24 replies to this topic

[MedEvil]

I'm looking into creating, for myself, a custom Live Linux and would like to know, if someone might be able to give me some pointers.

[Wonko the Sane]

I'm looking into creating, for myself, a custom Live Linux and would like to know, if someone might be able to give me some pointers.

The usual start point is knoppix remastering:
http://knoppix.net/w...age#Remastering


Wonko

[betrand]

Go Slax! Or Tinycore.
These two are very small. THey do a good job for recovery purposes. Tc includes Ntfs automatic mount.
Slax is good, since 5.8.1 the Ntfs read, and later releases read/write. Well, the module can be added if you want.
Tc and Slax work by adding modules, for Slax either in base, either in optional.
I used Slax and added Gparted.
Other than that I don't know.
Oh, yes, you also have the possibility of creating your own, 'from scratch'.
http://www.slax.org/
http://distro.ibibli...ux/welcome.html

TinyCore is an example of what the Core Project can produce, an 12MB FLTK/FLWM desktop

The usual start point is knoppix remastering:
http://knoppix.net/w...age#Remastering


Wonko

Yep. Knoppix being The reference.

[MedEvil]

Thanks for the tips and keep them coming!

Has anyone experience with that sort of thing?
Not the point and click version from SLAX, but the nitty gritty one.
Cause one of the things, i definitly wanna do, is run it completely from a ramdisk, like a PE, something neighter Knoppix or Slax does by default.

[betrand]

Thanks for the tips and keep them coming!

Has anyone experience with that sort of thing?
Not the point and click version from SLAX, but the nitty gritty one.
Cause one of the things, i definitly wanna do, is run it completely from a ramdisk, like a PE, something neighter Knoppix or Slax does by default.

Well Slax can.
What I am looking for, OT if anyone knows an easy way, actually I know myself but can't be @**ed,is to have a linux on a stick.
I don't want the live one as it will sort of deploy (unfold) the files to (actually) ram. And if I want to save settings. (i know I can, save settings, on a stick,but.) I want an actual install. Probably need to do it thru qemu.

Tell me anyhow how the search is going. Btw you can easily remaster SLAX to boot to Ram.

[MedEvil]

I don't quite get your question.
You wanna know, how to install a Linux to a stick, but you already know.

Why don't you simply install a Linux onto your stick?

On the topic of my own search:
I'm at the moment checking out different LiveDistros to have an idea, what the current status in LL is.
My favorite one is unfortunately dead.

[0scar]

Thanks for the tips and keep them coming!

.
Cause one of the things, i definitly wanna do, is run it completely from a ramdisk,

I dont understand what do you mean.
Any livecd run in ram.
Also the livecd iso may be loaded in ram with grub4dos.
Anyway, try Slitaz, 40MB (includes partition manager, sound, and internet with Midori).
While "in ram" you may install flash for youtube, smplayer (for playing avi movies, wma, flv, wmw, mp3 etc.), firefox, wine (for running portable windows applications like firefox and openoffice), and then easily write a new iso.

The best full livecd and installation CD is Mint.


title Linux Mint 12 (grub4dos in DVD)
#find --set-root /grub/linuxmint-12.iso
map --mem /grub/linuxmint-12.iso (hd32)
map --hook
root (hd32)
kernel /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper iso-scan/filename=/grub/linuxmint-12.iso quiet splash --
initrd /casper/initrd.lz

title Linux Mint 12 (grub4dos in HD)
#find --set-root /grub/linuxmint-12.iso
map --mem /grub/linuxmint-12.iso (0xff)
map --hook
kernel /casper/vmlinuz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper quiet splash --
initrd /casper/initrd.lz

title slitaz-firefox.iso
map --mem (hd0,0)/grub/slitaz-firefox.iso (hd32)
map --hook
chainloader (hd32)

[MedEvil]

I dont understand what do you mean.
Any livecd run in ram.

