Slax author's Blog (RSS)

Slax 7 latest versions runs really good from usb flash devices.

Please Tomas fix that annoying slax dir detection, cause frugal mode is impossible. Better to replace it with the old good slax.sgn detection system (maybe a sgn version like slax7.sgn is the better way to do that).

Keep the good work!

Thanx for all your work on slax.

OK, I've modified LiveKit to actually search for at least one *.sb file in the given directory before it recognizes it as Slax directory. This way, you shouldn't have any problems since the next release.

Thanx. I try it tomorrow :)

Storing the several Slax7 test versions on the same device,
I had the same problem.

As in this case Tomas' woraround doesn't work, I have choosen
to patch livekit to be able to find the version to boot
even in nested folders with the patch below:

--- livekitlib 2012-10-12 15:41:18.171741544 +0000
+++ livekitlib.neu 2012-10-12 15:50:13.000000000 +0000
@@ -5,6 +5,16 @@
#

# =================================================================
+# enable start from custom folder using commandline value from
+# =================================================================
+
+if [ -z "$from" ]; then
+ FROM=$LIVEKITNAME
+else
+ FROM="$from"
+fi
+
+# =================================================================
# debug and output functions
# =================================================================

@@ -258,9 +268,9 @@
FS="$(device_bestfs "$DEVICE")"
OPTIONS="$(fs_options $FS)"
mount -r "$DEVICE" "$1" $FS $OPTIONS 2>/dev/null
- if [ -d "$1/$LIVEKITNAME" ]; then
+ if [ -d "$1/$FROM" ]; then
mount -o remount,rw "$DEVICE" "$1" 2>/dev/null
- echo "$1/$LIVEKITNAME"
+ echo "$1/$FROM"
return
fi
umount "$1" 2>/dev/null
@@ -279,7 +289,7 @@
local DATA

echo_green_star >&2
- echo -n "Looking for $LIVEKITNAME data .." >&2
+ echo -n "Looking for $FROM data .." >&2
for timeout in $(seq 1 $1); do
echo -n "." >&2
DATA="$(find_data_try "$2")"
@@ -294,7 +304,7 @@
echo "" >&2

if [ "$DATA" = "" ]; then
- fatal "$LIVEKITNAME data not found"
+ fatal "$FROM data not found"
fi

}
@@ -364,16 +374,16 @@
DM="$(mounted_device "$1" | cut -d : -f 2-)"
RAM="$DM.ram"

- echo "* Copying $LIVEKITNAME data to RAM..." >&2
+ echo "* Copying $FROM data to RAM..." >&2
mkdir -p "$RAM"
- cp -a "$DM/$LIVEKITNAME" "$RAM"
- echo "$RAM/$LIVEKITNAME"
+ cp -a "$DM/$FROM" "$RAM"
+ echo "$RAM/$FROM"

if grep -q perch /proc/cmdline; then
umount "$2"
- umount "$DM/$LIVEKITNAME/$CHANGES"
- umount "$DM/$LIVEKITNAME/$CHANGES" 2>/dev/null
- mount --bind "$RAM/$LIVEKITNAME/$CHANGES" "$2"
+ umount "$DM/$FROM/$CHANGES"
+ umount "$DM/$FROM/$CHANGES" 2>/dev/null
+ mount --bind "$RAM/$FROM/$CHANGES" "$2"
fi

umount "$DM"

Regards,

Manfred

Yes thats true sorry ... Nothing change.

Dont change the old good things thats works since many years without troubles.

Keep slax.sgn method thats never fail and permit to run many differents slax versions in frugal mode.

Modularity and frugal mode are some of the best things brings by Slax over all others distros. Please Dont break that ! :)

Just to says that many DE runs very well with Slax 7 ...

Ive tested JWM, Openbox standalone, EDE 2.0, LXDE, MATE, XFCE.

Everything runs fine and fast. Slax 7 is ready to market :)

Except those sgn things ...

Once again, keep the good work and thanx for everything ...

Actually the livecd.sgn doesn't make any difference, since if I put there a check for livecd.sgn then you'll end up with the very same trouble. So what you are after is a way how to make Slax 7 boot only Slax 7 and not data from Slax 6, right? This is already implemented in Linux Live kit and will be available in next Slax release.

Or you need (as far as I understand) a way to run Slax from different locations (using the 'from' cheatcode)? How do you prefer to use the cheatcode? eg. from=/dev/sda1/slax7/ ? or from=/slax7/ ?

Actually I have no idea what 'frugal mode' is.

Youre right with cheatcodes :

from=/dev/sda1/slax7/

thats the best method...

Frugal mode consist in copying Slax .iso or .tar content in a directory on a dir to hdd or usb flash drive and boot from it with GRUB Legacy or GRUB2 or LILO bootloaders by menu in the same manner as Syslinux or Extlinux.

Thats run very well with Slax 5 and 6.

And permit to run concurrent Slax versions.

Ok im patient. No pressure here :)

Keep your time to bring us the best slax release!

Just some suggestions ...

Thanx to answer me.

There was an important information missing in my post:

One has to rename the 'slax' folder:

If you have a Slax7 version in a folder /frugal/slax on a device /dev/sda1
and another version in a folder /slax on /dev/sdb1,
you could rename the 1st version to e.g. /frugal/slax1
and the 2nd to /slax2.

Then you can run the 1st version with appending from=frugal/slax1
and the 2nd with from=slax2 to the kernel line.

By proceeding this way there is no need of a livecd.sgn.

Manfred

"How do you prefer to use the cheatcode? eg. from=/dev/sda1/slax7/ ? or from=/slax7/ ? "

I prefer from=/slax7/ . I don't know why but ocassionally when booting up slax , the partition device number change, for eg sda1 can becomes sde1 so I rather avoid reference to sda1.

Also by using from=/slax7/ , you should be able to shift you slax installation in /slax7/ to another partition.

Perhaps the best liable method is to use the UUID of a device
given by blkid /dev/sdxX command ...

Cheatcode maybe fromUUID=UUID_number/whatever_slax7_directory_name ...