Arrrgghhhh!
So I went to re-flash TC 6.4.1 on my USBstick ready to do the ifconfig test and ,,,
flashed the wrong drive !!
I suppose it was bound to happen sometime
I had forgotten that I had the SD card from my camera in a reader powered up on a 4-port hub.
It just happened to be 16GB the same as my USBstick
hence my stupidity.
Only a months worth of pictures evaporated, it could have been worse if it had been the C: eeeek.
However, clouds and silver linings :-
I now have a working TC6.4.1 on an SDcard LOL!
Yep, it booted to a commandline and carried on going to a desktop
A pretty desktop with bouncy icons along the bottom , terminal, notepad, etc.
Haha, so now I have to
A) find out what is wrong with my 3 USB sticks that I have been using, they work with RaspberryPi Jessie, but nothing else.
B) get into reading the tinycore book and experimenting with Linux! Yea!
It isnt persistent yet but I will have to learn that bit ,,,,,, tomorrow,,,, it is 1/2past midnight local and I am not touching another thing tonight
for fear of what else I might damage.
Thanks for all your helps and putting up with me.