tinycore_v3.7rc1

[roberts]

The First Release Candidate of Tiny Core v3.7 is now posted and ready for testing.
http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/tinycorelinux/3.x/release_candidates

tinycore_3.7rc1.iso
tinycore_3.7rc1.iso.md5.txt


Change log:
* New added kernel module for NTFS to base, allows read access to NTFS partition.
* Updated rebuildfstab now supports NTFS-3g when ntfs-3g extension is loaded allows read-write access.
* New GUI loadpack to load, when required, Starter Pack after boot.
* Updated cpanel to reflect changes in the base.
* Updated tc-functions to better handle tcvd virtual disk.
* Updated tc-install now supports Windows and Tiny Core boot loader menu when Windows is detected.
* Added icons for editor and run.
* Move fluff to extension.
* Updated flrun cosmetic window title change.

Note: Files that have changed and are likely in your backup:

.profile  FILEMGR environment variable. Was defaulted to fluff. You should change to the file manager of your choice. This is used when mount tool mounts a drive and will attempt to call FILEMGR.

[Guy]

A minor thing.

When the menu is set up for Tiny Core and Windows. Tiny Core starts with a small letter and Windows starts with a capital. They should either both be capitals, or both be small.

The extlinux menu looks like this

tinycore
Windows

[Guy]

A more radical idea

I suggest completely removing the installer from the base (that's what I originally thought you were doing), and have the entire installer in install-tools.gz.

The way it is at present, the installer can't be used without downloading something. Why not download the entire installer?

Doing it this way, it may be easier to start the installer from the menu or wbar, instead of the control panel.

Keep "Load Starter Pack" possibly rename it "Starter Pack"

Add an option to download install-tools.gz, for those who are connected to the internet (and automatically load it).

This would make the base a little smaller, and install-tools.gz a little larger.

Think it through.

It would be interesting hear what the team think.

[hiro]

I like everything in this thread.
I hope the team doesn't get annoyed by our demanding idealism

[roberts]

The reason tc-install remains in the base is for the following:

• Size of perl5.tcz (9.8MB) when perl is only needed if one wishes to perform a USB-ZIP pendrive install.
  
  
• There has always been the class of users that do get net (wired) access upon boot from a base Tiny/Micro Core. It is much more efficient to only load syslinux.tcz (1.3Mb) to perform a frugal install.
  
  
• Starter packs should only be an option. Quoting the README and the announcement

  If you already have net access you do not need any starter packs!

  . Moving tc-install into install-tools starter pack would mean this starter pack would be "required" and not an option.
  
  
• Why penalize those with base net access? It is a matter of downloading syslinux 1.3MB vs install-tools.gz (10.7). I think the choice I made should now be obvious.

Idealism vs realism.

[hiro]

Yeah, abstract, theoretical idealism. I didn't even know the contents of install-tools.
I will stop talking now and try to do something practical, too

[newbody]

RobertS

interesting that it has ntfs now. Sadly I am computer challenged. Does this mean that it now will boot using this menu.lst on ntfs hdd?

Edit Sorry so typical of my ADHD. I fail to look at text long enough to really get what it say.

look what a naive error I made tce/boot/bzimage it should naturall be this tce/boot/bzImage
Nemas problemas it booted right away and could read my hdd having NTFS too and I downloaded
Chromium but that one failed to log in here your forum server saying me had not allowed for your cookies but being as computer challenged I am I spent a 15 minutes and fail to find the cookie thing on Chromium so I dl the FF instead and write from within TCL 3.7 now.

So thanks indeed for this feature to use TCL in frugal install even on NTFS without having to resize and to create partition .

Have waited a long time for this. Now I only have to learn how to do root so I can save changes to menu.lst Had no permission it says.

Should I do su name of editor? It does not say what the name is of editor.

It does not say what password there is for root either. Maybe the FAQ has it.

oh RobertS suggests this

$ sudo -s
#

I have to try it right away. failed to work for me. Could that be due to me booting frugally on NTFS then?
Oh I get it. I have to do sudo editor which opens editor as root.