Not my experience. If i pull the CDVD after boot-up, the Linux stops working properly.

Thanks for the sugested Distros, will have a look at both.

[MedEvil]

Very disappointing!
I havn't used Linux in almost 10 years. Don't know, what exactly i expected, but after checking dozends of live Linux, the best i can say is, that some do not work too much worst, than the old ones i have.

10 years worth of knowledge and development and the result is worst than without it.

[sambul61]

Just a few days/weeks ago we discussed network boot. There are a few interesting Linux distros you can test that way in QEMU.

[rawr]

bit old and dusty but should still work ... http://reboot.pro/11319/

as long as you dont mind bash
it saves time/space by using aufs
instead of extracting ubuntu's squashfs


but if your thinking of something more like 19mb xp cli ( ? is any thing around hear like 50mb win7 cli ? )

chk out tinycore + extentions !
... they even have "EZremaster" extension in th repo

[Mustafa]

Try linuxfromscratch.org.
But this will be very hard because there is no "big blue play button"

[0scar]

Very disappointing!
I havn't used Linux in almost 10 years. Don't know, what exactly i expected, but after checking dozends of live Linux, the best i can say is, that some do not work too much worst, than the old ones i have.

10 years worth of knowledge and development and the result is worst than without it.

Linux distributions are better than 10 years ago and, but for the hardware support, they are not better than 5 years ago, that is why the linux market share is always under 2% (Windows 90%, Apple 5%).

[MedEvil]

I can't speak for installed Distros, but the LiveLinux take a lot longer to boot, work on less computers.
The whole look and feel is more rugged.
Especialy bad are those Distros, which force one to sit in front of the computer while it boots up.
Would hate to be the guy, who has to has to set up a cluster of 30 or more computers with one of those.

[rawr]

I can't speak for installed Distros, but the LiveLinux take a lot longer to boot, work on less computers.
The whole look and feel is more rugged.
Especialy bad are those Distros, which force one to sit in front of the computer while it boots up.
Would hate to be the guy, who has to has to set up a cluster of 30 or more computers with one of those.

../public/style_emoticons/default/cheers.gif

sounds alot like 'live xp' type projects ( missing drivers and apps )...
but you can add them (like you can with live xp) ...

[MedEvil]

I didn't even pay attention, if all hardware worked.
But when a OS stops cold during boot, boots into a black screen or mouse and sometimes even keyboard are not working. Then there is nothing to scavange, those things just have to work.

Apropos apps. Didn't even notice, unless someone pointed it out to me. The current Knoppix, despite still being 700MB in size, has only the functionality, that the old 50MB DSL used to have.
Really weird!

[Wonko the Sane]

DSL used to be very nice.

According to these guys here:
http://www.tuxradar....ht-linux-distro

Slitaz is the best one (or it was some time ago):
http://www.slitaz.org/
http://www.slitaz.org/en/get/
though I think that it is more "server-oriented that the "average" distro.

I cannot find a more recent comparison, but I have seen a few mentions of NimbleX as a good little thingy:
http://node3.nimblex.net/nimblex/home
though it doesn't look like a recently updated one (not that this is really-really a plus or minus).

I have no idea if either are easily configurable/re-masterable.


Wonko

[sbaeder]

chk out tinycore + extentions !
... they even have "EZremaster" extension in th repo

Yes, it is pretty neat, and highly configurable, and as for HW support, the newest linux kernels are pretty good...and it is pretty easy to add new drivers!

DSL used to be very nice.

Yes, but it hasn't been really updated in a long time, and still uses really old software! TinyCore developer was also very involved in it...and now, with "CorePlus", there is an easy downlod of all you need, and easy way to extend it as well!

Slitaz is the best one (or it was some time ago):
http://www.slitaz.org/
http://www.slitaz.org/en/get/
though I think that it is more "server-oriented that the "average" distro.

Yes, it is also pretty good (as is all the "puppy" dirivetives Distrowatch is a good reference on some of these smaller, and easy to configure distros.

