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

[grandma]

Note: ORIGINAL posts were long and later "JUICED"/squeeze for key info of each page.
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UPDATED - jwm fixed a lot of the bugs I was chasing - very nice

Note: ORIGINAL posts were long and later "JUICED"/squeeze for key info of each page.
==============================

Statement of problem: a user has a Windows system wants to begin using Linux, but is unable to boot from USB, making all the Netbootin/Live Linux/Pen Drive utilities and solutions useless, and they can't burn a CD and don't want to "buy" anything, or pay for online utilities, virtual boxes or anything else.

They want a simple, fast method that can be installed or uninstalled easily without damaging their Windows system.

Best solution (only one that I have found at the forum thus far)

3 files are required:

1. thelitecore.iso - available from svolli.org - google Tiny Core and Svolli or browse these forums - also a link in #3 below.

2. ISODISK to read the ISO - also a link in #3 below

3. A simple DOS bat file that installs Tiny Core in about 3 seconds and will uninstall it and cleans up afterward, without changing the Windows system in any way. You can get TCSETUP.BAT (open source by its nature) at www.eduhosting.org/?linux

TCSETUP.BAT was designed as a "one click" system that fetches the files and once you have everything downloaded, installs Tiny Core on a Windows 2000, XP, Vista or Windows 7 system in about 3 seconds and uninstalls as well. By its nature its open source.

Once installed you can easily set up your own Tiny Core Linux System on an EXT2 partition etc.

Note: does not work on compressed C: drives.

Other topics below relate to questions on what else can be added and how backups are done and may be available in other posts.


REVISITED after 4 months.

I tried TC - tried the Svolli version - and the newer TC that reads NTFS - but requires "adjustments to read and write".

In the end I have stuck with Svolli's version until I can get the latest TC release to read and write NTFS smoothly on boot - -pretty sure it can - not sure how to do that yet.

What I did find out tonight - after months of chasing bugs - is that flwm is absolutely NOT something I'd bundle with TC. As soon as I switched to JWM a bunch of problems disappeared.

Heads up.

I'd list the bugs but most of you folks have probably already switched. I know a few who have not - but JWM seems to run faster, graphics are far better, no "blue screens of death" - i.e. closing editor left the powder blue footprint behind with flwm - seems resolved / fixed with jwm - and just overall a much better package - and seems to run faster - not sure why but the fan in my laptop really screams when I run jwm - and aps seem to load fast, smooth, reliably while aps started in flwm often never loaded...not sure why.

You'd type editor filename and it would either bounce back to a prompt - no editor - or sit there in limbo as if it had started and you'd have to go kill the job with a new terminal session.

I think a lot of the problems I hacked through during the first few months were flwm originated...very frustrating...sorry if I caused ya'all grief...I spent so much time chasing ghosts I probably could have learned a lot of this a little faster and saved some time.

============================== old post

Statement of problem: a user has a Windows system wants to begin using Linux, but is unable to boot from USB, making all the Netbootin/Live Linux/Pen Drive utilities and solutions useless, and they can't burn a CD and don't want to "buy" anything, or pay for online utilities, virtual boxes or anything else.

They want a simple, fast method that can be installed or uninstalled easily without damaging their Windows system.

Best solution (only one that I have found at the forum thus far)

3 files are required:

1. thelitecore.iso - available from svolli.org - google Tiny Core and Svolli or browse these forums - also a link in #3 below.

2. ISODISK to read the ISO - also a link in #3 below

3. A simple DOS bat file that installs Tiny Core in about 3 seconds and will uninstall it and cleans up afterward, without changing the Windows system in any way. You can get TCSETUP.BAT (open source by its nature) at www.eduhosting.org/?linux

TCSETUP.BAT was designed as a "one click" system that fetches the files and once you have everything downloaded, installs Tiny Core on a Windows 2000, XP, Vista or Windows 7 system in about 3 seconds and uninstalls as well. By its nature its open source.

Once installed you can easily set up your own Tiny Core Linux System on an EXT2 partition etc.

Note: does not work on compressed C: drives.

Other topics below relate to questions on what else can be added and how backups are done and may be available in other posts.

[Juanito]

and (ahem) - where do I get the tcz or gz util/grub etc. files with a W2K click?

