need to start Slax from hard drive

[pob579]

Hi, I can successfully start a laptop from prepared USB.
Just copied Slax directory and run boot... file.

The brief doc on Slax web site saying simply to copy Slax folder to Windows partition, run boot file and restart.
I copied Slax folder on the laptop D: partition. When running boot file it says : Slax directory is on the same phisical disk as your Windows ... bla bla ... cannot be installed.

HOW TO MAKE IT WORK ? I don't need Windows at all. And my goal is to have SLAX on current Hard Drive.
Please detailed steps.

Thanks.

Install Slax on hard disk or USB flash drive​

In order to run Slax from hard drive or from an USB device, you need to copy the contents of the ISO file directly to your disk's root. There is just one folder called /slax/, which needs to be copied. For example Windows 8.1 will simply open the ISO file for you as like if it was a directory. You may need some special software for this task if your operating system can't access the contents of the ISO file. Alternatively, you can burn the ISO file to a CD/DVD disc and then copy it from there. You should end up with /slax/ folder on your disk, for example like E:\slax\. It is required that your disk uses msdos partition scheme (use MBR, not GPT). Furthermore, it needs to be formatted, FAT32 or ext4 is recommended.

When done, one more step is required in order to make the drive bootable: navigate to /slax/boot/ directory on your USB device or hard disk and locate bootinst.bat file there (Linux users look for bootinst.sh). Just run it by double clicking, it will make all the necessary changes to your device's master boot record so your computer's BIOS could actually understand how to boot Slax from your disk. Keep in mind that the boot installer does not support multiboot, so only Slax will be bootable from the given drive.

Next follow the same procedure like if you were booting from CD - reboot your computer and choose to boot from the USB drive or hard disk in your computer's boot menu. Again, you may need to consult your BIOS documentation to find out how to boot an operating system on your computer from your desired device.​

 

[DexTheDog]

Why SLAX instead of something like puppy?

 

[pob579]

what you have against Slax ?
Jocking...
It's just 300MB. Use it as VM. It run fine from USB.
I found some doc that saying on first boot it should show option for Install. But with latest release there is non...

So, I am asking on Linux forum guys who can help.
Thanks.

 

[pob579]

Just checked Puppy... It's basically says 300MB too
Will give a shot.

 

[pob579]

I created Puppy USB. Boot it. There is no INSTALL option.
I want to install it on Harddrive.

 

[pob579]

Tried Puppy... not good for me ... Slax is absolutely better from all perspectives (again, for me).

PLEASE let me know how to install it on harddrive (it's SSD, so should be just fine). I cannot figure out ans there is no official exact instruction.

 

[KGIII]

I just skimmed the complete documentation and it doesn't appear that they really support it.

You could treat your SSD like a USB. You could probably use a live instance of a distro with more features, like Ubuntu. In the live instance install Balena Etcher. Start Etcher and point it first at your Slax .iso and then tell it to write it to the SSD.

I haven't actually tried that, but it should work.

 

[pob579]

I just skimmed the complete documentation and it doesn't appear that they really support it.

You could treat your SSD like a USB. You could probably use a live instance of a distro with more features, like Ubuntu. In the live instance install Balena Etcher. Start Etcher and point it first at your Slax .iso and then tell it to write it to the SSD.

I haven't actually tried that, but it should work.

cool idea... so just to be sure I folow you...
should I install Balena into Windows 10 and then try to proceed?
I don't need any other distro than Slax. Love it.

 

[KGIII]

Sure, it doesn't matter which OS you use as far as I am concerned.

You'd then want to ensure your SSD was hooked up to the system, perhaps with an external drive caddy or just slaving it to the computer you'll be using.

It *should* work. You probably won't even have to change the BIOS to tell it to boot to the drive, unless you intend to have other bootable drives plugged in at the time of boot.

 

[pob579]

Sure, it doesn't matter which OS you use as far as I am concerned.

You'd then want to ensure your SSD was hooked up to the system, perhaps with an external drive caddy or just slaving it to the computer you'll be using.

It *should* work. You probably won't even have to change the BIOS to tell it to boot to the drive, unless you intend to have other bootable drives plugged in at the time of boot.

SSD is the main drive in Dell laptop. Currently, Windows 10 on it.
> Start Etcher and point it first at your Slax .iso and then tell it to write it to the SSD.
I created E: partition and formated it as exFAT. So, should I put ISO on it and then run Balena.
Initially, copied Slax folder to this partition and run boot, but it didn't allow ...

