Help updating from firefox 7.0.1 on an acer aspire one runnin linux linpus lite

[rosiered]

Hello, I currently have an acer aspire one netbook, running linux linpus lite. I have been having trouble trying to update firefox - my live update won't work and after I downloaded directly from firefox, the files wouldn't extract from the download.  I would really appreciate some help. Thanks

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Hi rosiered, and welcome to the forum

2 things -

a) Firefox version 8 really didn't work on Linpus Lite .. I don't know about later versions, but if you want to give the latest a go I'm willing to help ?

b) You REALLY should ditch Linpus Lite in favour of something like Peppermint 3 .. which has VERY easy (couple of clicks) access to all the latest software .. Linpus Lite is VERY old and no longer receiving software or security updates.

Which route would you like to take ?

Did you say you're currently on Firefox 7.0.1 ? .. if so, which instructions did you follow to install it ?

--

[rosiered]

I don't really knows the difference between all the different software options, i'm willing to try anything!

I just followed the instructions on the firefox site, download then extract.. but it hasn't done anything, can you run me through how to update to peppermint 3?

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Be Aware .. installing Peppermint 3 is going to completely erase your SSD and replace the Linpus Lite operating system with Peppermint.

So be SURE to backup your documents first.

If you have a lot of Firefox bookmarks etc. it may also be a good idea to backup the hidden ~/.mozilla directory too .. do you need help doing this ?

BTW there's a FULL tutorial for installing Peppermint 3 on an Acer Aspire One netbook here:
http://linuxforums.org.uk/index.php?topic=10313.0

[rosiered]

Hello, i understand that .. I'm not too concerned about losing anything from my netbook. Do I need to have an alternative computer to be able to download peppermint 3?

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

YES .. there is AFAIK no way to create a Peppermint LiveUSB from within Linpus Lite.

Though there's a possibility that unetbootin will work in Linpus Lite .. you can download unetbootin here:
http://switch.dl.sourceforge.net/project/unetbootin/UNetbootin/583/unetbootin-linux-583
Then you'll need to mark it as executable

Have you got access to a Windows PC ? .. or do you want instructions to try unetbootin on Linpus Lite ?

--

[SeZo]

@Mark

there is AFAIK no way to create a Peppermint LiveUSB from within Linpus Lite.

Maybe with your connections with the Peppermint devs, you could convince them to make their iso into a hybrid one (if it is not already) by using isohybrid ?

Code: [Select]

isohybrid <peppermint.iso>

as described here

Starting  in  version 3.72, ISOLINUX supports a "hybrid mode" which can
       be booted from either CD-ROM or from a device which  BIOS  considers  a
       hard disk or ZIP disk, e.g. a USB key or similar.

Then potential new users without the benefit of a cdrom or second machine could just use the dd command to create the bootable USB stick:

Code: [Select]

dd bs=4M if=/path/to/peppermint.iso of=/dev/sdx

Making sure that the USB device is not mounted, write to disk, not partition (use /dev/sdx not /dev/sdx1)
Instructions are here (also how to restore the USB drive to its normal state)

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Oddly, it is being discussed

I've walked people through creating isohybrid images of peppermint and using cat/dd to bung it on a USB stick on the Peppermint forum .. and even hosted an isohybrid Peppermint 3 ISO image in my dropbox for a while.

But for some reason it slipped my mind this time around

Thanks for the reminder .. if necessary I can always upload it again.

--

[SeZo]

Hmm.. Is there no demand for hybrid isos then? Or it is too much work for the devs to create and host this type of isos?

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

It's only come up a couple of times on the Peppermint forum .. but I drew it to the devs attention .. whether they'll act on it is up to them, but at the time the last respin had only just been released.

Creating the isohybrid image takes less than a second .. and so far I've found no downside other than lack of persistence which is not important if it's only going to be used as an installation medium.

It has turned out to be handy for some .. guy here:
http://www.peppermintos.net/viewtopic.php?p=31120
who's motherboard won't boot FAT/SYSLINUX, but has no problem with ISO9660/ISOLINUX

But here's my take on offering it a first solution .. dd (cat less so, but even cat in this case) still scares the hell outa me, and there's far too much scope for for destroying the data on other drives .. so I tend to view it as a last resort.

With that in mind, you'll probably understand why I'm in no crazy rush to follow up with the devs .. if it's there I'll no doubt use it, and at some point someones going to screw up their data and blame me

--