looks and works the same as clicking the DSL button (bottom left) except its up on the desktop (right where you clicked) like the Fluxbox menu. No sign of the original Big Oval ring with the DFM for X11 Options etc menu.

I can repeat this time and time again. Using the restart window manager does not make it fix. Also Ive run it up from USB and have a backup.tar.gz on there. If I Backup and reboot the problem is not present. It goes away unless I run with Fluxbox again.
Hope this is of some use. frankly its a minor issue to me but it might be symptomatic of other WM issues that are worth knowing about.
Quote (roberts @ Sep. 02 2007,15:07)
Perhaps the confusion is that the .dsl is the "package" closed box icon, the .app is the "open box icon" indicating the application's shortcut to run this app. What is new is icons for mydsl extensions (packages) the closed box icon. All things relating to mydsl extensions are grouped together in the mydsl/ directory. It will likely be that the generic open box icon will be replaced with the actual icon of the application. This requires a batch processs to run on all mydsl extensions.
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Forth.  Some MyDsl Exts actually create a Desktop Icon. Ive made some up myself using PNG files. Apps like LinPsk31 and Oppen Office Org make up their own Icons as a part of the package. The .xtdesktop directory no longer exists as Ive seen mentioned in texts. How do we now make these old apps give us desktop icons?
Currently the application desktop icon is a generic open box. This icon is placed in the MyDSL desktop folder, and not placed directly on the desktop area. This allows easier cleanup of mydsl extensions, which are dynamic by definition.
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Do we need to rework the old apps to make this work again? For that matter how do we make a Desktop icon?
Make a 32x32 .xpm. Although size does not really matter, the new standard is 32x3 reduced from the 48x48 of the DSL 3.x series
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I found something in a menu off the desktop that talks about creating a new icon but it does not work.

Sounds like a mix of 3.x with 4.0. Which would explain double menu items as well. You should test by using "base norestore". The menu element for both fluxbox and jwm are now includes.

Ok I think Ive found something about the doubling up of the Icons in the MyDSL menu. Its not a mix of v3 and v4 DSL but some MyDSL apps actually create their own Icons on the desktop as previously noted. I noticed somebody else posted a note on this.

I created a new folder hda1/mydsl . I dont and have never done it like this before. Put in that folder 1 App. linpsk31.dsl . This app creates a Desktop icon if you load it under DSL v3 as well as a menu item in the MyDsl menu. I booted off CD with no other backups on the system to be found using the mydsl=hda1 option

On bootup click on the DSL button
What I got was 2 identical Open Box icons under v4RC2 in the MyDSL menu. Both of these Icons actually run the app fine.

Theory here is that because there is no longer a .xtdesktop folder as per DSL v3 then we get both Icons landing in the MyDsl Menu.

Checking in the MyDsl folder on the desktop and there is 1 only .dsl file in there with a Open box Icon that has bits of coloured stuff comming out of it. A bit different to the other Open Box Icon.
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