Yesterday my (Windows7) PC crapped out in an unusual way – it will boot, go through the BIOS stuff, show me the screen that says “starting windows,” and then the screen goes blank and the system hangs there forever. (or at least, half an hour, that’s all the patience I had that time.)
Can’t find my Windows disk either. The only way I can access my drives and get online is by using a bootable CD of Puppy Linux that I keep around for these emergencies.
My question is this: Several of the things I want to do involve having an up-to-date Flash Player going on. As I understand it, there is no way to install anything to modify my OS because it’s running from a disk which, of course, can’t be modified. --Right?
Or can I install the Flash update because the OS is running in RAM?
If I can install the update, how do I do that in Linux? I made the attempt a couple times, if only to familiarize myself with the process, but I get lost at the point where I need to specify a program to run the unzipped update package. Also, what is the file format ending for executables in Linux?
Thanks a lot!
You can install stuff on a livecd, but as you say it’s not permanent and depending on the amount of RAM it may slow it a bit.
This thread on Ubuntu has two methods of adding Adobe Flash, either by opening a flash video in a browser and following the install hints, or going to the distro’s repository ( dunno if Puppy Linux has one but there are also alternatives to Adobe, such as Gnash ).
Installing applications on Linux unfortunately is not as simple as clicking a .exe file. There’s an overview here. Outside the repositories ( and Opensuse has a wide selection so most human life is there ), the most common is .tar.gz, which is a zip file that when opened should present an install file to read first. If you’re lucky. Then you have to type stuff in a terminal. Only a few lines, but still annoying.
You need to install the flash update using the “Package Manager”, which will download a flash version preset up for puppy and automatically install it.
It will only be kept until you turn off the computer, unless you save you session to a jump drive or elsewhere.
As above, if you opt to install Ubuntu on a jump drive with sufficient capacity it will retain settings and you can install plugins.
Easier than a CD too.
Alternatively you can install it from the CD, alongside Windows and dual-boot.
Did you try to hit F8 during boot up and boot into safe mode?