To get the most out of Porteus on MacBook Pro HD Install

[WildeGeist]

Hey there,

This is embarrassing and exciting at the same time. I am (was) all into this FreeBSD thing, and got into testing PC-BSD since I have unique issues. But today it was a total failure. And my HD is so corrupted, not a thing I have with a built in wifi tool would boot. I only have wifi access.

So I was frantic trying Knoppix, Salix, Arch Bang, Crunch Bang, and a host of others. Even openSUSE would not finish an install. My HD kept getting smaller and smaller and smaller. Finally I got my trusty Slackware booted, but my Slackbook is online, and I have trouble doing it all without the book! I managed to get two slices down with Slack, a 316Gig and a 4Gig (about) on my 320 Gig HD. So I crossed my fingers and slid Porteus in and went for the Installer. I hooked up to my 316 Gig slice!

It goes great! But I need to change the passwords. My wireless mouse works great (Apple Magic Mouse) and wifi says I am getting a 40% signal. When my copper bracelet touches my computer when I type, the cursor jumps, so I have to watch my typing or take the dumb bracelet off, but anyway...

The main thing I think I should do is get my passwords changed. I tried doing it through the KDE thing, but it says my 'toor' password is no good for that root.

At any rate, I really dig this predicament actually. I love this OS, but I have a lot of stuff to do. I am in the middle of moving back to Hawaii, and need this machine for all my communications and stuff. Its my "everything", phone, you name it! I know I will figure it out pouring through the forum and stuff, but so far its not right in my face yet?

Other than having no keyboard lights, I can not tell right off if anything is not functioning?

My machine:

MacBook Pro P8800 2.66ghz Core 2 Duo, 15" 4Gig (Mid 2009) Any pointers on optimizing (if it aint already? Goes like hell on here already!) but in particular for now how about passwords?Sorbounce to other lines here. Wierd. ry for the messy writing, but my case seems to be touchy, static charges or something makes my words

OS X on my MacBook Pro with a PC-BSD Test for the 9.1, and after trying to salvage my mess, Porteus is the only thing that saved the day! Put it on my HD!
@ XmnemoniC - Fri Mar 09, 2012 2:59 am
@ WildeGeist,
@ WildeGeist - Fri Mar 09, 2012 3:00 am
Seriously. I only have wifi access, and my disk is so scatter brained nothing would fly. I got almost my whole disk semi partitioned with Slack, and threw Porteus on top of that. Got about 316Gigs of my 320.
In total there are 5 users chatting ( based on users active over the past 30 minutes )
To tell you the truth though, this works better than anything else I have tried for years! Trade it for

Heard there are huge Solar Flares right now, maybe causing issues? Cant figure out how to keep the lines here from flying around. Best hit save for now. Bye! And THANKS all at Porteus for saving my ass!

Georg

[Hamza]

We are glad to see you are enjoying the use of Porteus

[brokenman]

Open a console as root.

Code: Select all

passwd root
passwd guest

[Hamza]

You must switch to root before to be able to change root's password. If you are logged as guest. You can use su command and type root's password, after be logged in as root, you will be able to change the password of guest and root on the same time (but not the same command).

[WildeGeist]

I am slowly getting there. I used a tool as suggested on the mini-chat, but on reboot it was not saved. Its my own malfunction. Everything here is very different from what I am used to. There is a learning curve for me. Sorry, I can not remember the name of this & that yet, all this module stuff and everything is very alien to me still.

The biggest problem is when my Blue Tooth Mouse (Magic Mouse from Apple) is not connected, my aluminum chassis acts as if it is shorted ? Very strange. If my wrist connects to the edge while I touch anything else, all kinds of things happen sporadic; some magical, some entertaining, and some frightening. With the mouse connected, I only notice sometimes when typing suddenly my line is somewhere else ?

I will try to keep my problems while learning on the mini-chat so I do not waste so much of your guy' time. I just need to spend a lot of time experimenting and getting to know this WONDERFUL little beast! I am perpetually in awe at how it holds more useful features for me than 220 GIGS of OS X did for me, in under 300 Megs? My little brain can not comprehend how all this is possible?

I have a ton of learning to do here to get myself in sink to make all this work for me optimally. Meanwhile the system itself (Porteus) is holding me by the hand, and still there when I fall. And all you great people on the mini-chat too. So it is comforting to know all the help is there. I do need though to get it down too for my own good, to scour the answers in the Forum.

