How to Download and Begin Using Puppy Linux

Puppy Linux is a small version of the linux operating system that is actually designed not to be installed on a computer's hard drive. As a result it can be used on computers with Microsoft Windows already installed without any worries about partitioning, formatting or otherwise making space. In fact, your computer doesn't even need a hard drive at all to use Puppy Linux, for it can run and save files and programs on optical media such as a DVD-RW drive or a USB flash drive. The actual operating system is small yet contains most of the tools the average computer user would require such as an Internet browser, an email client, a calender application, office applications, some games and even an antivirus program.

Things You'll Need:

Computer with internet connection
blank CD
USB flash drive (optional)

Step One:
Download Puppy Linux 4.3.1 (which is the latest version as of April 2010) click on the link here to download the *.iso file and save the file to your computer. This file is a complete image ready to be burned to a blank CD.

Step Two:
Download BurnCDCC and extract the zip file if you do not have an image burning program already installed.

Step Three:
Place a blank CD in your computer's CD burner drive.

Step Four:
Double-click on the BurnCDCC program in the extracted folder to run the image burning program. If you are running newer versions of Microsoft Windows, you may have to confirm that you wish to run the program.

Step Five:
Click the "Browse" button on the BurnCDCC program window and browse to the location where you saved the Puppy Linux *.iso file. It will be called Pup-431. Select this file and click "Open."

Step Six:
Click "Start" to begin the image burning process and wait for it to burn the disc. The disc will eject when the process is completed.

Step Seven:
Close the cdrom drive and restart the computer.

Step Eight:
Allow the computer to boot from the cdrom drive. Just wait five seconds and Puppy Linux will begin to load. At this point Puppy will copy all of the needed files to RAM before starting. You will see some obscure writing appear on your screen. Don't worry--Puppy is just doing it's job!

Step Nine:
Select your keyboard layout using the arrow keys and press "Enter" to accept the choice. If you are not sure what keyboard just accept the default selection.

Step Ten:
Select the language choice by using the arrow keys and press "Enter" to accept the choice.

Step Eleven:
Select your time zone using your arrow keys and press "Enter" to accept this choice.

Step Twelve:
Press "Enter" to select the default graphics option. You can use the arrow keys and then press "Enter" to try XVESA if you have issues with XORG. Puppy will take a moment to autodetect and configure itself. Puppy will load in full glory and you will hear a cheerful bark as Puppy Announces itself.

Step Thirteen:
Click once on the desktop icon labeled "Setup" to configure your Internet options.

Step Fourteen:
Click the button beside "Connect to Internet or Intranet" to configure your internet connection options.

Step Fifteen:Click on the method you use to connect to the Internet and follow the menus to configure the interface.

Step Sixteen:
Click once on the "Browse" desktop icon, enter the internet website address of choice in the address bar, and begin surfing the Internet in Puppy Linux.

Step Seventeen:
Click on the "Menu" button on the bottom left of the taskbar to explore all of the programs available in Puppy Linux.

Step Eighteen:
To shut down Puppy Linux go to "Menu," "Shutdown," "Power off computer."

Step Nineteen:
Choose whether you wish to save any files and settings to USB, cd, DVD or a file on the computer's hard disk (if available) or press "Esc" to avoid saving anything. Puppy will shut down the computer when it is finished.

Tips:
Make sure the computer you use for Puppy Linux has a minimum of 128 MB of RAM memory. While more can be better Puppy needs at least this to operate.

Sometimes Puppy Linux does not handle wireless network adapters very well. If you have a problem connecting try using an ethernet cable to connect using a wired connection.

Try all of the programs that are available. You may find a new favorite!

You can install Puppy Linux on a USB flash drive. Once installed, just insert the USB drive into any computer and turn the computer on to boot Puppy Linux at whatever computer you happen to be at.

References:
Puppy Linux