After some trial and error I finally got everything setup and working, thanks to Mike Scannell for creating McDPF, Krishna Maheshwari for posting instructions and files for McDPF and DSL 4.4.10 and johnkneev for helping me in the forums.
Here is how I got everythign working on an IBM thinkpad 570E
Damn Small Linux version 4.4.10
Installation and Set-Up
Step #1: Install DSL to Hard Drive
Boot Up Damn Small Linux
• Download DSL from http://damnsmalllinux.org/
• Burn a CD or create a bootable USB pen drive (see info on the DSL site)
• Boot from the install media
Partition Hard Drive
We will erase and re-partition the hard drive with a single bootable Linux partition.
• Once DSL is booted, right-click on the desktop to bring up a contextual menu and choose "XShells->Root Access->Dark"
• Type "cfdisk" at the shell prompt
• Type "d" to delete any existing hard drive partitions
• Type "n" to create a new partition
• Type "p" to select a primary partition
• Press enter to accept the default size (should be the full disk size)
• Type "b" to set the partition to bootable
• Arrow right to select [ Write ] to write the changes to the disk. Confim by typing yes.
• Make note of the partition name (probably hda1)
• Type "q" to quit.
Install DSL to Hard Drive
• Right-click on the desktop again and choose "Apps->Tools->Install DSL to Hard Drive"
• When prompted for the target partition, enter the partition name from above (something like hda1)
• Type "n" to choose not to use multi-user logins
• Type "y" to choose EXT3 filesystem. This is definitely preferred unless you're using a very old computer (pre-Pentium).
• Type "y" to confirm the install
• Type "y" to install a boot loader
• Type "g" to select Grub
• Type "y" to reboot
• Remove the CD when it ejects
• Insert your USB pen drive with the "backup.tar.gz" file into the computer. We want it to be connected when the computer reboots.
• Press enter to reboot
Rebooting
• During the reboot, you'll see the Grub bootloader menu. You can either select the first option or wait until it times out.
• You will be prompted to create passwords for "root" and "dsl". My suggestion is to use the same password for both, and make it simple. We're not going to be super security conscious with this frame.
• You should see a message saying that the backup is being restored from such-and-such a device.
• If everything went well, you should be booted into DSL and see the McDPF splash screen as your background. If you do not see the McDPF background, it's possible that the backup did not work. See the installation troubleshooting page.
• If the screen color looks funny, try right-clicking on the desktop and choosing "Setup->Xvesa". Try a different resolution or color setting.
Step #2: Replace Files
You will need to download some updated files to get McDPF to work with DSL 4.4.10. Get them here http://www.box.net/shared/m80zqx8imm
• Open Firefox APP>Tools>Net>Firefox. Edit the preferences so firefox asks you were to place download files. I found this easier than trying to move them after they download.
• replace mcdpf_setup.sh (in /home/dsl)
• upload picasaweb-download to /home/dsl/frame/scripts/
• upload run_picasa.pl to /home/dsl/frame/scripts/
• replace process_commands.php (in /opt/lampp/htdocs/frame/)
• replace basics.php (in /opt/lampp/htdocs/frame/)
• upload picasa logo to /opt/lampp/htdocs/frame/images/logos/picasalogo.jpg
• upload picasa.php (in /opt/lampp/htdocs/frame/)
Step #3: Enable and update apt-get
• Right-click on the desktop to bring up a contextual menu and choose "APP->Tools->Enable Apt”
• Right-click on the desktop to bring up a contextual menu and choose "XShells->Root Access->Dark”
• Type apt-get update
Step #4: Run Set-up & Install Script
Run The Script
• Open a Root Terminal again ("XShells->Root Access->Dark")
• Run the install script by typing "./mcdpf_setup.sh"
• I got permission denied when trying this, I couldn’t figure out why, if this happens to you, type “chmod 777 mcdpf_setup.sh” then "./mcdpf_setup.sh"
• The first thing the script will try to do is get your wireless network setup. A lot of the installation requires internet access for downloading files, so this is a crucial step. The script should walk you through set-up of your device and wireless network. WPA and WEP encryption are supported.
• If you cannot get the network to configure properly, see the installation troubleshooting page.
• You may be asked to hit Enter or type "y" various times. Just keeping do that when asked.
