how to create ISO of my system ?

[jarp53]

how do I create and ISO of my system so I can make a live usb and use it on another machine ; I have LMDE 4

[arvy]

Several possibilities, some of which are described here. If you don't like any of those, try an online search.

[jarp53]

non of those work Debian package installer would not install them ; in MX there is Snapshot , so i downloaded but some files are not compatible; wish we had something like snapshot on mx, with two clicks and is ready for usb image writer , less than 5 minutes you have a live usb. so thanks for your help , any ways I'll keep looking.

[arvy]

wish we had something like snapshot on mx, with two clicks and is ready for usb image writer , less than 5 minutes you have a live usb.

Agreed. That MX Linux feature works very well. Unfortunately, I haven't tried to produce an equivalent result with my LMDE set-up and so I can't offer any further suggestions.

[deepakdeshp]

https://www.google.com/amp/www.linuxand ... stallation

[jarp53]

apt-get -y install git
git clone https://gitlab.com/remastersys/LinuxRespin
apt-get -y install git
the first two commands no problem but the " apt-get -y install git" results in an error "jr@jr:~$ dpkg -i 4.0.0-2_all.deb
dpkg: error: requested operation requires superuser privilege"; I already run the first two as "sudo" what else do I have to do

[MrEen]

non of those work Debian package installer would not install them ; in MX there is Snapshot , so i downloaded but some files are not compatible; wish we had something like snapshot on mx, with two clicks and is ready for usb image writer , less than 5 minutes you have a live usb. so thanks for your help , any ways I'll keep looking.

AVLinux uses Systemback for ISO creation, installation and restore. And AV is actually a snapshot of the lead developer's Debian system, so I'm thinking you're just not doing something correctly. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with it myself, so can't offer anything useful.

[jarp53]

jr@jr:~$ sudo ./install.sh -d
[sudo] password for jr:
sudo: ./install.sh: command not found
jr@jr:~$ sudo sh install.sh -d
sh: 0: Can't open install.sh
jr@jr:~$

I was able to install the debian packages , but no sh ; I going to do a work around ,I'll install the ISO in the usb and run it and customized it as I much as I can , then I'll use in other pc. thanks for your help

[zaheermk]

Hi jarp53,

With the default Disks (gnome-disk-utility) application, I was able to make an image (.IMG) of my partition and also able to write it (IMG/ISO) to a flash disk.

(OTT, Disks is also a good partition manager)

And as per the below passage, the .IMG file can be simply renamed to .ISO, if it is uncompressed.

"There is no difference in the structure of ISO and IMG formats if the IMG file is uncompressed. It is possible for an IMG format file to be renamed with the ISO file extension and then opened in software that only recognizes the ISO file format. This is an effective way of accessing disc information in programs that do not handle the IMG format."
From https://www.techwalla.com/articles/what ... -img-files

But the IMG file made, has the size of the partition, irrespective of it is full/partially full/near empty. This is impractical/inconvenient, since, to take a backup of a 100GB partition with only 10GB data in it, there should be another partition with 100GB free space. I have not yet found out how to get a IMG file (or ISO file) generated with the actual size of the data in the partition.

With Timeshift application, it is possible to take an actual size backup (with rsync/btrfs) to another partition/external drive, with an option to restore, but not as a IMG/ISO file. A description of how to take a backup and restore, is given at https://itsfoss.com/backup-restore-linux-timeshift/

[zaheermk]

Hi jarp53,

This looks like what you want (and maybe even more).

If I understand your question correctly, you want to create an ISO of your system native partition, so that you could restore your system and/or clone it to another system.

This 'Relax and Recover' app says it does just that.

"It is a modular framework with many ready-to-go workflows for common
situations. Relax-and-Recover produces a bootable image. This image can
repartition the system. Once that is done it initiates a restore from backup.
Restores to different hardware are possible. Relax-and-Recover can therefore be
used as a migration tool as well."
From https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/focal/amd6 ... 2.5+dfsg-1

And as it creates a bootable image, once you write it on to a USB disk, you should also be able to create back an ISO of the USB disk using the default Disks application or the 'dd' command, as mentioned at https://www.tecmint.com/create-an-iso-f ... -in-linux/

BTW, this looks like a great backup tool which can produce backups in various formats, which will be able to even reproduce the partition structure and restore data as well. Please read more about it at https://carroll.net/blog/red-hat-bare-metal-backup and http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/foc ... ear.8.html

From what I understand by reading the linked pages is that, a bootable image created by the application will be able to reproduce/clone both partition structure and also data from a system as backup, or if required, to another system. Please correct if my understanding is wrong. I am yet to try it on my system.

Installation, seems to be to build .deb file first and then install, of which details are given at http://relax-and-recover.org/documentation/installation

[zaheermk]

Hi jarp53,

The backup tool, Relax & Recover, mentioned in my last post, did not have a GUI, whereas this one, Refracta, mentioned below, has a GUI.

"These tools will work on most Debian or Devuan-based systems. Refracta is based on Devuan GNU/Linux. Everything installed in Refracta is free and open-source software. You can download it, use it, copy it, and share it with friends."
From http://www.ibiblio.org/refracta/

refractasnapshot and refractainstaller would be the two tools required - the former creates a bootable snapshot (ISO) image and the latter installs the booted image from USB to harddisk.

"Refracta Snapshot creates a bootable live-CD image which is a copy of
your running system. Any changes you make to the running system,
including desktop preferences, configuration changes, or added software
will be copied to the snapshot and will be present when you run that
snapshot as a live system."
From http://www.ibiblio.org/refracta/docs/re ... apshot.txt

The bootable live-CD image (.ISO) created using the above tool can be written to your USB flash disk using the Refracta2usb tool or any other USB bootable disk writing tools or even the default GNOME Disks application.

"Refracta Installer will install the operating system to hard drive from
a running live-CD or live-USB session. The running system will be copied
exactly - any changes you make to the running system, including desktop
preferences, configuration changes, or added software will be copied to
the installed system."
From http://www.ibiblio.org/refracta/docs/re ... taller.txt

After booting from the USB, in the live session, the Refracta Installer needs to be run to install the live session to harddisk.

For performing the above activities with a GUI, you need to download the latest four files (even if the version numbers are different for base & gui):
refractasnapshot-base_10.2.10_all.deb
refractasnapshot-gui_10.2.10_all.deb
refractainstaller-base_9.5.4_all.deb
refractainstaller-gui_9.5.5_all.deb

The above files can be downloaded from https://sourceforge.net/projects/refracta/files/tools/