Damn Small Linux (DSL) Forums

I've been trying to install gddrescue using apt-get on a 500MHz Celeron with 186MB usable RAM (+ 8MB shared w/ video). Booting from floppy, running from 512MB flash drive: sda1=DSL 4.4.10; sda2=persistence, Internet and LAN operational.

I've massaged things to install apt-get; added repositories; modified package lists; re-packaged .deb files; and manually installed the packages--and still get errors. Then I read on this forum (topic=303780.0) "If you're trying to install using apt-get, that system is rather broken with DSL". I fear I've been going about this the wrong way, although I've learned a lot: up to last week I've used ONLY ubuntu, synaptic, and bash scripting.

Can someone point me to the right way to install gddrescue (preferably with persistence on USB) ~or~ if apt-get is  a workable method I can upload a full-page thesis on my efforts thus far.

"Experience is the best teacher, but the tuition fees are high."

If you can't get the debian woody package to work, I suggest compiling from the source code. This will provide a much more current version of the software anyway. See the guide to creating .tar.gz MyDSL extensions on the DSL Wiki for a guide to compiling in DSL.

The package isn't in the default 'Woody' repository. I was trying to install
gddrescue_1.21-1_i386.deb from
http://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/debian stable main contrib non-free
as per instructions on
https://owenthe.ninja/2016/07/getting-apt-on-damn-small-linux-in-2016/.
(The other mirror, http://mirror.linux.org.au/debian stable main contrib non-free, looks to be identical.) I guess that's where the problems originate. I'll post an update after I come up to speed on compiling.
Thanks for clarifying my direction.

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!"

I think you'd simply have to get lucky for that guide to work. The latest "Stable" debian release is so far ahead of Debian Woody now that I doubt much of the software, compiled as it is for a much later Linux kernel, would be able to run on DSL.

You could try packages made for older Debian versions than the current stable release, these used to be easier to find when the web interface to the Debian package archive  (http://archive.debian.net/) was up. I think you'd be better off just compiling it from source though. Software with just a command-line interface often compiles without too many dependancy issues on DSL, it's the GUI software where things tend to get difficult/impossible. It's been quite a while since I even bothered with the Debian packages.