Most LQ regs know my posts by now, and again I need your help.
Some may remember that I have made a few multidistro CD/USB available for download here.
I am learning as much as I can being limited by my ignorance of PC's in general (3yrs) and linux too(3months now).
I basically know zilch about programming, but have a small grasp of bash scripts.
I have been playing with "Billix" lately and have found several discrepencies in the different versions of it.
Billix, like DSL-embedded and QemuPuppy, claims that DSL will play through Qemu on either linux or windows, via the dsl-linux.sh/dsl-windows.bat scripts and the qemu folder found inside Billix.
I had version 0.23, but could not get it to work...
A new version has come out-0.24, but the same problem-no Qemu play.
After looking at the dsl-linux.sh I now know why-
The 0.21-0.24 versions are very different from each other, the 0.18 is much different than the later versions also.
The Qemu folder contains different things among the differing versions.
I have added some things from the Qemu folder from previous versions to Billix-0.24
Success-I finally got it working-but would still like a "Guru" to explain to me what is exactly going on...
Basically I need these things-

1-download my "Billix-DSL-Redux" here- ( http://www.webfilehost.com/?mode=viewupload&id=3252794 ) (51MB)

Note-I have included the original scripts in the Billix-DSL-Redux.zip folder-"orig.bat.sh.zip"

The scripts you see in the Billix-Redux folder are my modified scripts-
You should be able in Linux to double-click the dsl-linux.sh and Qemu will pop open and play DSL right out of the folder or your USB-see "Qemu-linux-notes.txt" also the "myterm.txt"-the output of my terminal.

Big problem is I don't have Winbloz so I can't test to see if the .bat files work...?

The Billix-Redux doesn't contain the full billix download-only dsl and qemu and my new menu.
Billix contains dsl/qemu/netinstall ubuntu/fedora/debian/slack/centos/opensuse/mandriva-I didn't include these cause their irrelevant to dsl/qemu.

Anyway-I need someone who has windows to download my version above, and download Billix versions 0.18-0.24 and test the authors claim that qemu will play-they won't.
Mine will-at least in linux.

Now, I am curious why there are differing things in the qemu folder between versions-0.18-0.24?

I borrowed some things from the different versions to get it to work.

Please someone test my version above against Billix-0.18-0.24 and do it in both windows and linux to give me some insight into "how it works" and why the Billix-0.18-0.24 doesn't work and why mine does-

Note, there is one thing not working in mine-
When DSL loads in Qemu it will come to a xvesa setup screen-my arrow keys would not work-only if I used "shift+number pad arrows" to navigate the setup menu?

Anyone know why that is?

Again my version- ( http://www.webfilehost.com/?mode=viewupload&id=3252794 )
Note you must wait 60sec to get the download-link is at the bottom right of the webpage...

Billix mirror- ( http://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/d...e/b/bi/billix/ )

Please check this out and help me LQ Guru's!
Thanks!

REALLY-no one here knows about this or how to help?

Hi linus72

I think you may not be getting the response you want for a few reasons:

• A title like "getting Billix working with Qemu" would be more likely to attract the right people.
• As Billix is based on DSL / Puppy, it would probably be better off in one of those distro's sub-forums in Linux - Distributions (you could use the "Report" button to ask a mod to move it) - this isn't really a newbie issue!
• Your don't give any hint of the changes you've made in your version
• Have you thought of trying the Qemu developer mailing lists or user forums?

Add: The original post is about 10 times too long. Many people simply do not have the patience to read through something like this and understand all of it. Much better to post a succinct question with **adequate** background, and then let people ask you questions.

His posts are a bit long and may be hard to follow at times, but credit where credit is due, linus72 is showing initiative and putting a lot of effort into his "projects".

Noted...

A propensity for verbosity is not always correlated to other attributes.

I didn't go "in-depth" with all the changes I made to get it to work 'cause it would fill a small book and the Mod's here probably would frown on such a long post.
I don't see where Puppy has much to do with this post-it's a totally different animal.
My post is about DSL/Qemu, and why the Qemu provided with DSL in Billix doesn't seem to work "out of the box".
Yes, this is a Newbie issue-every post here is a newbie issue-if everybody here was a Linux expert then we wouldn't even need LQ.
I am a Newbie, and don't have the experience to understand all that is involved in making a distro.
There are alot of people here who know alot about scripts, and how to manipulate them, create them, etc.
I need advice from those people.
So, I will make this a longer post and tell you everything...
Here is the lists of the contents of the Qemu folder found in Billix-0.18-0.24
Billix-0.18/Qemu folder-
bios.bin
fmod.dll
harddisk
linuxboot.bin
qemu/qemu.exe/qemu-img.exe
sdl.dll
SDL.dll
vgabios.bin
vgabios-cirrus.bin

Billix-0.21/Qemu folder
bios.bin
fmod.dll
linuxboot.bin
qemu/qemu.exe/qemu-img.exe
sdl.dll
SDL.dll
vgabios.bin
vgabios-cirrus.bin

Billix-0.22/Qemu folder
same as .21

Billix-0.23/Qemu folder
same as .21 except
linux_boot.bin

Billix-0.24/Qemu folder
same as 0.23

The only real differences are that 0.18 has "harddisk" and the others do not.
Here is the 0.21-0.24 "dsl-linux.sh"-
Look carefully-"-hda KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX", "-hdb qemu/harddisk", "modules=hdb".
Inside Billix is a "DSL/KNOPPIX" folder-not "KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX", there is no "qemu/harddisk" in versions 0.21-0.24, so "modules=hdb" is fruitless.

