Useability

New features which should be implemented in Porteus; suggestions are welcome. All questions or problems with testing releases (alpha, beta, or rc) should go in their relevant thread here, rather than the Bug Reports section.
rchase
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Post#1 by rchase » 02 Mar 2022, 15:55

Is there any way of automatically anticipating and preventing or compensating for xorg errors that prevent Porteus starting the GUI and dropping to the command prompt (other than never turning off a computer running Porteus without completing normal shutdown)? How about a separate semaphore set upon successful shutdown? Checking such a semaphore and resetting /tmp/.X0-lock (and whichever other flag prevents xorg from starting) would eliminate the necessity of issuing terminal commands to proceed -- I should think this alone would deter end users from using Porteus. I long ago learned to issue the commands:

Code: Select all

root
toor
startx
or

Code: Select all

root
toor
rm /tmp/.X0-lock
startx
but it's got to be a nasty surprise for anyone hoping to use Porteus only through its GUI. Porteus should be useable this way for people who just want to browse the Internet (or use office software), but the first time the plug is pulled, getting Porteus running again becomes a research project.

Vic
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Post#2 by Vic » 02 Mar 2022, 17:48

That is why I use a .dat savefile and run in readonly mode.

Vektor

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Karmi
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Post#3 by Karmi » 16 Apr 2022, 20:34

I've been using Porteus 5.0-rc3 Cinnamon for about 19 days and absolutely love it as my secondary OS to Win11 Pro. Have basically stopped using Fedora 35 Cinnamon SPIN 'n AlmaLinux. Seems when I run/ran Porteus on a fat32 USB it booted more often wid GUI than it's doing since I switched to a small fat32 partition for booting 'n huge ext4 partition for Porteus, but I've been making a lot of tests 'n additions the past couple days so maybe the TTY console is showing up more due to the changes...I dunno!? Mostly it automatically boots me from the Grub menu straight into the root user's Cinnamon desktop w/o having to root > toor > startx. Slackware is another favorite of mine which is why I tried "startx" at the TTY root prompt...most new users would probably not know that. Maybe add the "startx" info on the Grub menu??

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Post#4 by Ed_P » 16 Apr 2022, 22:17

Post your Grub menu and we can see what you're doing.

These are some of my Grub2 USB drive menus:

Code: Select all

menuentry " Porteus 5.0 USB - AF'" --class slackware   --class icon-porteus  {

     set porteus_parms="volume=33 reboot=cold extramod=/Modules"  

     set bootdrv=$root
     search -f /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz --set=root
     if [ $root != $bootdrv ]; then
        linux  /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz $porteus_parms
        initrd /boot/syslinux/initrd.xz
     else
        echo "----------------------------------------"
        echo USB drive NOT found.
        echo
        sleep -v -i 10
     fi
     set root=$bootdrv
     }

menuentry " Porteus 5.0 USB - EFI" --class slackware   --class icon-porteus  {

     set bootmgr=/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi          #grubx64.efi   

     set bootdrv=$root
     search -f $bootmgr --set=root
     if [ $root != $bootdrv ]; then
        chainloader $bootmgr
     else
        echo "----------------------------------------"
        echo USB drive NOT found.
        echo
        sleep -v -i 10
     fi
     set root=$bootdrv
     }

menuentry " Porteus 5.0 USB - syslinux" --class slackware --class icon-porteus {
#    https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/73564/chainload-syslinux-from-grub2-show-syslinux-cfg-menu
     set bootmgr=/boot/syslinux/isolinux.bin

     set bootdrv=$root
     search -f $bootmgr --set=root
     if [ $root != $bootdrv ]; then
        syslinux_source $bootmgr
        syslinux_configfile /boot/syslinux/porteus.cfg
     else
        echo "----------------------------------------"
        echo Porteus drive NOT found.
        echo
        sleep -v -i 10
     fi 
     set root=$bootdrv
     }
Maybe they will help.

I use two approaches for running in readonly mode. One, I create a module of my changes and when I boot I boot with it in my modules folder and no changes= cheatcode. A similar option I use to use is to run with a save.dat file and when done I would copy the save.dat file to my modules folder with the name save.dat.xzm.
Ed

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Karmi
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Post#5 by Karmi » 17 Apr 2022, 00:14

This is what I was calling a Grub menu: https://fossbytes.com/wp-content/upload ... 68x432.jpg

Needs to be more graphical looking for me...I would have no clue about where to even find or even post that Grub2 menu you have. Also no clue what "readonly mode" is.

I have it set up to automatically boot from that graphical menu into the Cinnamon desktop. Sometimes it goes from the graphical menu to a TTY console looking for my name 'n password...then I type: startx - which I don't mind doing occasionally. Some users may not know about "startx" tho.

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Post#6 by Ed_P » 17 Apr 2022, 00:47

Karmi wrote:
17 Apr 2022, 00:14
This is what I was calling a Grub menu: https://fossbytes.com/wp-content/upload ... 68x432.jpg
This is what I see.

Code: Select all

Error 1011 Ray ID: 6fd11edb3da3332c • 2022-04-17 00:42:23 UTC
Access denied

What happened?

The owner of this website (fossbytes.com) does not allow 
hotlinking to that resource (/wp-content/uploads/2020/08
/Porteus-5.0-rc2-Released-Slackware-Based-Fast-And-Portable-
Linux-Distro-1-768x432.jpg).
Karmi wrote:
17 Apr 2022, 00:14
I have it set up to automatically boot from that graphical menu into the Cinnamon desktop.
What is it that you set up to automatically boot to that graphical menu? Partition/folder/filename
Ed

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Karmi
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Post#7 by Karmi » 17 Apr 2022, 00:55

My internet is terrible tonight...so am slow replying.

