[Peeweelinux] software is for geeks; docs are for nerds

[jim barchuk]

Hi All!

Software is for geeks; docs are for nerds. But I think pwl is intricate
enough to need some. The help screens are -very- useful, thank you.
Obviously the docs are totally outdated. Personally I think it'd be better
to simply remove -all- of them, READMEs too, rather than confuse simple
minded people like myself with misleading information. :) I've downloaded
and read the full list archives with lots of great background info but
nothing related to my particular problem.

I get the impression that pwl used to be more difficult to use. The
purpose of the menued install system is to reduce the difficulty. With a
little practice it really does go very smoothly. The drawback is that it
also insulates the user from the guts of what's going on and doesn't give
a lot of feedback.

Downloaded the binary distribution. With each run I completely delete and
reuntar the Embedded_Build tree to make sure I'm starting from the same
known point each time. (That's easy with a P4/1.4G but would *NOT* have
been fun with my previous PPRO/200. LOL!)

Here's a blow by blow description of exactly what I do. I'm giving
excruciating detail to make sure I'm not pushing a wrong button. Most
likely it's some simple misunderstanding on my part, and without real docs
it's hard to figure out.

=======

./pwlconfig
minimal.tgs - Exit
No packages found. Extract? Yes Extracting...

Didn't select either Create Custom Kernel or Configure Project File System
because this is a plain vanilla minimal 'trial run' install.

Extract File System ./projects/minimal/mnt - A few errors:

tar: boot: Cannot mkdir: File exists
tar: dev: Cannot mkdir: File exists
tar: usr/bin: Cannot mkdir: File exists
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors

None of these bother me much, the subdirs are there. Exit

Configure Target Hardware - Convert configuration file from 0.53.10 to
0.61.1? Yes. (Selecting No refuses to proceed further.) Configuration
Reset - OK

Projects Default Menu - Changed target device to fd0 - Exit - It's
*really* scary to think that if I didn't pay attention to that it'd have
wiped my system. :(

Load File System onto Target /dev/fd0 - Yes - Succeeded

Question at this point: '2772+0 records out - 70.3%.' Does that mean that
I have .5M free on the floppy for other apps/options?

Hit 'Save configuration' to keep that fd0 target. Exit.

I *think* everything went correctly because du -s
~/Embedded_Build/projects/minimal/mnt returns 2860 and that tree is chock
full of files.

Pop the floppy into target box. Boot looks normal, 'welcome to peewee.'
Yay!

Login as root/redhat.

ls -l returns 'total 0'.

=======

At -that- point I am obviously dead in the water. I have a booted linux
box with no 'file system,' directory tree, executables.

I know that if I can just get past this one tiny problem pwl will be a
tremendously useful tool.

TIA and have a :) day!

jb

-- 
jim barchuk
jb@jbarchuk.com