Nemesis update- v24.08 (2024-08-28)

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vinnie
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Nemesis update- v24.08 (2024-08-28)

Post#16 by vinnie » 08 Oct 2024, 09:56

ncmprhnsbl wrote:
06 Oct 2024, 04:45
could be a bug :) ..it's possible that this is one cheatcode that won't work via the cheatcodes config :( .. in this case the APPEND line in /boot/syslinux/porteus.cfg is the way to go..
For brevity I had not added it in the message but I had tested it in the “porteus.cfg” as well.
The reason I wasn't sure if I had done the right thing because I made the changes first and then tried to create the savefile.dat.
But in theory if it works as a directory maybe I have to create the files and do AFTER the changes and I shouldn't worry about saving the status. In short a kind of someting between the save directory and the save module systems.
So actually maybe it would be better for me to have some info on how it works before assuming that it doesn't work.

sounds correct, though not ideal
I'm proud of myself :D
certainly, a check for a same named module that would overwritten should probably occur, with at least a warning.
it is possible to xzm2dir a save module with whiteouts in a posix directory outside the live filesystem ie. some mounted volume (which admittedly isn't always available)
I have verified and it is as you say, on an external volume everything works (I have already merge some changes, on reboot I will try it). I tried to understand well what you are referring to also by translating the message into my idiom, however I simply do not know what these whiteout files are and so I simply do not understand it out of my ignorance :wall:

but, there's probably no reason for those whiteout files (.wh..wh.*) to be included in the first place, so here's an edited /usr/local/bin/save-session that should exclude those:
...code...
which will allow for extraction within the live filesystem.
(also excluded /mnt for the hell of it)
which has me thinking of moving the exclude list to a user configurable one somewhere in the config folder.
I will try this as well, however I generally don't like making changes to the structural operation of a distro because then it means that every time I reinstall I have to remember to apply all the changes to patch the standard behavior.
But then in case the change works correctly will you integrate it into future versions of Nemesis?

EDIT:
just looking at the config folder, i noticed the "backup" file:
...code...
first correction: it should be /usr/local/bin/backup-config-module
this should work in the opposite fashion to save-session, only keeping what is explicitly included, which is handy when you know exactly what you want to keep, not so much if you don't.
This is one of the themes that has given me the most concern about the other distros I've used.
Because in my opinion this thing makes a distro completely under the control of its administrator.
In alpine, management seemed perfect because the file allowed you to specify both files/directories to add (by prefixing a + to the path) and those to remove (by prefixing a -) and it supports star notation to specify sets of files.
However, they have an open bug report from me for 5 years of a problem in this system....
That is why I would like to take it gentle by making requests on this issue that is already very tricky for me, at least waiting until I better understand how it works.
I can say that I personally like to do a lot of experiments on the distro even breaking the functioning until I find the right way and then save only those changes.
The fact that the creation of save modules on porteus works in “layers” if well leveraged could also be a big advantage in this regard!

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Nemesis update- v24.08 (2024-08-28)

Post#17 by vinnie » 08 Oct 2024, 10:34

Ed_P wrote:
06 Oct 2024, 23:34
When shutting down my system indicates how much space has been used and how much is free and I can decide whether to save the current changes or do it the next time after I have expanded the .dat file. I also run a script to check it's space usage periodically.
So I misunderstood, the savefile.dat also needs to be saved explicitly and is not like the changes directory which is always updated constantly.
Just out of curiosity, could I ask you what is the difference between using savemodule.zxm and files.dat to save changes?
And could you please specify how you configured cheatcodes to make savefile.dat work since I couldn't?

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Nemesis update- v24.08 (2024-08-28)

Post#18 by Ed_P » 08 Oct 2024, 14:29

vinnie wrote:
08 Oct 2024, 10:34
And could you please specify how you configured cheatcodes to make savefile.dat work since I couldn't?
I've just noticed this thread is for Nemesis, I run Porteus. I believe they are similar in nature and function but not necessarily specifically. :hmmm:

With my Porteus USB system I use this line in the /boot/syslinux/porteus.cfg file:

Code: Select all

APPEND changes=EXIT:UUID:abc123/changes/50save.dat extramod=UUID:abc123/Modules
I use the UUID code to ensure the files used are on the USB and not the harddrive. I also use similar parms when I boot with my Grub2Win menu.

I use the changes=EXIT code to make the USB system faster, and to allow me to test changes and to not save them when shutting down if I don't like them, or they will exceed the size of my save.dat file. And yes the save.dat is a single file that gets updated with files from the /mnt/live/memory/changes folder.

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ncmprhnsbl
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Nemesis update- v24.08 (2024-08-28)

Post#19 by ncmprhnsbl » 09 Oct 2024, 02:07

vinnie wrote:
08 Oct 2024, 10:34
So I misunderstood, the savefile.dat also needs to be saved explicitly and is not like the changes directory which is always updated constantly.
no, the opposite, it should mount at boot and constantly update like the changes directory, that is , when it's working properly :( (and currently changes=EXIT isn't implemented in nemesis)
some tests here show me that loading/mounting the savefile.dat is failing at initrd level for some reason, probably some syntax error in the script.
i'll do some digging into it.
btw, if you append "debug" at cmdline, you can get a step by step of the early boot process and messages to more easily catch errors like these.
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Post#20 by bytie » 27 Oct 2024, 07:25

I've setup Porteus onto USB-flash and been quite happy with it. I've decided to try Nemesis latest and it seems to be having some quirks.

What I like about Porteus is you setup your system in "changes" mode, and then you can do your stuff in "no-changes" mode (when your saved changes are loaded, but not saved). Sadly, it's not working in Nemesis, though I've written `boot/syslinux/porteus.cfg` in exactly same way. Nemesis "no-change" mode (`change-ro`) is always fresh, no changes are loaded from assigned partition. The changes are saved in "changes" mode, because they're loaded if you load "changes" mode once again.

xed editor, which is launched by default in Nemesis, crashes on "Preferences" menu selection.

For some reason the second partition of bootable USB is assigned `sdc5`, when on Porteus it is `sdc2`.

Hope this distribution will be developed further.

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Nemesis update- v24.08 (2024-08-28)

Post#21 by ncmprhnsbl » 28 Oct 2024, 23:34

(moved this post for better visibility)
bytie wrote:
27 Oct 2024, 07:25
xed editor, which is launched by default in Nemesis, crashes on "Preferences" menu selection.
confirmed. i neglected to refresh the gsettings schemas for cinnamon. for a quick fix run as root:

Code: Select all

caches-module
agree to make a module of the caches and save it to your modules directory.
bytie wrote:
27 Oct 2024, 07:25
What I like about Porteus is you setup your system in "changes" mode, and then you can do your stuff in "no-changes" mode (when your saved changes are loaded, but not saved). Sadly, it's not working in Nemesis, though I've written `boot/syslinux/porteus.cfg` in exactly same way. Nemesis "no-change" mode (`change-ro`) is always fresh, no changes are loaded from assigned partition. The changes are saved in "changes" mode, because they're loaded if you load "changes" mode once again.
i'll have to investigate, but it's likely changes-ro either hasn't been implemented or is faulty.
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