 

[KGIII]

Oh, man... Putting it on a partition may add extra difficulties - 'cause I'm not sure how Etcher deals with partitions.

And, no... You don't copy the .iso anywhere for this. You *write* the .iso to the disk in question. Again, I'd strongly urge you to not use a partitioned disk 'cause I have no idea how that's gonna work out.

You use Etcher, first picking the .iso and then setting the disk as the destination drive.

Hmm... See this link:

balenaEtcher: A Tool To Turn Linux .ISO Files Into Bootable USB Drives • Linux Tips

balenaEtcher is a free software tool to write .ISO files to USBs so that you can boot from them and install Linux. balenaEtcher is just one of many tools to do this.

linux-tips.us

Except you won't be picking a USB drive, you'll be picking the SSD (and correct partition, assuming it lets you?)

Again, I caution you against trying this on a partitoned disk. If you can put it on its own disk, at least to test this out, I'd urge you to do that. I have no idea what the results are going to be.

 

[DexTheDog]

Are you using the debian or slackware version?

 

[forester]

@pob579 -- AFAIK, Slax cannot be run from hdd or ssd. But I suppose one could say the ssd is "Flash" and use it this way -- I have not tried it -- an external SSD connected via USB

Puppy has an option termed "Frugal Install" -- and get used to the boot options that designate where bootinbg from and where to look for the savefile -- it is recommended users use Frugal. One may also log into it as either root or "Spot" (Puppy is always root without this option) for more online security, such as it may be.

Puppy has a steeper learning curve .

 

[Old Tom Bombadil]

AFAIK, Slax cannot be run from hdd or ssd

Well, yes it can. I installed it on an internal SSD this morning. The OP included instructions in post #1 from the Slax website. Those instructions work, but they are not in step-by-step order.

Balena Etcher won't work with Slax on a USB or a hard drive because it will not make the drive bootable. Slax is quite different from most typical Linux distros, and this is one example of that. Personally, I would recommend the 64-bit Debian version of Slax because it is a bit easier than Slackware for new users to learn.

NOTE: Both Step 1 and Step 2 below will erase Windows. Be sure to backup any important files before starting.

1. It is very helpful to prepare the hard drive first... I would use a Linux Mint Live USB because it has Gparted. Use Gparted to Create Partition Table on the SSD as msdos. This is required in the dev's instructions. GPT will not work, and the OP's SSD with Windows 10 may be GPT. Don't skip this step.

2. After creating the msdos partition table, use Gparted to add a FAT32 or EXT4 partition on the SSD. Adding the partition is usually enough, but you can also format the new partition as FAT32 or EXT4 to be sure. Again, follow the dev's instructions. I don't think exFAT will work. EXT4 is actually preferred over FAT32 so you get the full capacity of the SSD.... FAT32 will only give you 4GB (see note below).

3. (Recommended by me, not the developer)... Go into BIOS Setup and change Boot Options to Legacy Mode. Disable Secure Boot and Fast Boot if present. This may save some headaches. The Slax installer will create an EFI folder, but I'm not familiar with using Slax with UEFI.

4. Boot on a Slax Live USB. Open the File Manager and copy the /slax/ folder from the USB to the SSD.

5. Use the File Manager to go into the /slax/boot/ folder (on the SSD) and double-click on the bootinst.bat file and choose Execute. This is the step that makes the SSD bootable. Exit the Live Slax USB and reboot to the SSD.

If the bootinst.bat file does not run with double-clicking it, you may have to open a terminal, navigate to /slax/boot/ on the SSD and run the batch file manually. If it still doesn't run, you can try the bash script, bootinst.sh, instead. But I usually find the batch file works fine.

I hope I didn't forget anything. It's not hard to do, just different.

Note from the Slax website:

The file changes.dat is designed to work even on FAT filesystems, which are commonly used on most USB flash drives. Unfortunately FAT is limited to 4GB file size; for that reason, persistent changes can't grow more. In case you need to save more, please format your storage drive with some Linux filesystem such as EXT4 or BTRFS and install Slax to it. Slax will be able to save changes natively and will be limited only by the actual capacity of your device. Persistent Changes functionality does not (of course) affect files on hard drives in your computer. If you modify these files, they will always be modified regardless of your persistent changes settings.