• You will also get some "Debian Configuration" windows... Here's what to do for those.
• Samba: Configure through debconf? No. Run Samba as a daemon. Don't create a password file.
• checksecurity.conf: Use the default selection of No.
• libc6: Choose your timezone.
Reboot
• When the script is done, the computer will reboot. And hopefully, your slideshow will be up and running. The computer's IP address should be displayed at the bottom of the screen. You're almost done!
• If the slideshow is not running feh may not have downloaded during the install. This happened to me also, if so open a Root Terminal again ("XShells->Root Access->Dark") and type “apt-get install feh” and reboot.
Step #5: Add Photos and End-User Admin
After rebooting from the install script, you should see the IP address displayed briefly at the bottom of the screen. Make note of it because you'll need it to add pictures and perform administration.
Add Photos
From your Windows computer, map a drive to \\your_ip_here\photos. Then just copy your photos over to this folder and they'll show up on your frame! The frame checks for new photos every minute, so there's no need to do anything else after coping the photos.
Changing Settings
Point your web browser to http://your_ip_here/. From here, you can change things like the timing delay, scheduled turn on/off of the screen, and configure other features such as web page display and Frame Channel access.
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Thanks a lot for the instructions, I had the exact same problems as you in the forums and after reading these it took no time it all to get my frame up and running.
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thank you so much… does anyone know if it works on other mini-distros such as tinyme 2008, or simpymepis 8.0, or i will just have to go back and download dsl?
this page was super intimidating until i found this post with instructions… new to linux and thought i'd never figure it out… thanks again! just made my day, week… heck even my month - finding this.
t~
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
okay… i got the version 3 and was wondering if i still had to download the updated files and replace them… please let me know. thanks, your instructions have gotten me through this up to the point of installing the mcdpf… I just have to install a driver for a pcmcia network card, and get connected to my home network. I'm new at linux so this might take a while to figure out… in the meanwhile… i was wondering if its possible to just add pictures to the harddrive… I put an 80gb harddrive on mine. but i don't know how to browse using linux yet… i'm a noob and really don't know much other than very, very basic navigation…
please help, and thank you,
T~
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
After some trial and error I finally got everything setup and working, thanks to Mike Scannell for creating McDPF, Krishna Maheshwari for posting instructions and files for McDPF and DSL 4.4.10 and johnkneev for helping me in the forums.
Here is how I got everythign working on an IBM thinkpad 570E
Damn Small Linux version 4.4.10
Installation and Set-Up
Step #1: Install DSL to Hard Drive
Boot Up Damn Small Linux
• Download DSL from http://damnsmalllinux.org/
• Burn a CD or create a bootable USB pen drive (see info on the DSL site)
• Boot from the install media
Partition Hard Drive
We will erase and re-partition the hard drive with a single bootable Linux partition.
• Once DSL is booted, right-click on the desktop to bring up a contextual menu and choose "XShells->Root Access->Dark"
• Type "cfdisk" at the shell prompt
• Type "d" to delete any existing hard drive partitions
• Type "n" to create a new partition
• Type "p" to select a primary partition
• Press enter to accept the default size (should be the full disk size)
• Type "b" to set the partition to bootable
• Arrow right to select [ Write ] to write the changes to the disk. Confim by typing yes.
• Make note of the partition name (probably hda1)
• Type "q" to quit.
Install DSL to Hard Drive
• Right-click on the desktop again and choose "Apps->Tools->Install DSL to Hard Drive"
• When prompted for the target partition, enter the partition name from above (something like hda1)
• Type "n" to choose not to use multi-user logins
• Type "y" to choose EXT3 filesystem. This is definitely preferred unless you're using a very old computer (pre-Pentium).
• Type "y" to confirm the install
• Type "y" to install a boot loader
• Type "g" to select Grub
• Type "y" to reboot
• Remove the CD when it ejects
• Insert your USB pen drive with the "backup.tar.gz" file into the computer. We want it to be connected when the computer reboots.
• Press enter to reboot
Rebooting
• During the reboot, you'll see the Grub bootloader menu. You can either select the first option or wait until it times out.
• You will be prompted to create passwords for "root" and "dsl". My suggestion is to use the same password for both, and make it simple. We're not going to be super security conscious with this frame.
