Newbie question Re' Puppy

[Cymarr4]

Hello all

Not sure if you guys get involved with Puppy Linux ?? - but if you do, please can you tell me how to install .tar files in puppy? (How to install.tar files).

I am a newbie to Linux (and puppy) and cannot find any info' on how to do what I guess is a fairly simple procedure. I did put a question on the puppy forum but the only reply I got, referred me to a fairly advanced (for me) technical article which I didn't understand.

Just installed Puppy 4.1.1 on an old desktop machine - 400Mhz, 256k - it seems to be working fine - I think - but...

I tried to install the xf-prot antivirus from the utility menu but got the error message: cannot detect f-prot's version - Aborting. Having checked the forum(s), it seems this is pretty common and after trying a number of fixes given - without success - I downloaded and installed the clamav antivirus package. Again, despite trying many of the fixes on the forum, I could not get it to run.

As the general opinion given in the puppy forum seems to be to use Avast with puppy 4.1.1, I have downloaded the "avast4workstation-1.08.tar" file (using a win xp machine) and unzipped it (using Winzip on the XP machine) into a folder on my flash drive.

How do I now install it into puppy? - and how do I un-install it if it doesnt work? I have seen in the posts that installing it is easy but no details (that I understand) are given. - Or, maybe a different distro' would be a better OS for me (to learn linux) ?

Sorry guys but I need a really basic (!?) description of how to do this, to get me started.

[oz]

Welcome to the forums!

Check this HowTo for a number of different ways to install software under Linux:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/lin...are-linux.html

Quite often, you'll find specific installation instructions in the folder once a tarball has been extracted.

[gos9x]

Have not used Puppy Linux. I think that you are asking how to install tar balls that you download from source. You need to build the software using your build software, and then install it. If there are some ways to install prebuilt software for Puppy Linux, then you would have to find out from the Puppy Linux people. They may have a installation manager.

[Cymarr4]

Thanks for the guidance - much appreciated. Yes, there is an installation manager in puppy - the "puppy PETget package manager" - but I'm a little unsure that it's working properly.

I think I have the .tar problem sorted though - I had downloaded and extracted the file on a win xp machine (company laptop), which has "Safeboot" installed (encrypts the HD) - It seems that the tarball got corrupted when it was de-encrypted and transferred to a flash drive. I downloaded it again using the Linux machine and it installed straight away with no problems.

This may also explain why puppy seems to crash a lot (PC locks up and the screen goes blank when I open an application and I have to re-boot) - I downloaded the ISO and burned it to disk using the win' machine. I had had doubts about using the "safebooted" laptop and I think this confirms it - one to avoid for future downloads!

One (other) thing puzzles me though - Looking around the forums, I get the impression that puppy linux is not a favored distro' by many people. Being a "newbie" and puppy being my first taste of linux, I'm not yet in a position to decide either way of course but I'm now thinking that maybe SuSE would have been a better choice for my ancient desktop.

Anyway, having fun and learning all the way - again, thanks for the guidance.

[oz]

One (other) thing puzzles me though - Looking around the forums, I get the impression that puppy linux is not a favored distro' by many people. Being a "newbie" and puppy being my first taste of linux, I'm not yet in a position to decide either way of course but I'm now thinking that maybe SuSE would have been a better choice for my ancient desktop.

Puppy and Damn Small Linux are both popular choices for older hardware, or where a very lightweight system is desired.

OpenSUSE, on the other hand, is more of a heavyweight, so if your hardware is "ancient" as you say, it might not work well enough to satisfy you.

The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to try each of them yourself to see how they suit your own personal tastes and hardware.

You could also look at Xubuntu, as it comes in somewhere between Puppy and OpenSUSE, and you'd probably find package management to be easier.

Best of luck with your search for a suitable distribution.

[elija]

Vector is another one to have a look at - try standard and if that is too heavy try light - which is designed for systems with 64mb ram Personally, I like Xubuntu; it should run OK on your hardware too.

Whatever distro you end up with - enjoy it and have fun

[hazel]

One (other) thing puzzles me though - Looking around the forums, I get the impression that puppy linux is not a favored distro' by many people.

The Puppy user interface is lovely but I must admit that when I tried it out, it set my teeth on edge to be working as root all the time and that's why I didn't take it further. I suspect that many other Linux users feel the same. The first thing most of us learn about Linux is that you never work as root unless you absolutely have to.

Having said that, I guess it isn't a problem for someone coming over from Windows because in Windows you are root all the time anyway.

[elija]

The Puppy user interface is lovely

especially when you consider the size of the distro

but I must admit that when I tried it out, it set my teeth on edge to be working as root all the time and that's why I didn't take it further. I suspect that many other Linux users feel the same. The first thing most of us learn about Linux is that you never work as root unless you absolutely have to.

Having said that, I guess it isn't a problem for someone coming over from Windows because in Windows you are root all the time anyway.

I agree with that sentiment. But as I understand it Puppy is mainly meant as a rescue distro; their install does seem to be very much an after thought.

[rokytnji]

Iguess, I am one of the few.

[elija]

Iguess, I am one of the few.

lol

If it wasn't for the always root thing I would probably have Puppy running on my quad core - just to see if the windows would really open before I'd finished double clicking...