live cd/usb projects? [Debian]

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From: T o n g on 29 Nov 2009 11:50

Thanks a lot for the detailed instruction Rob, really appreciate it.

On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:52:34 -0500, Rob Owens wrote:

> 9) With your USB drive inserted and not mounted:
>
> (replace "X" with the proper letter for your device) dd if=binary.img
> of=/dev/sdX

Several questions regarding this step:

- what's the underlying file system does the binary.img have, vfat?
- what bootloader does it use?
- is there any other way to install the content, say copy into a ext3
partition?
- how can I create an .iso file instea?

I know all above questions are of RTFM ones (though scattered all over
the places), so please ignore me if they bother you.

Thanks

--
Tong (remove underscore(s) to reply)
http://xpt.sourceforge.net/techdocs/
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From: Tzafrir Cohen on 29 Nov 2009 12:30

From: Rob Owens on 29 Nov 2009 12:40

On Sun, Nov 29, 2009 at 04:45:31PM +0000, T o n g wrote:
> Thanks a lot for the detailed instruction Rob, really appreciate it.
>
> On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:52:34 -0500, Rob Owens wrote:
>
> > 9) With your USB drive inserted and not mounted:
> >
> > (replace "X" with the proper letter for your device) dd if=binary.img
> > of=/dev/sdX
>
> Several questions regarding this step:
>
> - what's the underlying file system does the binary.img have, vfat?
Yes, it is vfat. However, I think if your image is over a certain size
it is created using a different filesystem (I can't remember which, and
I can't remember exactly where I read that).

> - what bootloader does it use?
syslinux. There is an option in lh_config to specify "--bootloader
grub" or "--bootloader yaboot" if you want/need to use one of those.

> - is there any other way to install the content, say copy into a ext3
> partition?
I think you should be able to mount binary.img as a loopback interface.
You might need to specify "-t squashfs" in your mount command, and for
that you might need some special squashfs tools. I think I did this
once, but I don't remember the steps.

If you're concerned about adding packages w/o using "-p mylist", you can
add "--interactive enabled" into the lh_config command. That'll give
you a shell before the image is created (after you run lh_build). There you can add
repositories, install software, etc. When you exit the shell, the build
will continue.

> - how can I create an .iso file instea?
Use "-b iso" instead of "-b usb-hdd" in the lh_config command. I'm not
sure if/how persistence would work if you create a live CD. I've never
tried it.

>
> I know all above questions are of RTFM ones (though scattered all over
> the places), so please ignore me if they bother you.
>
No problem. There are many conflicting sets of instructions floating
around on wikis, etc. It took me a long time to get this stuff figured
out.

-Rob

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From: Geoffrey Lane on 1 Dec 2009 19:30

thanks for the feedback.

sorry it has taken some time to reply but I have been reading before
responding. I hope my post isn't too long but I wanted to keep most of
the replies intact.

debian-user-digest-request(a)lists.debian.org wrote:
> Subject:
> Re: live cd/usb projects?
> From:
> Jiří Paleček <jpalecek(a)web.de>
> Date:
> Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:41:37 +0100
>
> On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:30:02 +0100, Geoffrey Lane <freeballer(a)gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
> [ snip ]
>
>> I wonder first how many has done what I'm looking to do?
>
> Perhaps many.
>
>> Are there some people using linux-live script to make one, or another
>> method?
>
> I am using dfsbuild (not really maintained, had to patch it) to make a
> similar (in extent, not in purpose) live CD. It contains some 5 kernels,
> gcc, gdb, cmake, some -dev packages, web browser (opera), emacs.
>
> You may also have a look at the KDE Four live CD, and how they make it.
>

I'm not a fan of kde, mostly because the size. Like 400mb instead of
40mb for xfce or even smaller for lxde or fluxbox. I will look to see
how its made, or maybee they have some scripts available

>
> Difficult but not unattainable. But you'll probably have to use
> compression somehow (on the CD I use zisofs).
> <snipped>

I've only used zfs.. for a live cd (multimedia) called geexbox. I assume
it will not have any issues with booting just shrinking the size of the
cd contents?

>
> I'm not sure about the office apps, but I'm sure you can fit the rest on
> a CD, which is about the size you need.
>
> Regards
> Jiri Palecek
>

I was thinking more about abiword. Sorry for the confusion. An "office
suite" would be nice but its way to big.

>
> Subject:
> Re: live cd/usb projects?
> From:
> Rob Owens <rowens(a)ptd.net>
> Date:
> Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:34:56 -0500
>
> I currently use Debian Live. I create my own images for USB using the
> live-helper scripts. The latest one I made came in at just over 700MB.
> Here's the list of packages I specified to include (not all the
> dependencies are listed):
>
> lxde lxlauncher
<snipped package list>
>
> If you need pointers on how to do this yourself, let me know. If you
> want to give me a list of apps and have me make an image for you, I can
> do that as long as you have a way for me to get it to you (rsync server,
> ftp server, etc).
>

I will probably do that. I have alot of apprehension making these as I
know it takes alot of time waiting for results sometimes to have it
crash or worse you make a mistake. I'm doing my best to get ready like I
did with knoppix even if I have to ask a stupid question or two.

I could probably setup access for you on ftp server if it doesn't come
throu but let you know ahead of time. Size should be a bit smaller - I
hope. Thank you for the offer I will get back to you :)

> Note that I use fluxbox as my window manager, but I install LXDE as well
> because brings in a lot of apps that I find handy. Plus I intend to
> experiment with using LXDE...someday.
>
> -Rob
>

--
"'Bill Gates can't guarantee Windows, so how in the HELL can you
guarantee our safety!' --John Crichton (Farscape)"

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From: Rob Owens on 1 Dec 2009 20:50

On Tue, Dec 01, 2009 at 08:09:35PM -0400, Geoffrey Lane wrote:
>>
>> Subject:
>> Re: live cd/usb projects?
>> From:
>> Rob Owens <rowens(a)ptd.net>
>> Date:
>> Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:34:56 -0500
>>
>> I currently use Debian Live. I create my own images for USB using the
>> live-helper scripts. The latest one I made came in at just over 700MB.
>> Here's the list of packages I specified to include (not all the
>> dependencies are listed):
>>
>> lxde lxlauncher
> <snipped package list>
>>
>> If you need pointers on how to do this yourself, let me know. If you
>> want to give me a list of apps and have me make an image for you, I can
>> do that as long as you have a way for me to get it to you (rsync server,
>> ftp server, etc).
>>
>
> I will probably do that. I have alot of apprehension making these as I
> know it takes alot of time waiting for results sometimes to have it
> crash or worse you make a mistake. I'm doing my best to get ready like I
> did with knoppix even if I have to ask a stupid question or two.
>
> I could probably setup access for you on ftp server if it doesn't come
> throu but let you know ahead of time. Size should be a bit smaller - I
> hope. Thank you for the offer I will get back to you :)
>
I forgot that there's a gui for building a Debian Live image (with a
subset of the options that are available at the command line). It's
called live-magic. I've never used it, but it might be worth a look.

-Rob

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