Salix Live Xfce 13.37 RC1

[Shador]

Another thing is that I currently have two users (one, with no password, and a new one with a password). I just got logged straight in to 'one'. Not sure if this happens every time; I also vaguely remember it from the past. I imagine it would be cured by either creating a password for one or deleting it. Still, ideally, if there is more than one user, you should get to choose which one to log in as.

Just disable GDM's autologin. I think there's an app in the menu. Otherwise I think you can also edit /etc/gdm/custom.conf.

So, some sort of cheatcode or menu option to boot off an .iso on hard disk would probably be useful especially for less experienced users.

There can be no cheatcode in the LiveCD to load the LiveCD when the LiveCD or its bootloader are not yet loaded.

But I recommend this solution:

1. Install grub2 1.99 on your Salix system like this:

   Code: Select all

   # grub-install --grub-setup=/bin/true /dev/sda
   # cat /boot/grub/{lnxboot.img,core.img} > /boot/grub/core-linux.img
   

   Now you just load /boot/grub/core-linux.img with any bootloader as a linux image (16bit linux boot protocol, i.e. linux16 with grub2) or load the core.img as multiboot kernel.

2. To load the grub2 core-linux.img from LILO put this into your lilo.conf:

   Code: Select all

   image = /boot/grub/core-linux.img
   label = Grub2

3. Run lilo -v as root to reflect changes.
4. Now put this entry into your /etc/grub.d/40_custom file:

   Code: Select all

   menuentry "Salix Live" {
     iso_path=/salixlive-xfce-13.37-32-rc1.iso
     export iso_path
     search --set --file $iso_path
     loopback loop $iso_path
     root=(loop)
     configfile /boot/grub/loopback.cfg
   }

   Change iso_path as needed. No partition/drive information needed, just the path in that partition.
   Possibly add more such entries for other LiveCDs with a loopback.cfg.
5. Finally run update-grub to create a /boot/grub/grub.cfg, which contains the data in a format grub2 can use during bootup.
6. Upon reboot select Grub2 inside LILO and Salix Live inside Grub2.

[mimosa]

There can be no cheatcode in the LiveCD to load the LiveCD when the LiveCD or its bootloader are not yet loaded.

Quite so, but there could be to load a *different* iso. So then my procedure for installing Salix (or booting from the Live Salix 14.0 ISO I just downloaded somewhere on my hard disk in 2013) is, when the download is complete:

1 Boot my old Salix Live 13.37 CD / USB
2 Insert cheatcode (or, better yet: select menu item) to boot from /type/in/path/to/Salix_14.0.iso

However, I expect that's already possible!

I look forward to using the method you describe. It sounds pretty simple to set up and then I can try out Salix Live editions to my heart's content straight from where they downloaded (Ubuntu too )

[Shador]

2 Insert cheatcode (or, better yet: select menu item) to boot from /type/in/path/to/Salix_14.0.iso

Yes, that would be possible, but there could be the same problem we currently have with SG2D, that the grub on the old livecd is not compatible to the new one. So I don't think we should endorse it.
If you want to do it despite, press c to drop to console and enter the commands from the Salix Live menuentry which you would put into the /etc/grub.d/40_custom file. For example enter this (line by line):

Code: Select all

iso_path=/salixlive-xfce-13.37-32-rc1.iso
export iso_path
search --set --file $iso_path
loopback loop $iso_path
root=(loop)
configfile /boot/grub/loopback.cfg

Anyway if we ever find a way to overcome the problem I mentioned, this is definitely a good idea.

[mimosa]

Thanks for your comprehensive and helpful replies, Shador

I look forward to trying all this out!

[JRD]

Very good documentation Shador!
I will add this to the wiki when I have time.

About autologin to "one", this can be disabled in the grub2 menu of the LiveCD.

[ikke]

Nice! Things are moving!! Appreciate you are looking for easy ways to boot LiveCDs from an hard disk or usb stick.

The problem with booting form an iso is that it is an iso. You have to take it as it is.

My way of testing (and also using Salix Live as well) is to copy the '/salixlive' directory of the iso to the root directory (/) of an hard disk or usb stick. And then I boot from grub (for the time being grub1 since I am used to it but I am might be trying grub2). The advantage is that I am able to add new modules to the '/salixlive/modules/' directory. Or even change the modules provided by Salix Live to adapt them to my needs.

Forgot to mention that you have to copy the 'salix-xfce-13.37-32-rc1.live'-file also to the root directory of the hard disk or usb stick

The only problem is that I can only put one '/salixlive' on an hard disk or usb stick. So for xfce, lxde, kde and fluxbox I 'll need 4 usbsticks or I put the 4 '/salixlive' on the same usb stick but with different names eg salixlive_kde, salixlive_lxde, salixlive_fluxbox. And rename them to 'salixlive' when I want to use that particular version. I am missing a 'from=' cheatcode to simplify live...

