Build Tools
draklive
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2006-04-20 04:23"draklive builds a live distribution according to a configuration file, creates a master image, and optionally installs it on a device.
draklive's philosophy is to keep the live distribution as close as possible to a normal Mandriva Linux distribution. All specific live tweaks are done in a very tiny initrd script. Since this one is generated on the fly, it's very small, and gets quite easy to debug.
The list of drivers included in the initrd is adjusted during the live distribution creation, according to the medium type. draklive uses the DrakX libraries to have an up-to-date drivers list. [...]
Once the initrd script is done booting, the root device will be used transparently by the distribution, without any additional tricks.
Hardware detection is done with harddrake, providing a reliable integration.
Features
* live CD
* live distribution on USB key
* easy to test over NFS
* uses the Mandriva installer to create the live system
* fully read-write live system (using unionfs)
* automatic hardware configuration (using harddrake)
* generic code structure to make new technical choices usable quickly"
grow-knoppix
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2006-03-30 00:42"[grow-knoppix is a] Xdialog script creates a boot-able live CD or DVD that is a copy of a KNOPPIX version plus user content added to the root of the new DVD.
The guide allows easy publishing and including of new a boot file, background, startup index.html, and desktop on your custom DVD. [...]
Boot from a KNOPPIX KANOTIX CD, get grow-knoppix, save to /home/knoppix. right click --> Properties --> Permissions --> put X in Exec boxes, click to run"
http://grow-knoppix.berlios.de/
ftp://ftp.berlios.de/pub/grow-knoppix/ (download)
LiveCD Collection
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2006-03-21 04:22This is an example of a Multi-boot LiveCD/DVD.
"There are a lot of Live CD Linux's versions, some of them based in diferents ditributions other in the same and other based en other LiveCD, so if you are like me, you have a collection of CD's and floppys. I decided to create a CD/DVD where I can have some LiveCD's and floppy programs that I have untudy in the box. This could be usefull or useless depending the person, but if you want to create this CD/DVD here you are the method I have used. [...]
The zip file to download, contains one script to create a booteable CD/DVD image with mkisofs in the directory where we have unzipped the file. The CD/DVD will use Grub as a boot loader.
Along with the script there is a folder named /dvd/ in this folder we are going to put the files corresponding for each distribution we want to include. Inside the folder dvd there is among others a folder named /boot/. The boot folder contain a folder for each distribution where we will place the kernel and initrd of each distribution.."
Jornada 820 bootimage
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2006-01-25 13:59"BUILD ENVIRONMENT
The Makefile ought to contain everything you need to build the bootimage. For hacking, an optional script "please" helps you do things with the kernel tree. [...]
The toolchain is based on uClibc - http://www.uclibc.org/ [...]
RAMDISKIMAGE USAGE
The ramdisk that is built by this Makefile has the following usage:
* lots of functions are defined in /etc/functions -- see by yourself
* you may add your own additional functions in /etc/functions.local
* Use "standalone" to configure linux for standalone usage with the ramdisk.
* Use "rootfs" to chain-boot into your first Linux partition on CF.
* The ramdisk will automatically attempt to "rootfs" at startup, unless you
create a file or directory named "noautomount" in your WinCE partition.
* We have mkfs.minix and fsck.minix in busybox. No ext2 support, sorry.
To build an ext2 filesystem, you'll have to use a CF reader on your PC,
or to NFS mount a filesystem with your ext2 utilities.
* Busybox is packed up with lots of functionality. Check it out!
* To free the memory occupied by the ramdisk, your rootfs will need to run
the program blockdev, which is part of the util-linux debian package.
* With kernel 2.6, you must use cat /proc/modules instead of lsmod"
dscdbuilder - Debian from Scratch CD Builder
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 2006-01-16 04:42"The name dscdbuilder stands for "Debian from Scratch CD Builder". The idea for doing this came from the needs to create a heavily modified version of Knoppix, and from a series of little scripts i wrote to help me on this task. But finally, this came as a tool to *master* a live CD, that is, build it on a bottom-to-top basis. The key word here, as Andreas Tille points on his notes for CDD, is *mater*, as the modifications from the famous Knoppix are just *remasters* of it, in the sense that you download the latest Knoppix CD image, copy it into your HD, make any changes you want and recompress it to a new iso. In the other hand, dscdbuilder starts from an empty directory and starts installing different layers of software, dedicated to different objectives, something similar to what dfsbuild does. [...]
The [...] 6 big groups of stages: 1) Install base system: the 'base' stages build a basic system on a directory, downloading and installing some packages (base_*) 2) Install live CD-related software: the 'knoppix' stages install some packages and add support for auto configuration and booting (they're called knx_* because they're a group of Knoppix packages) 3) Install final contents: the 'einam' stages add the real usefull contents to the directory, so here's the big list of package contents (the stages are named einam_* because 'dscdbuilder' was first written for use on the build of Einam CDs) 4) Miscelaneous operations: here come some extra 'knoppix' stages that need to be run after any package installation 5) Build initrd image: the 'miniroot' stages are used to build the initial root filesystem to mount and boot the CD as a live CD (minirt_*) 6) Create an ISO"
http://lists.debian.org/debian-knoppix/200...
BootRoot
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2006-01-12 10:03"BootRoot creates a boot disk with lilo, a kernel and an initrd image. The initrd script mounts another root disk with a compressed (gzip or bzip2) filesystem.
The root filesystem isn't made by this program, but there lots of compressed filesytems out there to use (see rest of FAQ). This program is patterned after mkrboot, but unlike mkrboot it creates an unique bootdisk and a separate root disk."
gBootRoot
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2006-01-12 09:58"Make the development, construction, and testing of distributions fun and simple. [...]
Non-root users construct, develop, test and run all types of distributions with Root Methods (Yard, etc.) and user-mode-linux, then finish with a Boot Method (2-disk compression, etc). Make_debian yard template creator provided for Debian users."
Grand Unified Installer Project
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2006-01-10 06:30"The GUI project - One CD boots them all*
The goal of the Grand Unified Installer project, is to create one CD, which can help install Linux/Windows on a single hard disk, and also function as a rescue disk for these operating systems. In addition, this CD can also be used to backup the harddisk to tape, and restore the hard disk from the tape. The starting point is a very useful utility called ISOLINUX, which functions as a boot loader for CD based Operating Systems."
Rescue disk images and Tools for creating rescue disks
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2006-01-10 05:51"What you'll find here: rescue disk images and tools for creating rescue disks [and live linux operating system distributions]"
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/system/recovery/!INDEX.html
MultiBootCD (MBCD)
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2006-01-10 05:25"MBCD is a shell script to make a customised CD-ROM that can boot any kind and number of image files.
Currently 4 types of images are supported:
* Floppy images (1.2M, 1.44M or 2.88M)
* Knoppix-like image (one per CD)
* Kernel-binary images (e.g. memtest86)
* Windows XP Recovery Console
Note that using more than one Knoppix image is currently not possible, but may be in a future version. And of course you can't use the original 700MB Knoppix version (unless you use 800MB CDR blanks). See below for some smaller alternatives.
MBCD is licensed under the GNU GPL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html)."
