Puppy 4.3

This page documents the files available at ibiblio.org (and its mirrors) and puppylinux.com.

Internally, Puppy uses 3-digit version numbering, and this is version '430'. In official announcements we stick in dots, but they are cosmetic only. For example 4.3, 4.3.0, or even 4.30 all refer to the same version.

The announcement and release notes are here:

http://puppylinux.com/download/release-4.3.htm

Please go to the main download page to find the best mirror:

http://puppylinux.com/download/

Files that you can download...

pup-430.iso	105.1MB	This is the main guy. Puppy version 4.3 live-CD, with 2.6.30.5 kernel, heaps of drivers and applications.
	split-pup	Are you on dialup? Look in the 'split-pup' folder, pup-430.iso is split into 8 separate files for easy download. See instructions below.
devx_430.sfs	89.8MB	SFS files are "application combo packs". This one provides everything you need to turn Puppy into a complete C/C++/Vala/Genie compiling environment.
	split-devx	Are you on dialup? Look in the 'split-devx' folder, devx_430.sfs is split into 10 separate files for easy download. After download, concatenate them together. See instructions below.
woof-20090917.tar.gz	10.2MB	Build your own custom puppy live-CD from PET packages. This requires some expertise with the Linux commandline and a hard drive partition with a Linux filesystem. Broadband Internet access required. Please read http://puppylinux.com/woof/

Special puppies

These are all version 4.3, but with some variation. Please monitor the forum and you will find many more, created by Puppy enthusiasts.

A word of advice
if you try more than one .iso file, be sure to delete all traces of the previous one before testing the next. When you shutdown the first time and save the session to hard drive (to what we call the "pupsave" file), one or two files off the CD are also copied to the hard drive: pup-430.sfs (and maybe zp430305.sfs). The easiest way to cleanup is to boot the next live-CD with the boot parameter "puppy pfix=ram" (which starts up with Puppy running totally in RAM) and after bootup take a look on the hard drive and delete those previous files.

However, if you shutdown without saving a session, then the above problem will not occur. Thus, for quick evaluation of these live-CDs, run each one without saving the session, so nothing gets left behind on the hard drive.

pup-430-small.iso	96.2MB	This is in all respects the same as 'pup-430.iso' except that it has less drivers. In particular, less modem drivers. It will still satisfy 95% of users though, and is a good choice for situations where Puppy is required to run totally in RAM -- such as the multisession-CD/DVD mode and diskless workstations.
pup-430-k2.6.25.16.iso	103.4MB	This is very similar to 'pup-430.iso', except has an older kernel. The 2.6.25.16 kernel is the same as used in Puppy 4.1x and 4.2x. You might find this one works better on some old hardware.
pup-430-k2.6.25.16-scsi.iso	104.5MB	Same as above, except also has SCSI drivers, enabling this one to not just recognise SCSI drives but also boot from them.
pup-430-k2.6.21.7.iso	101.6MB	This is built with an even older kernel. The 2.6.21.7 kernel goes back to Puppy 3.x.
devx-SFS3_430.sfs	89.8MB	The 2.6.25.16 and 2.6.21.7 kernels use Squashfs version 3.x, whereas the latest 2.6.30.5 kernel uses Squashfs 4.0. The SFS files are not compatible, so I have to provide this "devx" file especially for the older kernels.

Instructions for split files

If you are a newcomer to Puppy and on dialup, the split files are an easy way to download the live-CD.
You will need to check the integrity of the downloaded files -- see the 'md5sum.exe' program on the download page http://puppylinux.com/download/.

The split files are named xaa, xab, xac, xad, etc.

If you are running Linux, you can combine the pieces like this:

> cat x* > pup-430.iso

If you are running Windows, you need to open a DOS-box:

Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Command prompt

You will then have to use the 'cd' (change directory) command to navigate to the folder in which you have downloaded the files.

Then you can do this to recombine them:

> copy /b x* pup-430.iso

However, Puppy forum member MattN has made this comment:

You have to be careful when you use wildcards in DOS. If you have any fragmentation you will get the files as DOS wants to get them. The best way is to specify each file as it is to be put in place (i.e. COPY /b xaa+xab+xac+xad+xae pup-430.iso).

There are various Windows file splitting and joining programs. One of them is HJ-Join:

http://www.freebyte.com/hjsplit.htm

...note that if you want to use this to join the files, they have to be renamed. I haven't tested it (I haven't used Windows for ages). If you find any Windows GUI app that works, let me know.

Forum member 'adi' informed me that Total Commander is able to join files:

http://www.ghisler.com/

On the otherhand, modern download managers have a resume feature, so even if you can't download a 100MB file in one go, you can log back in and resume the download. So, you might not need to download all those pieces!

...actually, I would like some feedback on that. Were the split files useful to you? Comment at my blog: http://puppylinux.com/blog/

Once you have got a running Puppy, future upgrades are much easier, as Puppy 4.3 has the Xdelta file difference manager. This is a tool that enables us to create a single file that has the differences between two versions of Puppy. Thus to upgrade from Puppy 4.3 to 4.3.1 you will only need to download one small "difference file".

Old kernels

The 2.6.25.16 kernel has been a workhorse used in Puppy for over a year, from version 4.1 up to 4.2x. We do find sometimes that a particular older kernel works for certain older hardware, that might not be supported properly in a later kernel. Generally the 2.6.30.5 kernel works well with old hardware, but there might be some exceptions.

As the 2.6.25.16 kernel has been in use for so long, there have been a lot of upgraded drivers compiled for it. This forum thread is one place to find them:

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=34159

...note that I have incorporated many of those drivers into the 4.3 build with 2.6.25.16 kernel, but in the second half to final third of the thread probably not.

You will find other updated and new drivers posted on the forum. For example 'Patriot' posted upgraded ALSA (sound) drivers here:

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=45326

Puppy 4.1x was has a "retro" build with the 2.6.21.7 kernel. An even older kernel, but once again there might be some quirky old hardware out there that works best with this kernel. So, I have also built Puppy 4.3 with this kernel.

Actually, the 2.6.21.7 kernel goes back aways. It was used in the Puppy 3.x series, two years ago. You may also find some upgraded drivers for it on the forum.

Note that you can find the patched sources and also source SFS files for all the kernels at:

http://puppylinux.com/sources/

Please note that these older builds are provided on an as-is basis, and I am unlikely to put in much effort to finding any bugs in them -- especially if the bug does not exist in Puppy built with the latest kernel. However, there are enthusiasts of the older kernels on the forum who may be interested in providing ongoing support.

Regards,
Barry Kauler
September 2009