Hi,

I have tried to use mklivecd with the fstab=rw,auto option but it didn't work. The NTFS drives continued to be listed as RO. Any ideas? The other funny thing is that if I re-mount an NTFS drive as rw during a session using the unmount / modprobe fuse / mount -t ntfs-3g ... commands, then the drive letter of that drive disappears in Konquerer and I can only access the drive via the command line. So NTFS write support has been a real issue for me.

Also, can I limit the extent to which hwdetect overwrites fstab at each boot? For example, if I wanted to use the encrypted file system, this option is wiped out in the fstab each time I boot. Is there any information on how to "tweak" the hwdetect options? Just for your info, I am a bit of a newbie.

I appreciate your help! MCNLive is great.

Adrian

Hi Adrian,

* mklivecd will always build a system where all NTFS drives are initially mounted RO. That's deep in the code. You would need a more recent version of ntfs-3g and fuse, and you would need a good knowledge how to change the mklivecd code (the hwdetect code) to change this wanted behaviour.


* KDE: kde is not yet prepared to show the drives. For the time being you can access the rw remounted ntfs drives with the filemanager under: /mnt/win_c etc
And you need to start the filemanager in SU mode, menu --> system --> file....

* mklivecd creates a LIVE system, all system-wide settings are lost after a reboot. That's the meaning of a live system, that the fstab file is written dynamically. If not, you would not not be able to use it on different hardware.
To use an encrypted FS you would to need change the whole code, and you would need some deeper knowledge about building live cd's. And I am sorry, I can' t tell you how.

--chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your FAST replies!

One more issue I have with MCNlive is that I have to write the new iso to a CD, then reboot with the CD to put it on the usb stick. There is a tip for how to do so without it (mount the new iso and copy all the files directly to the usb drive), but that didn't work for me - it won't boot anymore when I do that.

Also, for some reason if I use noscsi as a boot option it doesn't mount the OS and drops me to a limited shell.

Adrian:

how do you copy the files?
'Basically' (read: in most cases) you only need to replace the big livecd.sqfs file, that's the compressed system itself.
If you copy more, then you need to keep the original: syslinux.cfg, and the ldlinux.sys file
(they are not on the CD), and you should not format the stick. (you would loose the bootloader).



All files must be in the main directory of the first partition on the usb stick.

The option: noscsi prevents some scsi and usb drivers from loading. So, yes, you need scsi to be able to boot from usb. Why do you want this noscsi option?

Btw: there is a fairly simple way (without messing with the mklivecd code) to impliment the NTFS rw at booting, if it is only for one specific computer where you know the hard disk end the partition number. Let me know if you want to try it.

Hi,

Well, I copied all files from the iso to the main directory of the first partition as directed and left those two files you mentioned on the usb drive (nothing was every deleted from it). I tried it again now and get this error during boot: squashfs error: zlibfs returned unexpected result. Then eventually gives me a basic shell. I am using a usb drive in combination with the LiveCD (the usb can't boot by itself).

I had interested in noscsi to speed up the boot process, but obviously that one wasn't a good idea...one thing that takes up some time during booting is waiting for the network to be up (towards the end of the boot process before it starts KDE). Is that essential? It adds about 8-12sec to the boot process...

I am EXTREMELY interested in the NTFS rw option for a specific machine with known drives, in my case hda5. Looking forward to it.

There is something wrong. What is on your remaster? Is it a remaster of remaster of re...?
Did you change any mklivecd scripts? Or the syslinux package?
Does it work when you run the create live usb wizard again?

I would start from scratch, with the original MCNLIve from CD. remaster it. Burn it. Reformat the first partition on the usb drive and run the Crete LiveUSB wizard.

If you seriously interested in this remastering stuff, trying out many options and you are curious, there is a wonderful way to test all remasters without burning. On your Windows system install the VirtualBox software . You can run every iso without burning, and also you are able to 'install' MCNLive inside windows without repartitioning, rebooting, changing bootloaders:

http://www.virtualbox.org



It is only a delay when there is no network connected. The long boot time is basically 'hal'.
And also there are some wanted delay, in total 8-10 seconds, to wait for the detection of the usb ports to be able to boot from usb stick.



You are aware that the NTFS rw version is not 100% secure yet? And that you would lose the portability of the system?
Will tell you later this eveining the changes you need to make, you simply add some lines to:
/etc/rc.d/rc.local

Yes it is a remaster of several remasters. I tried a remaster from the original and the quick method worked. So....you are probably right. What I noticed is that the files mounted from the newly baked ISO belong to root, while the ones on the usb drive created by "Create LiveUSB" belong to guest. Do you reckon this might have to do with it?

I doubt it. The moment you are copying the files over to a FAT partition on the usb stick, the permissions are irrelevant. FAT does not care much about permissions. But I could be wrong...

