Some newbie questions re applications & persistence

[rntc]

I am new to Tinycore though I am reasonably comfortable using linux. I like the Tinycore philosophy very much and want to try it. I have downloaded the tinycore-current.iso and tried to frugally install it on my (ext3) partition sda7. I copied the boot and cde folders /tinycore/boot and /cde folders and used grub setting as "kernel /tinycore/boot/vmlinuz quiet cde". It booted well with gui.

I then downloaded leafpad.scm and abiword.tcz from the application installers. I rebooted with backup option. However, I was booted to the command prompt only. I then copied the contents of cde folder to the newly created tce folder and I was able to boot to gui. However, now I need help with following points:

1. leafpad application is not starting on typing the command 'leafpad' (no such command). How can I set up so that it is available after booting (I do not want it or other applications to load to memory, but they should be available). Will the procedure be same for abiword (of which tcz was installed (leafpad was scm).
2. How can I set up so that leafpad and abiword are available in the menu.
3. How can I make changes persistent? If I create a text file on my desktop, it should appear on rebooting. What folder I need to create for this and what option should I put on the grub kernel line. I want Tinycore to use a folder only and not the entire partition.
4. What is the best way to I install lxde and lxdm in Tinycore.

I tried looking for these in the wiki, faq and forum search, but it is not becoming clear. Any help is much appreciated.

[jano]

Not an expert, hope this helps:

1) Leafpad: have to open scmapps (either through the icon in wbar or right-click on desktop -> System Tools -> Scm Apps. Click the button Apps (upper-left  corner) -> local -> install should populate the left-side panel with the downloaded scm. Highlight leafpad and  click  the button Go at the bottom -> it should run now

2) As for leafpad, no idea. As for abiword, as it is a tcz, it should be "on demand". Right click on desktop -> System Tools -> Apps. Click the button Apps (upper-left  corner) -> Maintenance -> On demand maintenance.  That should populate the left side panel with the tcz you have, click on abiword.tcz -> it should go to the right side panel. "Current OnDemand Items". From now on when you right-click on the desktop, you'll have a On Demand section, clicking it will show you "abiword" and clickin it should launch it

3) What I have is persistent home, opt and tce (as I use it fom a pendrive:
APPEND initrd=/tce/boot/core.gz quiet vga=791 norestore swap waitusb=5:UUID="long number" tce=UUID="long number" opt=UUID="long number" home=UUID="long number"
however this is from the extlinux.conf file, I think grub is a little different
In your case, should be tce=hdX,Y opt=hdXY, home=hdXY (wherever you have your TCL). And of course, you don't need the waitusb=5:UUID="long number" as you are not booting from a pendrive
And you'll need to remove  all references to home and opt in your filetool.lst file. There is no point in backing up directories that are persistent.

4) No idea, sorry

Hope it helps

[rntc]

@jano: Many thanks. I will try these and report back.

[Rich]

Hi rntc
Please do not attempt a manual install, at least until you are thoroughly familiar with the inner workings of
Tinycore. Use the installation utility and install to an empty partition or a USB pendrive.

[rntc]

@Rich:  I have already installed as above and it is working OK, though there are some problems. I want to install in one/some folders and not on an entire partition, if it can be done. I would request you to go through the steps I have already done and guide accordingly, especially for installation of LXDE. Thanks for your help.

[Rich]

Hi rntc
Personally, if I want to do an install, I always use the tc-install utility. But if you wish to ignore that advice, fine.
Start by removing  that  cde  boot code, and rename your  cde  directory to  tce. You might also want to take
some time to read the FAQs and the Wiki.

[rntc]

I have tried to see the faq and the wiki but I am not clear about following:

a) What is the exact difference between onboot and ondemand modes? Although ondemand is suggested in the documentation, which one should I routinely use if I want to avoid too much memory usage?

b) Which is better .scm or .tcz applications? They will all be onboot or can they also be ondemand (I did not see that option in scmApps)?

Thanks for your patience and help.

[curaga]

Ondemand means faster boot, while the first time your start an app is slower. Ie it defers loading the extension.

TCZ vs SCM is a preference

[Rich]

Hi rntc
SCMs tend to be larger because they are self contained, where TCZs can share dependencies with other TCZs.
The difference between onboot and ondemand is probably between 400 bytes and 2 to 3K. When you click on the
desktop and select ondemand->SomeExtension the difference becomes zero. AppBrowser defaults to onboot, I
would suggest leaving it as such.

[rntc]

Thanks for your replies.  I have installed opera, midnight commander, leafpad, pcmanfm and abiword and they are all working all right. 

Opera does not show up on the desktop as an icon though others are there.  How can I get opera icon on the desktop?
I installed pcmanfm2 but it does not work (no icon and no response to selecting it or giving that command on the terminal).  How do I remove it?
I see LXDE in the Apps.  If I install it will I get LXDE desktop straight away or will I need to change some other settings also?
Can I change the name of 'tce' folder to something else and put that on the grub kernel line?
I am able to open, read and copy files from ntfs partitions, but not write or create files.  Do I need to install ntfs-3g or ntfsprogs or both?

[rntc]

I downloaded LXDE.tcz and added "desktop=LXDE" to grub kernel line and it worked well!

[Rich]

Hi rntc
ntfsprogs should be enough.

[bmarkus]

If I install it will I get LXDE desktop straight away or will I need to change some other settings also?
Can I change the name of 'tce' folder to something else and put that on the grub kernel line?

If you install LXDE and no other desktop installed (like Xfce4, KDE, GNOME) it will work without any addition setting.

Do not change tce directory name at least before getting familiar with TC.

[rntc]

If you install LXDE and no other desktop installed (like Xfce4, KDE, GNOME) it will work without any addition setting.

Actually in my case if nothing is added to grub kernel line, I get the basic tinycore gui desktop. I don't really mind this arrangement since now I can now easily switch between 2 desktops.

I have added ntfsprogs and I am now able to use ntfs partitions well. But in gparted, all fat32 and ext3/4 partitions have a yellow triangle with '!' warning sign. I am not sure why this is there.

[Rich]

Hi rntc
In gparted, click  View->FileSystemSupport. A table will pop up that tells you which extensions you need to install
to support various file systems.