The problem is that Puppy 2.17 identifies its PC to your router (or the world) incorrectly. This may not impact most people; but it does confuse my router. I have reported the problem, but have not received feedback yet. But if you are using 2.17, especially if you suspect router/networking misbehavior while it is running, you can easily replace one file to avoid the possibility of unreliability due to the problem.

Assuming you have access to the Internet, go to the Puppy download site or mirrors, select the "pet_packages-2" entry, and download and/or run the file "dhcpcd-1.3.22.pet". This restores the version of dhcpcd used prior to 2.17. I save such files in a directory (folder) named "dotpet-downloads" to retain evidence that I installed it.

Note that the ecopup "puplet" I described last time does not have the problem, as it is based on an earlier release of Puppy.

For support with trying Puppy Linux on an old PC, contact me through Riverside Data (926-3330) or gngplug@maine.rr.com.