Guess this is what they call "poor man's install'.

Any comments?

[Shador]

identfile is your from option. The only difference is that you specifiy the complete path to the ident file. The ident file is the file you mentioned you specifically need to copy too. So you could set identfile e.g. to '/xfce/salix-xfce-13.37-32-rc1.live'.

If you exploded the image to a partition root it's also possible to load grub2 + salix menu by loading /boot/grub2-linux.img as a linux image with any bootloader. For LILO:

Code: Select all

image = /<mountpoint>/boot/grub/grub2-linux.img
label = Salix Live

<mountpoint> is the path where you mounted the partition containing the exploded Salix Live files. Don't forget lilo -v.

This can be also made to work when Salix Live is exploded to a subdirectory, but that requires fiddling with boot.cfg and embed.cfg and one needs to rebuild the grub2-linux.img with update-grub2.sh.


Actually the install-on-USB.sh script installs syslinux, which loads grub2 + menu exactly the same way.

Edit:
And to make this complete - or maybe not - I'm not sure as there are so many ways to boot the LiveCD :
You can also load grub2 + salix menu from the M$ bootloader through g2ldr and g2ldr.mbr files. So you can do a frugal install without having Linux yet.

[ikke]

Thank you very much for kind reaction. Danke sehr!

identfile is your from option. The only difference is that you specifiy the complete path to the ident file. The ident file is the file you mentioned you specifically need to copy too. So you could set identfile e.g. to '/xfce/salix-xfce-13.37-32-rc1.live'.

Too nice to be true.

I added 'identfile=/xfce/salix-xfce-13.37-32-rc1.live' to the boot options as per your instructions and copied the 'salixlive'-directory to /xfce/ but to no avail. Seems that cheatcode "identfile=" is not recognized.
The system was still looking for the 'salixlive'-directory on / and not on /xfce/ and didn't find anything. So I had to reboot.

Anyway thank you for trying to help.

Regards.

[Shador]

Thank you very much for kind reaction. Danke sehr!

identfile is your from option. The only difference is that you specifiy the complete path to the ident file. The ident file is the file you mentioned you specifically need to copy too. So you could set identfile e.g. to '/xfce/salix-xfce-13.37-32-rc1.live'.

Too nice to be true.

I added 'identfile=/xfce/salix-xfce-13.37-32-rc1.live' to the boot options as per your instructions and copied the 'salixlive'-directory to /xfce/ but to no avail. Seems that cheatcode "identfile=" is not recognized.
The system was still looking for the 'salixlive'-directory on / and not on /xfce/ and didn't find anything. So I had to reboot.

Anyway thank you for trying to help.

Regards.

You're right. It's not currently possible. But you got one step closer. It found its root device vs it didn't know where to look at all. I think not much would be needed to support this, but it would have a great impact on many parts of the LiveCD. For example I don't know if the LiveInstaller supports this.

[mimosa]

@ JRD

Regarding hanging - I can tentatively say this indeed looks like it only happens on quitting from Ratpoison. Even if I 'quit ratpoison' from the menu, which takes you to the login screen, and then 'Shut Down', - it hangs.

Regarding automatic login, I seem to have got myself into a pretty pickle by (nonsensically) 'enabling' autologin for the other user, which has a password. Of course it makes no difference to login - but then several apps I recently installed (such as feh and Vimprobable) do nothing when called. They are present, but just do nothing.Their real location is presumably /usr/bin inside the persistent file or /usr/local/bin. Some sort of permissions problem? Also, before that, they were *not* present (I installed them again as xfce user 'one') so it looks like my Ratpoison's improper shutdown also affects persistence.

It doesn't really matter because I'm just playing around with RC1, but otherwise this would be a truly fine mess I got myself into

EDIT

The above isn't apparently an accurate description, and the installation attempt must have failed; here's some output from slapt-get:

Code: Select all

root[ratty]# slapt-get --search vimprobable
vimprobable2-20110921-i486-1gv [inst=no]: vimprobable (a WWW browser that behaves like Vimperator)
root[ratty]# slapt-get --search feh
feh-1.12-i486-1pw [inst=no]: feh (a fast and light Imlib2-based image viewer)
root[ratty]# slapt-get -i feh
Reading Package Lists...Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  imlib2 giblib feh 
0 upgraded, 0 reinstalled, 3 newly installed, 0 to remove, 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 0.0kB/740.0kB of archives.
After unpacking 2.9MB of additional disk space will be used.

Preparing to install imlib2-1.4.4-i486-1tm
Skipping package imlib2-1.4.4-i486-1tm (package with same base name is already installed)...
Preparing to install giblib-1.2.4-i486-1gv
Skipping package giblib-1.2.4-i486-1gv (package with same base name is already installed)...
Preparing to install feh-1.12-i486-1pw
Skipping package feh-1.12-i486-1pw (package with same base name is already installed)...
Done
root[ratty]#