You can use a url of the form:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/tinycorelinux/3.x/tcz/perl5.tcz

..just substitute perl5.tcz with the extension you need

[Lee]

Once you've got your USB stick bootable with TinyCore or MicroCore, you're almost done.

Create a directory called tce in the top level of the USB stick and a directory called optional inside of that.

Then you can download extensions ( *.tcz ) into tce/optional/ and create a text file called tce/onboot.lst listing the extensions you want loaded on boot (one per line).  You don't have to list dependencies in onboot.lst - that's what the .dep files are for.

The extensions ( *.tcz ) can be found in the repository at http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/3.x/tcz/ but you'll have to type in the name of the extension at the end of the URL.  for each extension, You'll need the .tcz file, the .tcz.md5 file and the .tcz.dep file (if any).  I always grab the .tcz.list and .tcz.info files as well, just for reference.  So, for instance, for the killerapplication extension, you would download

http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/3.x/tcz/killerapplication.tcz
http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/3.x/tcz/killerapplication.tcz.md5
http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/3.x/tcz/killerapplication.tcz.dep

  and optionally

http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/3.x/tcz/killerapplication.tcz.list
http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/3.x/tcz/killerapplication.tcz.info

all into tce/optional/


Now for the "tcedious" part - do the same for any dependencies listed in killerapplication.tcz.dep and in -their- .dep files recursively.  TC's appbrowser handles the dependencies automatically so the big hint is:

Only manually download the files you need to boot and get TC connected to the extension repo.  Then use appbrowser to get whatever else you want.

If you can't get the laptop talking to the internet, can you get some other machine (that -can- talk to the internet) and boot it from your TC USB stick?  Then use appbrowser to handle the extension downloads?

[grandma]

Thank you for the Perl link - that will help.

[Lee]

Let's continue this discussion - and the one form the TCB Bugs area ( http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php?topic=9194.msg50194 ) - over on "General TC Talk" as it doesn't seem to be specific to "MicroCore & Core Elements"  or "TCB Bugs".  Rather than copy and paste a lot of text from here to there, let me just throw out a somewhat related tidbit that's been on my mind lately...

[grandma]

I will try netbootin - but it won't boot to USB stick - other laptop might

[roberts]

Using a pnedrive, eh? Are you using waitusb=10 ?
Look at the output of the command
$ showbootcodes

Are you using UUID or LABEL to ensure that your target pendrive is the proper one.

You know we have an automated USB pendrive install script that set all of these items up waitusb, UUID, and all needed directories. No need to be manually "prep'ing" anything.

Next you should concentrate to gain internet access first as again, manually, trying to download extensions via URL is like digging a trench with a spoon. Nobody really wants to watch.

[grandma]

I will try UUID method - first attempt using DOS format drive ID failed.

[roberts]

perusing the faq shows: http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/faq.html#pendrives

[tinypoodle]

All tce extensions end in *.tcz.
My suspicion is that some of those files listed would be source code related rather than the extension binaries.

[grandma]

I will try to learn to compile - not sure how - will look for another post and then I could make something similar with the ntfs-3g embedded.

[grandma]

found a utility to replace netbootin - sort of

usbdisk allowed me to view the ISO as a hard drive and is free

[grandma]

also found a defrag utility that optimized - pushed data to select cylinders so I could repartition with Linux - ultradefrag - also free - but would prefer to learn to partition in Linux

[roberts]

From Windows an all GUI method is:

Use Windows unetbootin to make USB pendrive. 
Point it to the tinycore iso. Under options enter quiet
Unetbootin makes bootable pendrive from windows.

Boot up tinycore pendrive, select Apps icon, note at the bottom right corner is a Set button. Select it to automatically setup all required tce directories and files.

Back to Windows, use net to download via url into the pendrive tce/optional directory.
Should only be done for the minimum needed to gain internet access from TC.
Anything downloaded via URL is considered "download only". It will not auto load upon boot.  Each dependency must also be URL downloaded. This is only true because you are downloading from a URL (via Windows) and not using Apps(browser) as supplied by TC which automatically resolves all dependencies.

Boot TC this time select AppsAudit and then select OnBoot and/or OnDemand to indicate which apps should load at boot and which will be loaded via menu. You only need to indicate base applications, dependencies will automatically follow. Reboot to effect.

[grandma]

onboot seems to be a key - thank you