Good Luck!

Scott

[MedEvil]

I tryed siltaz. Can't say anymore, what exactly was the problem, cause all the tested distros kind of melted in my head into one.
I only know, it was bad enough, that i didn't even kept it around for a later, in detail look.

Havn't heaed before of NimbleX.

[MedEvil]

and now, with "CorePlus", there is an easy downlod of all you need, and easy way to extend it as well!

I read this on a lot of sites. I don't get the idea behind that. Eighter i use a LiveCD or i install a Distro.
Why, for instance, should anyone want to run an 10MB LiveCD, which needs to download every app?

[Krum]

Let me take this in a different direction. I want to make the *absolute* minimum linux, meaning only to boot up the vmlinuz, the idea being
like the old msdos startup disk. This would run strictly in text mode. If I format a linux partition and copy the vmlinuz to it how can I make it boot?
krum.

[betrand]

chk out tinycore + extentions !
... they even have "EZremaster" extension in th repo

I don't get the idea behind that.
[...]Why, for instance, should anyone want to run an 10MB LiveCD, which needs to download every app?

I totally agree with that. Tinycore seems (for my needs, ie small, with Ntfs support) very good BUT DOWNLOAD THE EXTENSIONS??!
The last TC I tried (which now includes NTFS) didn't even have a filemanager, for bug's sake!
Rawr, do you know how to keep the extensions on the same iso? The only option iS the downloader. If one can have on same iso, that's pretty cool.

THat's why, SLax, for me, which came after DSL (I never used it) is the 'good' Live Linux distro. I don't like Slax 6.x though. I much prefered 5.8.1.
But 6 introduced (once again) read write Ntfs.

Let me take this in a different direction. I want to make the *absolute* minimum linux, meaning only to boot up the vmlinuz, the idea being
like the old msdos startup disk. This would run strictly in text mode. If I format a linux partition and copy the vmlinuz to it how can I make it boot?
krum.

Yep. I totally agree with that.
And I agree with your question at the end.
I tried different floppy distros. The one one should know, as 'techs' , Tomsrtbt. THen Hal91. More recently, and the one I would prefer,
Injector. (with ntfs )
BUt, these have old kernels, except for last.
And these have floppy geoms and boot params which, if booted from for eg. Grub4DOS, won't boot, will crash. Will show minimal Shell.

IF someone knows how to make them have a correct geometry etc in Grub4DOS, I'm a taker.


Well I mean, that's the direction I'd go with Linux at the mo.

Edit:, my bad, Linux Injector is 2003. The injector Kit is 2006. edit2,My not so bad, on the Sourceforge it is "posted April 9th 2011". So, I don't know.
Kernel is 2.4.23.

[BiTByte]

Try Plop Linux.

When you want to remove the cd or the usb drive then use the copy2ram option

http://www.plop.at/e...inux/index.html

best regards

[betrand]

Sorry, never came back on this, though I changed my mind on Tc.
Rawr said, add extensions.
I moaned abt how to add 'em.
It's simple as Slax. Add in extensions folder.
And as one can then d/l from the live system, it's like a cloud thingy.

So, I like Tc.

The whole look and feel is more rugged.

I agree(for Tinycore anyway) that it's not the most evolved Gui in terms of being appealing.


Boots fast anyway. Also as said by BiTByte, the copy2ram. (for Slax anyway)

[betrand]

Also as said by BiTByte, the copy2ram. (for Slax anyway)

Tc boots from ram. As any livecd it "unwraps" in ram. But can the cd be taken out?
Here,
http://forum.tinycor...hp?topic=8924.0,
some code to unmount /eject, and also:

Booting Tiny Core from CD defaults to loading the OS into ram and the CD is easily ejected.

However, if one is using a remaster where one has, in particular, decided to mount extensions from this CD then of course, the CD is in use and cannot be unmounted.