• You should see a message saying that the backup is being restored from such-and-such a device.
• If everything went well, you should be booted into DSL and see the McDPF splash screen as your background. If you do not see the McDPF background, it's possible that the backup did not work. See the installation troubleshooting page.
• If the screen color looks funny, try right-clicking on the desktop and choosing "Setup->Xvesa". Try a different resolution or color setting.
Step #2: Replace Files
You will need to download some updated files to get McDPF to work with DSL 4.4.10. Get them here http://www.box.net/shared/m80zqx8imm
• Open Firefox APP>Tools>Net>Firefox. Edit the preferences so firefox asks you were to place download files. I found this easier than trying to move them after they download.
• replace mcdpf_setup.sh (in /home/dsl)
• upload picasaweb-download to /home/dsl/frame/scripts/
• upload run_picasa.pl to /home/dsl/frame/scripts/
• replace process_commands.php (in /opt/lampp/htdocs/frame/)
• replace basics.php (in /opt/lampp/htdocs/frame/)
• upload picasa logo to /opt/lampp/htdocs/frame/images/logos/picasalogo.jpg
• upload picasa.php (in /opt/lampp/htdocs/frame/)
Step #3: Enable and update apt-get
• Right-click on the desktop to bring up a contextual menu and choose "APP->Tools->Enable Apt”
• Right-click on the desktop to bring up a contextual menu and choose "XShells->Root Access->Dark”
• Type apt-get update
Step #4: Run Set-up & Install Script
Run The Script
• Open a Root Terminal again ("XShells->Root Access->Dark")
• Run the install script by typing "./mcdpf_setup.sh"
• I got permission denied when trying this, I couldn’t figure out why, if this happens to you, type “chmod 777 mcdpf_setup.sh” then "./mcdpf_setup.sh"
• The first thing the script will try to do is get your wireless network setup. A lot of the installation requires internet access for downloading files, so this is a crucial step. The script should walk you through set-up of your device and wireless network. WPA and WEP encryption are supported.
• If you cannot get the network to configure properly, see the installation troubleshooting page.
• You may be asked to hit Enter or type "y" various times. Just keeping do that when asked.
• You will also get some "Debian Configuration" windows... Here's what to do for those.
• Samba: Configure through debconf? No. Run Samba as a daemon. Don't create a password file.
• checksecurity.conf: Use the default selection of No.
• libc6: Choose your timezone.
Reboot
• When the script is done, the computer will reboot. And hopefully, your slideshow will be up and running. The computer's IP address should be displayed at the bottom of the screen. You're almost done!
• If the slideshow is not running feh may not have downloaded during the install. This happened to me also, if so open a Root Terminal again ("XShells->Root Access->Dark") and type “apt-get install feh” and reboot.
Step #5: Add Photos and End-User Admin
After rebooting from the install script, you should see the IP address displayed briefly at the bottom of the screen. Make note of it because you'll need it to add pictures and perform administration.
Add Photos
From your Windows computer, map a drive to \\your_ip_here\photos. Then just copy your photos over to this folder and they'll show up on your frame! The frame checks for new photos every minute, so there's no need to do anything else after coping the photos.
Changing Settings
Point your web browser to http://your_ip_here/. From here, you can change things like the timing delay, scheduled turn on/off of the screen, and configure other features such as web page display and Frame Channel access.
Thanks a lot for the instructions, I had the exact same problems as you in the forums and after reading these it took no time it all to get my frame up and running.
I am glad my instructions helped someone.
thank you so much… does anyone know if it works on other mini-distros such as tinyme 2008, or simpymepis 8.0, or i will just have to go back and download dsl?
this page was super intimidating until i found this post with instructions… new to linux and thought i'd never figure it out… thanks again! just made my day, week… heck even my month - finding this.
t~
okay… i got the version 3 and was wondering if i still had to download the updated files and replace them… please let me know. thanks, your instructions have gotten me through this up to the point of installing the mcdpf… I just have to install a driver for a pcmcia network card, and get connected to my home network. I'm new at linux so this might take a while to figure out… in the meanwhile… i was wondering if its possible to just add pictures to the harddrive… I put an 80gb harddrive on mine. but i don't know how to browse using linux yet… i'm a noob and really don't know much other than very, very basic navigation…
please help, and thank you,
T~