ke4nt1
Group: Members
Posts: 2329
Joined: Oct. 2003 |
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Posted: July 03 2004,14:08 |
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I'm probably gonna see some "flames" from HDinstall users here, but here goes....
Al,
Since your on a learning curve with DSL here, I wanted to
share some other options I use for running DSL.
Most all of this text can be found elsewhere in the forums.
I'm not familiar with your hardware, so this may not apply to you if
your running a machine with no cd drive, or low ram, etc. , and
are needing to run a hard drive install system.
I usually boot and run from a Live CD.
My box is a dual cpu, but only a 1000mhz P3, or better on a good day,
so it's not a powerhouse Athlon XP or P4.
I have a fat32 partition on a hard drive, where I keep all of
my other extensions, backup files, etc. ( about a GB = hda2 ).
I put my needed extensions in the root of the partition
( firefox, dpkg, java, perhaps a theme, gnu-utils, etc..)
All the rest of my extensions I put into the "/optional" directory on the same partition.
There are other OSes on the hard drive, in other partitions, including a HDinstall of DSL for times requiring one...
I started by booting into the liveCD. I installed the Firefox
extension, dpkg, a theme, etc, which I had copied to the fat32 partition.
I ran apt-get update to get it updated...
Then I put the following lines into my copy of filetool.lst ON THE FAT32 partition.
/home/damnsmall/.phoenix
/home/damnsmall/.xmms
/home/damnsmall/.fluxbox/backgrounds
/home/damnsmall/.fluxbox/styles
/home/damnsmall/.xserverrc
/home/damnsmall/.xinitrc
/home/damnsmall/.sylpheed
/home/damnsmall/.axyftp
/home/damnsmall/Mail
/opt/powerdown.sh
/etc/apt/sources.list
Run the "system>file restoration>specity device" in your menu.
I would choose "hda2" for my fat32 partition...
Run the "system>file restoration>backup" tool in the menu.
Now, when I reboot, All this is available to me by running
the "dsl mydsl=hda2 restore enhance" options at boottime.
My bookmarks, mail, ftp sites, themes, skins, etc... are all there, ready to go.
When you want to play with a new extension, download it, and
try it using emelfm...
If it works nice, and you want to hang onto it, copy it to your
fat32 partition's "/optional" directory.
( I use fat32 so I can access/copy files from m$,
like when I'm remastering an iso using m$ tools like ultraiso. )
If it breaks, or botches your system, just reboot.. ahhhh...
Right back where you started...
With all your goodies....
No reformatting, no reinstalling, no headaches...
The extensions you collect over time and put in your
hda2 partition "/optional" directory will already be in your
desktop menu under "myDSL" on your next reboot
If your system is well endowed with ram ( 256M or better), use the
"toram" option at boot time as well. You'll never know your running from a 'CD"
Just a few thoughts I had, after reading of your troubles and many
reinstalls of DSL..
Once you get a stable system, with your favorite apps installed,
and all your toys just how you like them,
you could run the HDinstaller with some confidence, if you need a HDinstall.
Even from the HDinstall, you can access the extensions, but
once you do, they are installed to your HD.
With the Live CD, once the new 0.7.x or 0.8.X DSL comes out,
you can boot from the CD, run the same boottime options,
and your favorite extensions, files, saves, are all there,
and your back in business...
No reinstall of all your stuff, no loss of all your themes,
bookmarks, mail, etc..
The morning interruptions probably broke my logic flow on this post, but I hope you get the idea... More info is in the forum..
73
ke4nt
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