Remastersys HOWTO!!!

[kanishka]

Just found it: http://www.howtoforge.com/ubuntu-linux- ... emastersys

[maty1206]

TO kanishka :

Excellent, I was needing that guide.

Thanks

[chris458]

Hello, i've done this pretty much exactly how the guide says, i downloaded remastersys from the romeo source, and installed it

i ran sudo remastersys

sudo remastersys dist

watched it do its thing, then burnt the iso (only the iso) to a dvd, put it in my computer

i hit enter

the usplash loads

then i get a blank screen

i check for errors, i get zero errors

i try the dvd again, it loads then black screen, i ctrl+alt+del and then i see my gdm, it says the user custom will login in 10 seconds, i wait, it does and i get a black screen

what am i doing wrong?

[chris4585]

also i made the this all in virtualbox, anything wrong wtih this?

[maty1206]

TO chris458:

No sure, but why don't you burn teh ISO on CD and after that boot from CD device?

Maybe works....

[BakUp]

then i get a blank screen

I had the same results as you..........until I moved my mouse. I know this sounds stupid and simple, but I thought I would ask you if you tried moving your mouse.

Personally I have never had to do this before after the second it booted up. It actually surprised me it was something that simple (for me).

Oh well !
BakUp

[kanishka]

then i get a blank screen

I had the same results as you..........until I moved my mouse.

This is the same error I get with every Gutsy-based OS that I installed, so I think it's Gutsy's fault.

[Fragadelic]

Sometimes the Ubuntu casper scripts have a problem determining the proper size of the screen and this happens.

The howto shouldn't be needed anymore as I have a gui in the newest version of remastersys that should be pretty straightforward.

[BakUp]

Is it Ubuntu that is developing the Remastersys ?

I do not know that much about it but I can say one thing........... This Remastersys works for most users and is so simple. I can not say that for the Remasterme that PCLinusOS users try to run.

[Fragadelic]

Is it Ubuntu that is developing the Remastersys ?

I do not know that much about it but I can say one thing........... This Remastersys works for most users and is so simple. I can not say that for the Remasterme that PCLinusOS users try to run.

Thank you for the kind words.

No Ubuntu isn't developing remastersys - I am but it uses all of the regular Ubuntu tools like Ubiquity and Casper to accomplish the end result. These are the same programs that are used to create the official Ubuntu iso files.

I still have some work to do to further refine the process but it is coming along. Squashfs-tools has been improved but I'm not sure if/when that will make its way into the Ubuntu repositories. The updated version allows wildcard exclusions for the compression tool which would make it easier to create a better compressed filesystem.

The current version of remastersys works well with Ubuntu 7.x and up. I believe the version of squashfs-tools used in the older versions of Ubuntu are what cause issues with the 6.x versions.

Remastersys works well as long as users don't change the settings of gdm or kdm and the basic system files and password storage method. When any of these are changed, casper, the Ubuntu livecd set of scripts, has issues and will fail.

[BakUp]

Thank you for the info, great work Fragadelic !

I just tied it yesterday for the first time, I was scared to I guess because of the results of what I was hearing from the problems with PCL's user's were having with Remasterme........lol

I tried it on my Madtux desktop and Acer laptop, the only thing that was just a little strange was when it booted up off the Remastersys it went to a blank screen instantly, I was thinking the worst, but all it took was just a little movement of my mouse. I can deal with that.

Thanks again,
BakUp

[Fragadelic]

You're very welcome. I never had any issues with PCLinuxOS' remasterme in the past but haven't tried any of the newer incarnations of it so I just don't know about it anymore. I stopped using PCLinuxOS when I came over to the Ubuntu's.

I still have a few things to refine with remastersys but it works pretty well for most people in its current state.

[stevenofnine]

Wondered if I could get a tip on this process.

I rana clean install of Mint, and ran the update, essentially getting a Fresh Up To Date Mint on my machine.

Then I followed the instructions to add this app to the repos, and installed it from Synaptic.

I ran from the desktop, generating an installable LiveCD. It runs through the first two steps, then appears to hang.

I get cycles of high CPU use, and high Wireless Net use (!) but for 15+ minutes, nothing being written to HDD. I abort, and some files are in the folder where the ISO should be, but no completed file.

Am I just not waiting long enough? I've experience with makelivecd and remasterme, and they have continual % status. This simply said something regarding a second set of files... and nothing.

Thanks, in advance, for any help.

//EDIT

OK, so I wasn't waiting long enough. I started this process out at work, then left the room and went and did something productive. The Stage 2 file collection took 20 minutes, on a 3 GHz Intel. That's a long time for someone who has no idea how long it'll take (and who is chronically impatient.)

Just a heads-up to all the other impatient users: be patient...