Thanks rokytnji for responding! I'm sorry I didn't submit from the very beginning these needed specs.

VAIO VGR AR250G - 512MB RAM - {no hdd installed} - BIOS=Phoenix Technologies [R0150J6] - SanDisk=TransFlash 128MB (inserted in a TransFlash Adapter) {could also be put in a Motorola Secure Digital USB Adapter}

Read many lines in the linked forum pages but those discussions were too technical & covering many aspects of others' problems/specific-situations that a little headache is approaching to my forehead..., thanks for the links anyway!

Do you know what application is running & producing that panic message? Something that might do a lot is learning where Puppy saves the config files (i.e., my location, keyboard, date & time, LAN & WiFi settings, etc.); the browser settings (History, Bookmarks, destination folder for the D/L's, other settings as in Preferences). My point here is that while running Lucid511 in this machine from the live cd (which comes with Midori only) I can't reach my Yahoo acct. because it uses https, so I resorted to D/L another browser that supports those & put it/them in the card. Then I've to install the browser each time I boot up if I'm pretending to use https sites; I also have to import my Bookmarks from there & then start to complete my browser settings. If I only knew where those config files were I could save them to the card before shutting down; then my problem would be deciding when & how to put those files in their proper places (I'm sure a script could be written specifically for this - which has to be placed in the card as well). Do you agree?

That is all saved in your personal .pupsave file you should have made when puppy was shut down while running live. In other words, You can use the Cd to run Puppy. Use the CF card to save when you shutdown. When booting puppy cd. It will look for that pupsave file in the cf card when it boots (that is my understanding at least).

Since Puppy runs in ram while booting off the cd. 512MB of ram should be fine to run live off the cd. I would just use the cf card to hold changes in Puppy and use the cd to run off of. You can eject the cd after it boots up and finishes loading desktop and connecting. Hope you understand what I am trying to say here. You do not need to install Puppy 5.1 to run it and save whatever changes. Just point (when you finish connecting, installing new browser and bookmarks,etc...) when puppy shuts down and asks "save changes" . Point it to the cf card. Give it 1gig of space. Tell it to save there. Puppy will format that cf card as ext2 file system for the pupsave changes (just the space you tell it to, whether 512MB or 1 gig). It will leave the rest of the cf card alone. I have never tried saving to cf card. I usually save to SSD drive or SD Flash or USB flash or Internal IDE drive partition. Hope you understand.

Edit: just realized you said transflash 128MB. Is that the CF card? I thought it was bigger like 2 gig or so. Tell save to only use 128MB if that is the case. Not a lot of room for a lot of changes though. 1 gig would be best. 512MB is usually good to. 128 MB is small.

Here also

http://puppylinux.org/main/index.php...ll%20Puppy.htm


http://puppylinux.org/main/index.php...ard%20Disk.txt

http://www.mygnulinux.com/?p=385

Thanks rokytnji for responding!

When I referred to 'where puppy puts those config files' above wasn't referring to the final destination, instead I was supposing that a separate folder/file was getting fatten/modified as one progresses using the OS & browser(s) & it's when the shutdown sequence starts that puppy gathers all that data/files & respective locations & puts all of them within the pupsave file (maybe a compressed file). If this's correct, then having the possibility of gathering all these files & putting them in the card before shutting down the syst. enables you to put them back to their respective places once the syst.'s running back again. I know, that's preciely the purpose of puppy when asking to save these files, but my problem's that if I do that, when Lupu's starting up it ends up in a kernel panic. So, in the meantime, I would prefer that there's some method of circumvent this loop-hole. Thanks for mentioning that Lupu saves the pupsave file in an ext2 file syst., I'm using an ext3 one - I'll change it before shutting down & recheck the startup process by rebooting inmediately.

Also note that I mentioned above Lupu, this's because I downloaded & made a live cd with it & this's the OS that I'm trying to boot with the pupsave file in the card. I still have the cd with PL431 but after trying to save pupsave file in the cd it stopped booting up as is normal; for it to boot I've to make some selections at the grub screen before the sequence begins.

I already visited the 1st link provided before doing anything & tried the usb method: didn't work for me. In my dead laptop I had PL421 installed besides Windows in a frugal installation & it worked very well - 2nd link' reference. More or less, that was the methods I used in my dead laptop: 3rd link reference. I should say now (if in case I didn't before) that this VAIO has no HD & that's the pivotal thing with my issues.

What selections. Is it asking what sfs to load?

By the way. Certain folks are just like you getting Kernel panics with Lupu on older gear. I have responded in Murga forums to IBM A20m user and a IBM T20 user who experiences exactly what you experience with Lupu. They have Hardrives and CDROMs. It seems to be something with OLD bios and Lupu Kernel conflict. That is why older Puppy Linux Distros work on older gear. It has something to do with newer kernel (seems to be Puppy Lupu 5.1 specific) and old bios.

Can I suggest something else. I run MacPUP which uses E17 Desktop (which is quite attractive,fast, and modern looking) on one of my older Laptop (only have 1 left now, a IBM A22m). Macpup is based on Puppy 4.31. There is a Macpup Foxy (Firefox version though that does not matter as any browser can be installed as a sfs in a frugal install) and a Macpup Opera version (which firefox can also be installed to using a sfs file in a frugal install)

Just opening your eyes to what is available and what can be done with Puppy. I won't run Lupu Puppy 5.1 yet because I consider it still with bugs even though Puppy has it listed as a release candidate. Just my opinion. But I consider 4.31 based Puppies to be stable and easy to use. Lots of prepackaged pets and sfs files for 4.31. And Lupu does not play well yet with Ubuntu repos and packages. That bug report thread that gave you a headache kinda bears my point out. If you have any more CDs. Give Macpup a shot. You might like it. The newer MacPup Opera comes with a 2.6.30.5 kernel. So that is pretty recent for a puppy distro.

http://www.macpup.org/

or just watch the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAljSNALFrM

Edit: forgot to mention. You can find a lot of Video How tos just by going to sneekylinux in youtube or type puppy linux in you tube search.

Today I managed to put the pupsave file within an iPod (256MB), rebooted & it worked! The iso file in the live cd is 130MB & the free space within the CFCard isn't even 115MB. I decided to try to trim some fat from it by using a remastering cd utility that comes with Lupu but I didn't know how to use it & I was auto-declared 'tilted'.

What I'm thinking of doing with that card is finding another puplet with much less memory requirements that, if possible, could solve at least one of the unresolved issues that I have with this notebook.

Thanks for everything! I'll post anything else that might arise...