I'm a big fan of Puppy Linux. Puppy is under 200 MB so it can be run completely in RAM which makes Puppy very, very fast. Unfortunately Puppy is only 32 bit software so it can not run GPUGRID.

Rather than spend hundreds of dollars equipping crunching boxes with Windows it makes fiscal sense to use Linux. Since Puppy can't GRID I've been stuck with more bloated versions of Linux like Ubuntu/Kubuntu, until now...

Enter FatDog-64, a 64 bit version of Puppy Linux. I've used FatDoG-64 to run Rosetta and it works great. It shouldn't take too much to get GPUGRID up and running FatDog-64.

Keep in mind FatDog-64 is in a beta state so it isn't perfect but it has great potential for crunching.

I've not yet used FatDog-64 for GPUGRID but I will be making the attempt soon.

With FatDog-64 you have a super fast, fully modern OS that saves you the cost of software and the cost of a hard drive. Puppy/FatDog will run directly from CD or from a 512MB (or bigger) flash drive.

If you are interested download the latest "ISO" (currently rc3) and burn it to a CD. Boot from the CD and check it out!

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=54455

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/fatdog/iso/

Awesome!!

It lives:

http://yfrog.com/7gfatdog64boinchardinfop

and it was easy...assuming you have at least 1 GB ram...

1) Download FatDog64 iso
2) Burn iso file to a CD (as an iso disk image, not as data)
3) If your computer is not set to boot from CD select "boot from CD" in BIOS or boot menu
4) Boot from FatDog CD (you can unplug your hard drive if you are worried about it, FatDog will not be needing it)
5) Set up networking by clicking "Net-Wizard".
6) Open browser by clicking "Firefox"
7) Click "click here for pet packages"
8) Download the nvidia driver pet. Pay attention to where it puts the file.
9) Go to the file and click it. It will install automatically.
9a) Restart X server (just the GUI, not the whole OS)
10) Use Firefox to download BOINC for 64 bit Linux (it should auto detect and come up automatically on BOINC download site) Pay attention to where it puts the file.
11) Right click on the BOINC file, go to properties and make the file executable.
12) Left click, BOINC installs itself.
13) In the same folder you found the original install file there should now be a folder named BOINC. Open the folder and click on boincmgr.

The rest should be familiar (setting up BOINC and attaching to a the project).

Sounds interesting ... can you tell us which of your machines you are running this on with GPUGrid so we can see how it performs relative to the other versions of linux / win xp etc.? To help compare can you please let us know which version of the driver gets installed and what, if any overclocking you have done to your card(s). Any issues with wireless?

Hi bigtuna, we really like the software and your tutorial. Would you be willing to copy/maintain these instructions in the FAQs?

Finally, if someone would be so kind to volunteer a screencast, we would be appreciating a lot!

Note that one can easily make a USB key with permanent storage (including BOINC user/net/nvidia settings), once booted from the CD.

14. Go to the "setup" menu, select "puppy universal installer"
14a. Follow the instructions. You should have a bootable USB key (>1 GB) as a result.
14b. Shutdown the system
14c. You will be asked if you want to create a permanent storage. Answer yes.
15. Remove the CD, reboot. Your USB will now remember settings between restarts. Redo steps 4a- if necessary.

Hi bigtuna, we really like the software and your tutorial. Would you be willing to copy/maintain these instructions in the FAQs?

Finally, if someone would be so kind to volunteer a screencast, we would be appreciating a lot!

There is an issue with saving data back to a USB memory stick...

When running from the CD you are running is pure RAM which is designed to handle many read/write cycles.

If you run from a USB key your working directory changes to work from the stick. This will eventually wear a USB stick out. I'm currently trying to figure out a way to change the working directory back into ram...

The great thing about FatDog/Puppy is that there are many options for booting including a remastered CD (which could include all the extra downloaded programs).

One of my friends boots Puppy from a re-writable DVD so he is able to store data back to the optical disk.

Of course you can always install to a proper hard drive as well...

Hi bigtuna,

of course you are welcome to maintain the instructions at its new location.. in fact, that would be great :-)

Concerning the read-write cycles, if I understood how puppy works, the "changing" files are kept in RAM, and only "frozen" to USB when you shutdown or click the "SAVE" target-shaped icon on the desktop. This should mitigate the wear-out problem quite a bit (however, we could put a warning).

I think you can start a new thread in the FAQs as soon as you like. You should be able to edit them afterwards yourself as ordinary posts. Feel free to merge in my posts if you need, of course. Possibly, when done, remove the old instructions from here, so we have only one "current" set. Don't worry for the screencast! :-)

I personally love the USB solution because it provides a "known working" and reproducible environment.

Thanks,
T

Excellent, thanks also for fixing the gparted stuff! I'm putting the FAQ in evidence. (PS: Toni and TG are the same person :)