Porteus is very much worth any effort it takes to learn. When I finally get Slackware and FreeBSD back on here, if I still want to after experiencing Porteus, I will always have Porteus on my machine somewhere. This already saved my hind end. Nothing else would boot! Not even the native OS X would boot. No DVD media would boot, some would not eject even! Took 2 hours to get one disk out. EXCEPT my Slackware, Salix, Porteus. But it took Slackware to create a slice Porteus could see. And I am not good enough to Install and Configure Slackware without a manual, AND generate a wifi tool of which I am dependent upon. I have no access to wired Internet on this Island.

Without Porteus, I would have had to mail my MacBook Pro to someone to have it 'fixed'. So considering you all saved me several hundred Dollars (US) which I do not have, I owe Porteus a lot! When I am able, I will surely contribute $$. Unfortunately (and even more the 'why' I owe you) I am in the middle of a serious move from Saipan back to Hawaii. Its become politically dangerous for us here, so Squeezie and I are trying to escape with our lives really. Hence again why my machine is important right now. It is my sole communication source. We have no phone, no nothing. Just Wifi we can kinda 'pirate', hitch a ride, if you know what I mean. Saipan is a crazy dangerous place; getting more unstable every day. Put it this way, I have a machete at my feet, a knife on my right, and another on my left, and a major big stick behind me inside my own place to feel comfortable enough to be able to check my email .

Anyway, thanks always my friends. All your guys' efforts really saved my butt! Its amazing, since I just discovered you all only a week ago. Had an idea I had something special, and sure am glad I had sense enough to make a couple copies, especially the v1.2rc 64 .

I really think too a Porteus device like my old Psion Revo would be a must have, put iPad out of business! Personally, I have developed a hatred for Apple INC and will never buy another Apple product even if its at gunpoint. I will tell my story where appropriate. I am curious to see if I can get Porteus on my HTC phone (useless in Saipan)! If it were not for my love of Slackware, Debian and FreeBSD, I would say Porteus is the only OS worth having!

Basically I am just ecstatic over Porteus . I have a huge amount of learning to do 8) . Its very nice to finally be free of OS X . Its been a few years now being angry I am stuck with OS X . I bought my Apple machines when I was working and had money. I got hurt right after, cant work, disabled, and POOR !

Well, have to go get my mail . Two hour hike through hostile territory. Feel like I am back in the Army sneaking through Central America again . Or deepest darkest San Fernando Valley California! Saipan is nuts!

Eternally

Georg & Squeezie (my woman)

[brokenman]

Took 2 hours to get one disk out.

For future reference every optical drive has a little hole on the plate. By sticking a paper clip in the hole you can eject the disk even without power. Saipan sounds like a hell of a place to live. Best of luck and stay safe.

[WildeGeist]

Yea, 2 Hours! I had to reboot holding that Option Key and hope it would eventually catch the memory. The "hole" next my optical drive is some kind of key hole they say, to lock the computer. I thought so too that it was a manual eject thing, and tried the paper clip, staple, then graduated to an ice pick, knife blade, and finally a screw driver and nail.

When I bought my first MacBook "White" in college, when I got home and plugged it in, as soon as I inserted a Mobile Broadband DVD to get Internet, a power surge blew up my battery. I went to the Best Buy store, and they were amazed to see an Apple computer actually explode. Blew the back off the battery. Ectoplasmic yuk dripped out of it. The flames that shot out of the magnetic adaptor connection were real cool looking though. I was new to Apple, and thought that was part of the show after watching the exotic Welcome to OS X show to get me started. Thinking to myself how cool I will look with my new computer at school that shoots flames out the side of it!

They gave me a new computer right away, but I said I needed the DVD back from the blown up computer. They said impossible. I asked for a screw driver to take the beast apart with, then they showed me another already taken apart; it did look pretty much futile to take anything out manually if a DVD was stuck in it. So I was bummed, my Cricket thing would have to wait.

Yea, all my efforts of messing with the little hole next to my Drive only bent up the aluminum around there. Its real thin, like a cheap beer can. $2,400 beer can that is. ( http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... ZCw&itbs=1 ) is a photo of that hole so easily mistaken as a manual eject thing.

Thanks for the info. But the best I have been able to do is just keep rebooting and hitting that option key and hope it 'catches' the memory enough to remember what that command means. It stalls the boot process to give options, and one is to eject. The early Grub boot loader does away (almost) completely with this function. But with perseverance, usually enough old memory remains to finally remember to eject. Grub2 is more forgiving. And Lilo actually wakes up the memory somewhat if I can get that far, then throw OS X back in and go through the process. But this time, it took me almost 48 hours to get the whole OS X in. It gets to hanging about an hour into Install even after a "7-Times" HD erase. So what I do now is an initial erase, then a X7, then a X35, then Write Zeros. The Write Zeros makes it easier for OS X to go back in, otherwise it just craps out about 30% into it. My Hitachi HD has taken a beating!

Peace!