Get APPS with no internet on TC laptop? Load APS on boot from auto-mounted USB?

[grandma]

Great POINT Jur: absolutely correct - majority of ALL problems ALL users encounter nearly ALWAYS are a result of "trying to do something - anything -with "Windows involved".

So all my objectives here are to get TC working - asap - on install - then do everything possible in Linux from there on. This policy was firmly established by realizing most of my friends and clients can't operate system admin utilities and most free Windows aps are either buggy or infected or will soon be infected. I run the #1 firewall made (some ratings/reviews) and stuff gets past it.

[jur]

I haven't read through all your replies - rather long - but seems to me the easiest way to migrate is:

1. defrag the drive. Data backup assumed.

2. Use parted magic (or tcl on a stick), or a win partition editor, shrink the win partition and make about 4GB room for a second partition.

3. Create an etx3 partition on that spare space. Or at least a 100MB FAT32 if you can't boot from a CD.

4. Manually create /boot and /tce folders, populate /boot with tinycore.gz and BzImage.

5. Use one of the excellent multi-boot sw packages to set up a dual boot with win and tcl. Boot into tcl.

6. From within tcl, load GParted and create a ext3 partition on the rest of the space. Set boot options to have your /opt and /home there, and the /tce.

7. Reboot. Go play.

[grandma]

Jur - you are right again - for some folks used to Windows - and early backup policies are always wise.

But defrags and optimize etc. - in Windows? Been there - prefer to learn the Linux utils and automate them via command lines.

My method: Get TC installed - on NTFS - get the wifi/ethernet utils working so it can go online, install a Part/Optimize utility that can run automatically, then slice out the TC areas, then get TC working on EXT2 - with a FAT area for sharing across systems.

[2byte]

ntfsresize
linux.die.net/man/8/ntfsresize

parted
linux.die.net/man/8/parted

These are common Linux utilities, probably already in TC, or one of the extensions.
 

[Juanito]

...and then a simple command line Partition manager.

ntfsprogs from the repo

[Juanito]

...and then a simple command line Partition manager.

ntfsprogs from the repo

[Lee]

When making changes to partitions, bear in mind that the Windows boot partition may not always be C: - MS got over that hangup a long time ago.

Also, If I understand it correctly, a swap -file- is as good as a swap -partition- these days.

I know you are planing on the first boot being with Svolli's tc remix, but once you have an ext or fat partition, will you stick with that or switch to vanilla tc/mc?  Any reason to go one way or the other?  (I haven't tried Svolli's product myself, so I don't know what besides ntfs support he might have added to it).

[jur]

The method I outlined is possible of getting automated which is why I proposed it in the first place.

1. To defrag a drive is not rocket science - I say use one from PortableApps.com - no install required at all.

2. Shrinking the partition is possible via the built-in win one. I did not look to see if there is one at PortableApps.com. If there is, then this would be the one to use as well.

3. Make a small FAT partition to house the initial tcl installation.

4. Create /boot and /tce and populate /boot from the iso, or even from downloading the 2 files individually. When I said "manually create", I meant "don't use the built-in tcl installer" as I am assuming you can't boot yet. The "manually create" is obviously done by your (perl?) script.

5. Boot into tcl, and use GParted for the rest.

I still think it is the easiest most straightforward way to do it. You can be up and running (with network cable internet) on just about any hardware.

Wifi is more tricky but the stuff from puppylinux could probably be adapted/recompiled into a tcl extension.

Re data backup, well there you are on your own. You are as likely to lose data while using portable apps as you are using linux apps, both are opensource. Data backup is required in either case.

[grandma]

Lee - as soon as possible I want a MicroCore to handle the front end phase and then move on to the EXT2, 3 or 4 partition with a real TC on it.

For now I (didn't quite beg Sven) but don't have a MC equivalent of the TC-NTFS-3G PLUS that package may require net to get the TCZ files.
So for the moment TC may be the best choice anyway. Would prefer a tighter MC version then get TC working on EXT2 drive after partition/install phase is done.

Parted or NTFS tools seems best choice.

Unfortunately, Svolli did a great job of making the compile - and has provided the scripts, but as typical in the Linux community in general, and a HUGE problem (I believe the biggest bug), he asked me - a total newbie who has never "fused" or "made" or in any way compiled or incorporated a single linux "anything", to use "scripts" to make a TC or MC file.

It is THE common Linux mistake to assume anyone attempting a migration or Linux install can do that.