 

[pob579]

Thx. I will try it. If not I can go with something else.
I want to make this Dell that is not completely from Jurassic Park era for my brother. It has just 4 GB of RAM, but 4 years ago I installed SSD into... now it's dying with Windows10. And flyiing with Linux. Slax is absolutely clean. All what he needs is BROWSER.
Puppy has tons of icons that probably possible to "wipe" out. I just checked he uses now his previous Dell from 2010 with Mint 18. It run perfect but he has the issue with mouse pad.
I will do this old a new one with Linux.
Thanks again for instructions. Will give a shot tomorrow.

 

[pob579]

ended up simply by installing Mint. It simply flies. And interface is clean. Sure it's 2.4GB ISO with Open Office and etc.
But who cares. Anyway I appreciate your suggestion for SLAX and will keep it if need. BTW, I think I have some old dumb HP laptops. So will probably try for fun.
Thanks again.

 

[darry1966]

I created Puppy USB. Boot it. There is no INSTALL option.
I want to install it on Harddrive.

Puppy has the universal installer - so yes there is an installer to HD.

How to Install Puppy Linux: The Complete Beginner's Guide

This wikiHow teaches you how to install Puppy Linux on your PC. Unlike other distributions, Puppy Linux doesn't require a full installation—you can just create a boot disc or drive and boot from it as needed. If you do want to install it...

www.wikihow.com

 

[pob579]

Thanks...

 

[pob579]

Well, yes it can. I installed it on an internal SSD this morning. The OP included instructions in post #1 from the Slax website. Those instructions work, but they are not in step-by-step order.

Balena Etcher won't work with Slax on a USB or a hard drive because it will not make the drive bootable. Slax is quite different from most typical Linux distros, and this is one example of that. Personally, I would recommend the 64-bit Debian version of Slax because it is a bit easier than Slackware for new users to learn.

NOTE: Both Step 1 and Step 2 below will erase Windows. Be sure to backup any important files before starting.

1. It is very helpful to prepare the hard drive first... I would use a Linux Mint Live USB because it has Gparted. Use Gparted to Create Partition Table on the SSD as msdos. This is required in the dev's instructions. GPT will not work, and the OP's SSD with Windows 10 may be GPT. Don't skip this step.

2. After creating the msdos partition table, use Gparted to add a FAT32 or EXT4 partition on the SSD. Adding the partition is usually enough, but you can also format the new partition as FAT32 or EXT4 to be sure. Again, follow the dev's instructions. I don't think exFAT will work. EXT4 is actually preferred over FAT32 so you get the full capacity of the SSD.... FAT32 will only give you 4GB (see note below).

3. (Recommended by me, not the developer)... Go into BIOS Setup and change Boot Options to Legacy Mode. Disable Secure Boot and Fast Boot if present. This may save some headaches. The Slax installer will create an EFI folder, but I'm not familiar with using Slax with UEFI.

4. Boot on a Slax Live USB. Open the File Manager and copy the /slax/ folder from the USB to the SSD.

5. Use the File Manager to go into the /slax/boot/ folder (on the SSD) and double-click on the bootinst.bat file and choose Execute. This is the step that makes the SSD bootable. Exit the Live Slax USB and reboot to the SSD.

If the bootinst.bat file does not run with double-clicking it, you may have to open a terminal, navigate to /slax/boot/ on the SSD and run the batch file manually. If it still doesn't run, you can try the bash script, bootinst.sh, instead. But I usually find the batch file works fine.

I hope I didn't forget anything. It's not hard to do, just different.

Note from the Slax website:

>
5. Use the File Manager to go into the /slax/boot/ folder (on the SSD) and double-click on the bootinst.bat file and choose Execute. This is the step that makes the SSD bootable. Exit the Live Slax USB and reboot to the SSD.

no execute it edits file. Tried few things... how to execute? Tried even from full mint install with wine...
Do all this for fun already. but would like to see Slax on disk.
Also, if it will be installed. Would it gets updates?

 

[Old Tom Bombadil]

no execute it edits file

Then I'd guess you are viewing the file with a live USB that is not Slax (as I said in Step 4). If you boot on a Slax USB and use its File Manager, I think it will work.

But there is another way too. From any live Linux USB, use its File Mangager to navigate to your hard drive where you copied the Slax folder, and go into the Boot folder where the scripts are. Then, right-click in that area and tell the File Manager to "Open in Terminal".

From the terminal, use the ls command to show the files and confirm that you're in the right place.

You probably need to be root, so give the comand sudo su.

Then you give the command for the batch file, but you need ./ at the beginning, like this:

./bootinst.bat

That should run correctly, but if not, you can also try the other file:

./bootinst.sh

I hope this gets you there! Good luck!