The Puppy Linux 550JP (June 2013) is based on the Precise Puppy Linux 5.5. Differences with the original are described in this document.
Puppy Linux is provided as a live CD. The file has the extension .iso. Burn the iso file to a CD. You can burn to a DVD as well, but older computers often do not have a DVD reader. You can use Puppy Linux as soon as you boot your computer from the live CD. To change your bootup disk, press [Del], [f1], [f2], [f9], or [f12] during the bootup phase and set the BIOS bootup disk setting. Refer to the documents of your PC.
Also provided is an installer program for the Windows user. Try the 'Windows Installer' if your PC cannot boot up from optical devices and Windows is already installed to a hard disk partition.
Booting your PC from the live CD will (hopefully) start up the graphical desktop. A GUI dialog for the initial setup appears. You may change the settings (i.e. language, timezone, keyboard layout, and screen size) if you wish. Timezone and keyboard is initially set to JST (Japanese time) and jp(JP106/Japanese) keyboard. Language is initially set to Japanese. You can choose English in the same dialog. Other languages are supported by additional sfs files available at Shinobar's site.
If your PC failed to show the graphical desktop, try 'Safe mode' during bootup of the Live CD. Select 'Advanced menu' > 'Safe mode' from the bootup menu. If Grub4Dos created the menu then your up-down arrows can be used. You will be asked your preferred keyboard layout and offered to start 'xorgwizard' while booting your computer. This allows more flexibility in selecting a graphics driver and peripherals.
The network connection will be done automatically if the eth0 interface card (NIC) is found and DHCP is available. You need to connect the ethernet cable to your computer before booting up Puppy.
Puppy Linux initially runs in RAM. All the data in the /root folder and the system settings will be lost at next boot. But you can save the session as a file on a hard disk partition (or on a USB stick). You are asked where to save your session. Follow the instructions given by the GUI. Choose 'NO SAVE' if you do not want to disturb your hard disk. Windows users often prefer to save on a USB stick for that reason.
Additional applications are provided as SFS packages or as PET packages. You can find official PET's from the Puppy Package Manager, found at the main menu > Setup. Or, you can download PET's available on the internet. Download them and click on the PET file icon to install. SFS packages can be loaded by left-click and select 'Install'. Alternatively RIGHT-clicking the SFS package allows 'sfs_load' as a choice.
You can delete PET packages after they are installed, but this is not
true for SFS packages. They must not be removed or moved once they have
been loaded.
Puppy live CD is easy to use and does not require a hard disk. But you can install Puppy to hard disks or to USB drives. The Japanese edition has a tool for the 'frugal' installation and it is recommended. The tool is the frugalinsatller and the grub4dos for the boot loader.
The live cd of the Japanese edition has graphical menu thanks to the grub4dos. Some files are updated from the original Presice Puppy 5.5 version. Here is the list...
Some applications are moved to the category 'Misc' in the main menu.