howto upgrade pupwin98 to 2.11

note: you can in fact get the necessary files to do this without downloading TWO 60-70mb files. pup4dos does what pupwin98 does... but i already have pupwin98 (which is puppy 1.07 so you know) and i still like it a lot. here's how to use it with dos grub (slightly different than pup4dos!) and the 2.11 files:

*assuming you don't have a puppy 2.11 cd:

you'll have to extract the files from the .iso file. in 2.11 (catch 22, but good for future versions?) this can probably be done in iso editor? in windows, 7zip can extract iso files. in puppy 1.07, .iso files can be mounted with qemu or dosbox. see the forum / wiki posts for details.

*assuming you do have a puppy 2.11 cd:

1. if you don't want the win98 screen on
startup anymore, type ECHO. > \logo.sys
in dos.

2. copy the pup_211.sfs on the cd to \

3. rename \puppy\vmlinuz to vmlinuz.1
copy the vmlinuz on the cd to \puppy

4. copy initrd.gz from the cd to \puppy

5. copy menu.lst to menu.txt
open menu.lst in a text editor:
change "image.gz" to "initrd.gz"

that should do it!

so far, the reasons i am considering upgrading my machine from 1.07 to 2.11:

* puppybasic goes from older version to 2.5 (it's a .pup too though i think)
* better hardware support (i have a usb key that didn't work with 1.07)
* the taskbar now includes icons / for show desktop / console / editor
* the taskbar now shows how much free ram (or is it ramdisk?) you have
* iso editor !!!!
* some of the control panel apps have dramatically improved
* new 2.6.x kernel

the newer version IS slightly slower than 1.07. on old hardware, it's something to consider. however, 2.11 will work on a wider variety of newer *and* older hardware... (the kernel in 1.07 may still be better for some older machines.)


ktwi: puppy 1.07 -> 2.11, probably versions of puppy 2.x prior to 2.11 also, but not 2.12 or later (haven't tried this with zdrv yet.)

thanks to: nevermore, amish