You did not tell what your mount point is on this machine, is it: /mnt/win_d ?

Add the following lines to the file /etc/rc.d/rc.local, at the end:



Change /mnt/win_d and the /dev/hda5 if needed.
Make a remaster. When you are booting you can now specify a boot code:
livecd ntfsrw

On a usb stick you can make this bootcode the default by editing the syslinux.cfg file and add 'ntfsrw' to the append line. Example:



I did not test it. Use it at your own risk.

Thanks, I will try it out at my own risk. One more question: how can I start from scratch in the remastering process without loosing all those downloads I made (I mean downloaded apps through the control center add software feature)? I have waited for hours for those downloads....and if I start from scratch I would lose them. Any ideas how they could be preserved and then re-installed? That would really help me!

When you are installing things, you have two options: graphically with rpmdrake or on the command line with the urpmi command. Urpmi has a switch to keep the packages: --noclean

Here an example for usage. You want to install a package with the name 'inkscape'



All packages get installed on your system. And the rpm's itself are kept in the directory:
/var/cache/urpmi/rpms

(on a live system, this is a dir in memory)

You can copy them to your hard disk)
Before starting the remaster, clean it out ;-)

> urpmi --noclean inkscape

Does that mean that I have to type this command when downloading a new program to ensure that the original installation files are kept? Meaning it is too late for what I already downloaded?


And...once a new remaster is done, how do I restore those programs?

After having been re-installed, will they be listed in the rpmdrake GUI and in the KDE menu?

Thanks!

I don't understand these questions.

Maybe because I am too much of a newbie to Linux. Basically, you say I can copy the original installation files to my hard drive. After doing a brand new remaster, how do I get those back on the new remaster? The aim here is to do a brand new remaster without loosing the downloads...

And the second question means: because on the new remaster I didn't download the programs through rpmdrake, when I take them from the hard drive and put them back on the remaster, will they be listed as installed in rpmdrake? Because the GUI is very useful as you can see what you have installed. I hope this is more clear now.

They won't show up in rpmdrake... well actually they do, but rpmdrake will download them again.
You can just browse to the location on your harddrive where you put the rpm's, and click on them.
Or else, in a console, cd to the folder you put the rpms, and type "urpmi *rpm"

Adrian:

You are working on a *fixed* Live system, it is statically.

rpmdrake has so called software sources, they point to a ftp/http server on the internet.
That's why you download them again while installing.

Installing software in Linux is made by installing *packages*, and one software usually consists of a lot of single packages.

Remaster:

you install packages, software.
---> the remaster is an image of this new system, your installed software is part of the image.
The new iso will contain the installed new or changed software.
All changes to the system is kept. You don't need software packages apart.

Why do you want to keep packages? You already have them installed after the remaster.

I think I am trying to distinguish between the original installation files (which one downloads through rpmdrake) and the installed programs.

At least in Windows, you install a program from the orginal installation file (usually a single zip or exe file - in Linux it seems they are a whole list of packages). The original installation files are key if you want to get your system to where it was before without doing tons of downloads all over again.

Basically, assume this scenario: a new MCNLive comes out. I like it and want to make my personal version of it. My old remasters are going to be overwritten. To do the new remaster I have to personalise the new MCNlive with all my preferences again, but if I have the original installation files of my favourite Mandriva apps (Abiword etc.) backed up somewhere then I at least don't need to download them anymore. Since my internet connection isn't very reliable, that would save hours and hours. I would simply boot the new MCNLive CD, change my settings, install these apps from my hard drive, and create a new remaster as you said.

Now, tell if this is different between Windows and Linux: in Windows if you want to re-install a program it MUST be done from the original installation file that you had downloaded. You can't just copy the program's folder in the program files folder, because various DLL's and other nice things have been copied to various windows folders and registry changes have been made. I assume the same occurs in Linux...? That is the reason why I want to keep the packages (I assume by packages or rpms you mean what I mean by original installation files, right?).

I do apologise for bothering you with these newbie questions but this forum is really extremely helpful! Thanks .

This goes beyond the scope of MCNLive, I am sorry.

MCNLive is a Live system:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiveCD
http://www.mcnlive.org/mcnlive.htm

It is not a normal Linux distribution.

What is Linux and a linux distro:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution

Hundreds of different linux distros:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of...x_distributions
http://www.distrowatch.com

You can't upgrade a live system.

I would like to ask you to use wikipedia and/or google for an introduction to Linux, packages, OS, distributions etc.

Certainly, I am aware of the basic difference between a live system and a normal install, but not in regards to the details. My question was about what a live system can and can't do. But don't worry, I think I got it.

I think I understand that rpms are original installation files. Sorry, I will use other sources for more general Linux related questions. Thanks!