So I ask - if anyone here who knows HOW to build a custom MC module might make a post.

Let me start it.

[jur]

SvOlli did provide the script to integrate ntfs-3g with initrd, so you could do this yourself for MC.

[grandma]

Today - 6 weeks after starting with TC, I finally got my background desktop to save. Not sure how or why, but here are some hints for folks using the SVOLLI NTFS version - thelitecore.iso - that might help.

1. Since I was booting from C: (NTFS drive) according to Svolli's /TCE folder, and could never get a backup to save, I THINK (check with engineers here) that as TC is booting, the first drive it saw was my G: - not C:. G: was set up as my first hard drive TC and had mydata.tgz on it and was a Fat32. Since C: was NTFS and probably not recognized at first, perhaps TC would go to G: first and only after everything was loaded did it start to pull from C: (hda1) and not G: (hda2).

2. The other thing I did was mark the JPG being used for my background, which was generated by a Windows version of GIMP and stored on the NTFS drives, as +rwx+rwx+rwx - before copying it to the /opt/background folder in ram and then saving. The next boot it worked (after a month), though not sure if this helped.

3. Since I am shooting wifi signal 1/4 mile and it constantly dropped me every 10 - 30 seconds, whereas the Windows driver allowed for changing packet fragment threshold and RTS which kept it stable, I got into the WIFI script I use and that, plus the iwconfig pdf instructions allowed me to decrease RTS and fragement, keep power level at 100mW constant, and change sensitivity. As a result as I was downloading TCZ files - about an hour plus worth of time - the system never went offline. Additionally my Firefox is now rather robust, asked me for a profile which is also persistent now, and the system is getting pretty close to as robust as the Windows office I am used to and certainly runs faster. Adding Leaf was also a big help as whatever I don't do at a terminal is done in an editor like that and Leaf seems to have more normal page up/down and file open features I am used to.

I did get the menu adjusted with new aps I had installed (293 files thus far and growing, a lot of it due to my skype and flash requirements), but have not gotten skype to work yet: in fact one skype install script I found here wiped out my wmenu completely - as in dusted all icons and files - BE CAREFUL.

Since I could only HALT or REBOOT at that point if I was lucky enough to get a terminal, and didn't know if that would screw up my backup files and stick me with NO menu, and didn't know any other way to get to the control panel, I did a hard button shut down, came back up and everything was as it was the prior boot - so backup worked, but I don't know if all the TCZ files I had loaded were still there or not.

Will keep working on Skype - which, along with Flash, are the last major leg of this puzzle. Juanito was kind enough to point me towards the GCC compiler, but that may have to wait a bit as my intent is NOT to remaster or change the core - I don't need another maintenance child. The intent is to make sure anyone attempting a Windows Migration can easily get all required tools working - with one click.

Mplayer - no Dep - just locked up my entire system - had to do another hard reset - everything else came back fine - Firefox even remembered the last page I was on.

Not sure why gspdf still shows in wmenu - that program bombed first time and I ran it and it has been deleted - I tried epdfview and that worked well - am now testing TLC - a music player I am familiar with.

[MikeLockmoore]

Grandma: by any chance, are you a relative of Jerry Pournelle?    There seems to be at least some narative resemblance.

[gerald_clark]

Or Marcel Gagne?

[grandma]

ooops - syntax error - "narrative" has 2 "r"'s

I am gonna guess if I ask Robert real sweet he MIGHT dust this entire post.

I wrote an install program so no one would have to endure what I went through and was pushed along - wonderful assistance - by a couple of admins here - and after trying nearly every flavor of Linux made its pretty obvious to this old bird Tiny Core rocks - just needs a few extra parts you folks may have forgotten for slow folks like me.

I'm fixing that right quick. Thank you for your patience as I live and learn.

By the way Gerald - looks like I owe you a favor - I looked up Marcel and saw they had a Windows Terminal Server program - wasn't sure how I was going to access one of my co-lo boxes that has bunch of clients on it - would love to change it to Linux but can't - and was stuck with the Microsoft ap to do that - but Marcel had the remote server ap in Linux and I grabbed that.

As soon as I figure out how to open a GZ file and run a program, I will let you know if you earned your burger and beer.

[grandma]

Grandma: by any chance, are you a relative of Jerry Pournelle?    There seems to be at least some narative resemblance.

So I checked out Jerry - bit of a rambler and goof ball - guess I am too - but some of his stuff is sorta kewl - and I was able to post an article on the nuclear industry there - thanks for the tip Mike.