So, to try and fix what is "alien" to a Newbie like me, I bumbled around changing the "dsl-linux.sh" in various ways till I got it to work-kinda.
Here is my modified "dsl-linux.sh"-
As you can see-many differences. Now Qemu plays DSL either right out of the folder on my Desktop or my USB-after I did this in terminal per "qemu-linux-notes.txt" in the Billix folder.

Qemu-linux-notes.txt-
That's my edited "qemu-linux-notes.txt" from the original.
Now, after doing all that DSL boots and plays thru Qemu-except when booting it gets to a "xvesa-setup" screen-but the arrow buttons on the keyboard don't work!
After fiddling-I found that I had to use "shift+numberpad arrows" to navigate the setup screen.
Now, the other problems are that since there is no "qemu/harddisk" you can't backup anything and when I added the "harddisk" found in version-0.18 to my 0.24 DSL-4.4.10 Bilix folder-it booted up an old version of DSL-so "harddisk" must be an actual DSL version-renamed "harddisk".right? Note "harddisk" is about 50MB-same as DSL itself.??

The help I need from experienced Linux users is "how to put it all together so it works right".

I am not a coder and very limited with shell scripts.

The other issue is that I don't have Windows-so can't test the ".bat" files that do the same thing "dsl-linux.sh" does. So, I also need someone whoo has Windows to test them.

I thought uploading my Billix-redux with only DSL/Qemu would be a good way for others to help-my purpose is to "save face" for the Billix developers and make something that actually works.

Of course, I tried to contact the Billix makers, but to no avail...

So, for clarity I need some "testers" and qualified makers of shell scripts to tell me what the Billix people are doing wrong and what I'm doing wrong.

I know this DSL/Qemu thing can work-but lack the knowledge of how to do it.
So, please download versions 0.18-0.24 of Billix and my modified version of 0.24 and figure out how to get this working-please...

linus72;
I am not quite sure what to say here...

You seemed to be concerned that noone was responding to this thread.
I suggested that maybe there were too many words for the average person to read.
Now you post something even longer......

At the end of your latest post, I **can** clearly see what you are asking. My only other advice is that there are not that many people here that are going to dive in an tackle this with the gusto which you obviously have.

Good luck...

While this is an admirably Socratic attitude, I do think that you're selling yourself short . In threads like this one and this one, you are not taking like a newbie.

To me, a newbie question is "I've installed Ubuntu, but can't connect to the internet", not "I've just modified a distro..." Linux (or GNU/Linux/X/Gnome/...) is such a complex beast that I don't think anyone is an expert in the sense you mean - I'd be prepared to bet that even Richard Stallman and the sainted Linus himself need to ask for help from time to time.

Well-my only response could be-"if you want something done right, do it yourself!"
Obviously this is not a forum to help Newbie's, but rather a place to chitchat about meaningless drivel such as "what programs do you wanna see ported to slack" or maybe "my top 10 must have apps".
I will fix it as that is my personality-so is the "lone-wolf" philosophy.
This is the reason I fix my own car and make my own home repairs, no one can be trusted to teach anyone anything these days-maybe I should've asked "how to install "lollipop" to my PC?"-that probably would've gotten a 1000 responses.
And yes I am a Newbie-3 months with Linux-2.5 years with PC (XP).

That is where you are wrong.
Seems to me you are so busy with your own project, you don't see the great picture any more.

I'm sorry, but this is simply wrong. This forum is among the best of its kind....For Linux, I think it is THE best.

All fora have a certain amount of "fluff" but--at least here--that does not detract from the fundamental value which is provided.

You may consider yourself a newbie, but you are not a typical newbie. You are one of those all-too-rare people who dig into things and try to understand. The challenge to this group is that--at least for IT--the hole has no bottom. Futher, if you go too deep too fast, the whole thing can cave in on you.

Stay with us---at 5000 posts, they'll make you a "guru". If you work **really** hard, they'll make you a moderator.....

Hi,

Don't be discouraged about not getting a response about your issue(s). It's nice that you would get to the core of your problem with providing detail but as stated not everyone would appreciate the level of your post(s). Your zeal is understood by some but not all. The depth of ones understanding is not necessarily shared by everyone yet that is how we continue to grow our knowledge base by sharing with each other at the level of our understanding.

I can see where your coming from but some may just be turned off by the amount of detail within your post. Post an abbreviated version of a off-line composed post. That way you will be able to reference or even provide additional information when necessary without over whelming someone.

I hope you take this as constructive as I do enjoy reading your post(s). I can see the zeal or thirst for understanding. That's where I was year(S) ago!

Don't take me wrong, I still find it fun to disassemble something to see how it works.

Where did that extra screw come from?

Hi,
That's encouraging!

I think the tag of guru or moderator is not the true purpose of everyones participation on LQ. I for one want to share whenever possible.

The time has come........
Absent discussion on the original question, it's time to close....If anyone has inputs on the problem that started this thread, drop me a not and I'll re-open.