I went to - boot > syslinux > porteus.cfg and added login=root to INITRD /boot/syslinux/initrd.xz login=root
That boots me into the Cinnamon desktop from the graphical menu...or whatever y'all call that link I just posted.

Well...that link is different now..here's another: https://fossbytes.com/wp-content/upload ... 68x432.jpg

EDIT: I can't get an image to insert...anyway, porteus.cfg has it "LABEL GRAPHICAL" 'n "MENU LABEL Graphics mode" ... the graphical menu I'm talking about during boot up has that choice of Graphics mode listed.

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Post#8 by Ed_P » 17 Apr 2022, 03:17

Karmi wrote:
17 Apr 2022, 00:55
Well...that link is different now..here's another: https://fossbytes.com/wp-content/upload ... 68x432.jpg
Same error as before. To share an image use https://postimage.org/, https://imgur.com/ or https://www.mediafire.com.
Karmi wrote:
17 Apr 2022, 00:55
I went to - boot > syslinux > porteus.cfg and added login=root to INITRD /boot/syslinux/initrd.xz login=root
Add your login=root cheatcode to the porteus.cfg's MENU's APPEND line not the INITRD line.

To boot to the command line/TTY console choose the Text mode menu. It has a 3 on the APPEND line.
Ed

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Karmi
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Post#9 by Karmi » 17 Apr 2022, 12:44

Ed_P wrote:
17 Apr 2022, 03:17
Karmi wrote:
17 Apr 2022, 00:55
Well...that link is different now..here's another: https://fossbytes.com/wp-content/upload ... 68x432.jpg
Same error as before. To share an image use https://postimage.org/, https://imgur.com/ or https://www.mediafire.com.
Karmi wrote:
17 Apr 2022, 00:55
I went to - boot > syslinux > porteus.cfg and added login=root to INITRD /boot/syslinux/initrd.xz login=root
Add your login=root cheatcode to the porteus.cfg's MENU's APPEND line not the INITRD line.

To boot to the command line/TTY console choose the Text mode menu. It has a 3 on the APPEND line.
Yeah, seems steadier wid login=root on the APPEND line...thanks!

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Karmi
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Post#10 by Karmi » 17 Apr 2022, 13:49


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Ed_P
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Post#11 by Ed_P » 17 Apr 2022, 16:18

The mediafire links work. :happy62:

But for images not so much. Image Use one of the other sites I suggested.
Ed

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Post#12 by Karmi » 18 Apr 2022, 21:02

Ed_P wrote:
17 Apr 2022, 03:17
Add your login=root cheatcode to the porteus.cfg's MENU's APPEND line not the INITRD line.
I was testing 4.0 Cinnamon the other day on a small fat32 partition w/ a large ext4 partition. Had copied EFI 'n boot folder to fat32 (sda1) and then copied porteus folder to ext4 (sda2)...then booted it up. At the graphical menu window - hit Tab > then entered login=root. Later I noticed that it was automatically booting back into the root session...without me adding login=root anywhere. Went back to another test computer with 5.0-rc3 Cinnamon on it...where I had added login=root to the APPEND line (we talked about that), and then I removed login=root from that line.

With the login=root added to either the INITRD line or the APPEND line it would still occasionally boot into TTY console looking for name > psw > startx; however, in almost two days now, I haven't seen the TTY console when booting up or rebooting. \o/ ’Hippity hip Hoorah’ \o/

nanZor
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Post#13 by nanZor » 13 May 2022, 22:56

One option if you find yourself dropping to the cli rather than proceeding into the gui, is a matter of timing for some hardware.

The solution presented in some classic threads here was to

Edit the file
/etc/rc.d/rc.4

And add a little delay somewhere between 2 and 4 seconds at the start of the file

Code: Select all

sleep 2
Of course this means one should have a changes savefile active.
That's a UNIX book - cool. -Garth

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Post#14 by nanZor » 14 May 2022, 00:12

rchase wrote:
02 Mar 2022, 15:55
startx[/code] but it's got to be a nasty surprise for anyone hoping to use Porteus only through its GUI. Porteus should be useable this way for people who just want to browse the Internet (or use office software), but the first time the plug is pulled, getting Porteus running again becomes a research project.
I'm going to wax poetic here - It depends on how you look at it idealogically. Should Porteus be just another app-launcher distro? I think not - there are plenty of those.

Porteus is what *YOU* make it. Tools, really cool ones like the iso builder (aka remaster), modules, changefiles and whatnot make it a stand-out for expressing your own creativity. All wrapped by the devs in custom tools that make life easier for those of us who like to turn wrenches if something isn't exactly the perfect fit.

To me, it harkens back to the very early days of 1969/70, where back at ATT where Unix was born, there was simply no marketing. No goals. At least by the original crew.

Their only guiding light was to "create a nice programming environment around which a fellowship could form". Appealed to like 5 guys at first. Look at it now - of course commercialism took hold within a very few short years, but even still, the creators weren't part of that.

I see that here. We can express our own creativity with the tools provided by the devs. Likewise, they can express their creative talents, and also have a nice programming environment with a cool environment. That means, like back then, no pre-conceived ideas to limit that.

.. poet crawls back into cave ...
That's a UNIX book - cool. -Garth

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Post#15 by Ed_P » 14 May 2022, 04:53

nanZor wrote:
13 May 2022, 22:56
Edit the file
/etc/rc.d/rc.4

And add a little delay somewhere between 2 and 4 seconds at the start of the file

Code: Select all

sleep 2
Of course this means one should have a changes savefile active.

Or one makes a module of the change and adds it to their /modules folder. ;)
Ed

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