Master the Remaster

[Texstar]

Remastering for Distribution.

Requirements:
PCLinuxOS LiveCD
Empty hard drive partition.(Can be done in VirtualBox as well)
Big swap file (2 gig recommended)

Boot the LiveCD
Log in as root
Edit /usr/share/draklive-install/drakelive-install and comment # out the
following lines:

# enable back some disabled services
require services;
services::start_service_on_boot($_) foreach qw(dkms anacron atd crond syslog);
sync_logs();

# Automatically delete the guest account on first boot
system("chroot $::prefix touch /etc/delete-guest-account");

# Setup for root password and create new user at 1st boot
system("rm -f $::prefix/etc/sysconfig/finish-install");
system("touch $::prefix/etc/sysconfig/finish-install");

open FINISH, '>', "$::prefix/etc/sysconfig/finish-install";
    print FINISH "FINISH_INSTALL=yes\n";
    print FINISH "LICENSE=no\n";
    print FINISH "LANGUAGE=no\n";
    print FINISH "KEYBOARD=no\n";
    print FINISH "TIMEZONE=no\n";
    print FINISH "NETWORK=no\n";
    print FINISH "AUTHENTICATION=no\n";
    print FINISH "USERS=with_root\n";
    print FINISH "USER_AUTOLOGIN_FIRST=no\n";
    print FINISH "GLX=no\n";
close FINISH;

Save the file.

Installation:
Click install pclinuxos button on the desktop. When the video driver removal screen appears press cancel. It will then proceed to the installer leaving the fglrx and nvidia drivers installed.

I usually select custom partitions and make one / partition to do my install.

This will install an exact duplicate of the livecd preserving the guest account and leaving the disabled services from being started.

Log into your new partition as root. Go back and restore the commented out sections in draklive-install (dont forget).

If you want to save space on your livecd, edit /etc/rpm/macros and add the line %_excludedocs 1 This will exclude any doc files from installing when doing a synaptic update or adding new applications. After installing, removing or updating your applications go back and change the line to %_excludedocs 0 or remove it.

After doing your updates to save even more space you can delete the following:
/usr/share/man folder (most desktop users will never use these)
Extra wallpaper in /usr/share/wallpapers.
Delete pkgcache.bin srcpkgcache.bin located in the /var/cache/apt folder.
Delete the package lists (main,extra,nonfree,kde,gnome) in /var/lib/apt/lists
Delete everything in the usr/share/doc folder except for the HTML folder.

Customizations:
One area of interest is /etc/skel folder. When a new user is created, everything in /etc/skel is copied to the users home folder. If you decide to do any changes to your kde settings be sure to copy the .kde file from root into /etc/skel so the new user created on install will get your customizations. Gnome users would want to copy .gconf .gconfd .gnome2 .gnome2_private to /etc/skel folder.

There are 3 areas that can affect your ability to remaster. Make sure the partition that you are remastering is not over 4 gigs of installed applications. Make sure no other partitions are mounted when running your remasterme or mklivecd command. Remove any entries in fstab that contain the line tmpfs. After removing the entries reboot so that no ramdrive is created.

Example items in /etc/fstab to remove:

none /tmp/jack tmpfs defaults 0 0
none /tmp tmpfs defaults 0 0
none /dev/shm tmpfs defaults 0 0


Now that you have your install tweaked you can run remasterme in the console and create a new compressed iso.

Have fun!
Tex

[Joble]

Wow!  I didn't get any of that.  Will have to print it, and digest it, over time.     I expect it will be invaluable information, when I understand it.  Thanks for the tutorial!

Luv Ya Tex!  In a guy sort of way.  Not that other way, that probably just came to your mind.  (You too O-P!)

[Neal]

Wow! Thanks, Tex! With this, I now have enough knowledge to test out for my reMaster's degree. Next, I need to learn enough for my PhD or maybe LLD. ( (Package has Dependencies - Loving Linux Daily)

All joking aside, this is great.

[Texstar]

This is for those who might be interested in producing community remasters for distribution. For those who are  using mklivecd for backup purposes can ignore most of the above.

[Maddogf16]

Cool,what timing. I've been hacking away at trying to make a sexy 3D version of PCLOS for me and some freinds. Maybe when I get it hacked together I could offer it to those that have good compiz going.

KDE w/compiz effects and a AWN dock that will have full functionality. I know it will work best with Gnome but I like it's look and feel but also like KDE better. KDE's docks just don't have the same potential.Some screenlets thrown in for good measure. It may look Mac-ish I know,but that is a look I like.

Thanks for the tip Tex.

Maddog

[Neal]

This is for those who might be interested in producing community remasters for distribution. For those who are  using mklivecd for backup purposes can ignore most of the above.

I'm giving it some thought. We're going to need a new packager's iso at some point, so I was thinking I'd see if I can do it.

My sense of humor was getting the better of me this AM.

[Archie]

Thanks, Tex. Real, sweet deal.

Just did a remaster last week, and I should have waited for a bit. Well, copy, paste and save this valuable info.

[hootiegibbon]

Texstar,

What can I say? this is great stuff.

Thanks for your support of the Living Wiki

Jase

[exploder]

Texstar, I appreciate the information you provided very much! Thank you!

exploder

[Sefy]

Mmm... is this where i can set to have dkms disabled on next boot? i find it rather annoying it keeps turning on after a new install and slows the whole boot up process. 

[CtrlAltDel]

Hi Tex..

Thanks for this info..  It will help greatly with the next MythTVOS..

Just finished a PCLOS XFCE remaster using this method and was well impressed..

Two things to add though if I may be so cheeky     

If users are starting with the Gnome Livecd as a base they won't encounter the Graphics Card Installer part..

Gnome users may also use the BleachBit application to wipe the history and all tmp files before running mklivecd..  It removed nearly 300MB on my system..

Thanks again Tex,

CtrlAltDel

[CtrlAltDel]

Hi Sefy,

Mmm... is this where i can set to have dkms disabled on next boot? i find it rather annoying it keeps turning on after a new install and slows the whole boot up process.  Undecided

Yes..  But I'm not sure if that's a good idea..  Here's the part in draklive-install..

# enable back some disabled services
    require services;
    services::start_service_on_boot($_) foreach qw(dkms anacron atd crond syslog);
    sync_logs();

If you remove the dkms here it shouldn't be enabled on boot..


Cheers,


CtrlAltDel