But the NTFS is set as read only so I can not save the changes so I need to do something in cli that makes it read write. Back to search.

title TinyCore
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /tce/boot/bzImage
kernel /tce/boot/bzImage vga=792
initrd /tce/boot/tinycore.gz

I use this one to load and boot SvOlli remix but would be cool to be able to load and boot the official one too.

  title TinyCore  Remix by SvOlli 3.4.1 with ntfs-3g
  root (hd0,2)
  kernel /tceSvOlli/release/bzImage tinycore  noswap syslog kmap=qwerty/fi-latin9
  initrd /tceSvOlli/release/tinycoreplus.gz

[Guy]

to get a root editor type

sudo editor

[newbody]

Guy thanks that is exactly what I did but as I get it one also need to change the read only NTFS to read and write which it may not be automatically.

Change log:
* New added kernel module for NTFS to base, allows read access to NTFS partition.
* Updated rebuildfstab now supports NTFS-3g when ntfs-3g extension is loaded allows read-write access.

it supports it but does that also apply to how I booted using frugal install on same sda3 as being what one boot from.

Thanks for caring about me

[Guy]

An idea for the future - as time permits - if not too difficult

I don't know how difficult it would be to include additional code in the installer so perl5.tcz is not needed. If that could be done, it would be realistic to remove the installer from the base.

If it is too difficult, don't worry.

Just my thoughts.

[Guy]

Some bugs in the installer

1. If Windows is already installed, and a user sets up a partition for Tiny Core, and makes it Active, before running the installer. Then runs the installer without selecting "Mark Partition Active (bootable)." The installer will not set up a menu for selecting Windows.

2. When running the installer. If a user does not select "Mark Partition Active (bootable)," but clicks the forward arrow. Then decides to change it, and clicks the back arrow. The option to "Mark Partition Active (bootable)" is no longer available.

[roberts]

RobertS

interesting that it has ntfs now. Sadly I am computer challenged. Does this mean that it now will boot using this menu.lst on ntfs hdd?

snip...

I see several issues with regard to running Tiny Core entirely within NTFS.

Your posts suggest that you, or the remaster, is using grub4dos. Currently we use syslinux.
The reason for this is that grub4dos does not support ext4. grub4dos is primarily targeted towards supporting NTFS and DOS. Syslinux does not support NTFS and is targeted towards Linux file systems.

Let's say that you try to use the existing grub4dos with v3.7rc1 tinycore.gz. Since only the kernel module is in the base, you will only get read access to NTFS. While you boot loader grub4dos will read the kernel, bzImage, and the core, tinycore.gz, you should be able to  boot Tiny Core. Tiny Core will seek the tce/ directory which will be read-only,

To get read write you need the ntfs-3g.tcz extension. But as an extension it is too late to change read-only to read-write. Even if you move ntfs-3g.tcz to be first in the onboot.lst and even if you flagged it as copy-to-fs (ram), and even if, a startup script were to be created which called rebuildfstab to update entry to rw, and callled mount -o remount,rw, I don't believe it would work.

I am surmising here as I have little access to NTFS to throughly test. Perhaps those with easy access to test will. Perhaps changing ntfs-3g.tcz into ntfs-3g.gz and specify that the boot loader, grub4dos, load ntfs-3g.gz? Can grub4dos even load multiple initialramfs?

The reason to include the kernel ntfs (read-only) module was to allow current Windows net access together with starter packs (being a single file) together with loadpack GUI as easy way to get started on a Tiny Core system with no net access.

[roberts]

Some bugs in the installer

1. If Windows is already installed, and a user sets up a partition for Tiny Core, and makes it Active, before running the installer. Then runs the installer without selecting "Mark Partition Active (bootable)." The installer will not set up a menu for selecting Windows.

2. When running the installer. If a user does not select "Mark Partition Active (bootable)," but clicks the forward arrow. Then decides to change it, and clicks the back arrow. The option to "Mark Partition Active (bootable)" is no longer available.

1. By design, I don't assume to create a menu, unless Mark Partition Active is selected.
2. Using back arrow also means you must reselect the partition, once done Mark Active should be enabled.

[roberts]

Interesting that grub4dos is 324k versus syslinux 1.3 MB.
Now that is food for thought.

[Guy]

2. Using back arrow also means you must reselect the partition, once done Mark Active should be enabled.

It is not