A Debian Live Lenny/Squeeze hybrid for CD, USB, and HDD!

Download Link at Bottom!

504box-Live-i686 is a customized Debian minimal install created for older computers with low-medium resources.
It has a small set of applications and once installed to hard drive
can be expanded via Synaptic pkg manager, or kept small and light.

I specifically made it small so that you can take a full Debian system
with you anywhere on a 512MB and up USB with full persistency!

Debian Live
http://live.debian.net/
uses a persistent file or partition labeled "live-rw"
Please see here:
http://live.debian.net/manual/html/persistence.html

I included 5 different sized pre-made "live-rw" files in the download
1 for each; 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB.
Just unzip the "live-rw.zip", inside are the 5 compressed live-rw's
live-rw256.zip,etc
Unzip one of whichever size you want and copy it to a fat32/ext2/ext3 usb
or hard drive partition and boot with the persistent option.
NOTE!
The live-rw file must be on a different partition than the Debian live system.
Meaning, for example using a 2GB USB, make 2 partitions
if usb is sdb

sdb1 (at least 400MB) fat32 boot flag set active, syslinux 3.71 or higher installed

sdb2 (any size bigger than live-rw file) ext2 (Place live-rw here)

Easiest way to do this is partition USB as above and then use Unetbootin
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
to install 504box to USB.

Unetbootin is included in 504box, so if you burn 504box to CD and then use
Gparted and Unetbootin to setup your USB easily!

It boots fast and has been tested on 4 different PC's
A HP Pavillion a810n AMD Athlon64 3300+ 1GB RAM
A Emachines no-name with Nvidia MX4000 GeForce AMD AthlonXP 2200+ and 512MB RAM
A Dell with Celeron 512MB RAM and Sparkle card
and a Toshiba 7000CT Portege Pentium II 160MB RAM 266MHz Laptop
504box performed well on all of them!

Requirements:
i686 or better with 128MB of RAM or better in X mode
64MB RAM or better in Text Mode (enter "textonly" at boot command line)
(hit TAB key and edit boot line)

Build:
Debian Live 5.0.4

Desktop:
Fluxbox err...504box
504box is a custom build of the Fluxbox Window Manager.
You'll love it if you're a Fluxbox fan!

Display manager:
Slim; sourced from SlackBuilds 13.0 repository and converted to Debian

Kernel: 2.6.26-2-686 Lenny/Squeeze with lenny proposed updates/ debian backports.

username: root
password: 77

Note; There are no user accounts, only root/administrator.
You can setup a regular user easily in Menu

Included utilities are:
grub
syslinux
Testdisk
Fsarchiver
ddrescue
gddrescue
grub-rescue-pc
e2undel
ext3grep
gzrt
crack
wipe

Other tools include:
Bum services manager
GrubConfig* Added script /usr/sbin/grubconfig (very cool)
isomaster
squashfs-tools
xnest
ntfs-3g
gpart
Gparted
parted
kpartx
util-linux

Text:
leafpad
vi/vim
nano
mc

Filemanagers:
PCMANFM
Rox
MC
Isomaster
xarchiver

Audio:
alsamixergui
audacious
Graveman
burn
cdrecord

Browsers/network:
Flash 10
Iceweasel
w3m
links2
links2 text

gftp
grsync
wireless-tools
gnome-network-manager
wifi-radar
xchat
ircii
weechat

Graphics:
the Gimp

Other stuff:
Plop bootmanager
Netbootcd 3.2.1 (net install a major distro)
remastersys backup and hd installer
Unetbootin (yep)
Live-Magic (make your own Debian Live!)

Note, lxpanel at top
you can turn any/all apps that start with fluxbox by editing /root/.fluxbox/startup

Burn to CD-R/CD-RW: Use k3b/brasero in Linux or Nero or ImageBurn freeware in Windows.
always "burn" image to CD, at slowest speed, usually 8x.

Persistent/Non-Persistent USB/HDD install:
use Unetbootin and see persistence.html in docs folder

Hard drive Install:
Full Install= approx. 1.1GB(small)
Remastersys-Installer, runs similar to Ubuntu installer,
very easy to use.

Please contact me at thepenandpaper@gmail.com if any questions!

367MB zipped folder containing all this stuff
http://multidistro.com/distros/debia...s/contents.png
More pics to be added...
BOOTMENU
http://multidistro.com/distros/debia...s/bootmenu.png

Desktop
http://multidistro.com/distros/debia...cs/desktop.png

The iso itself is about 365MB and also comes with Plop bootmanager and NetbootCD-3.2.1 as above.
DOWNLOAD!
http://multidistro.com/distros/debia...04box-i686.zip

Thanks Linux72,

I for one want to thank you Linus72 for your work and sharing it. I like your 503box work too. Your work is appreciated. I will share it with my friends and user groups.

FYI
username= user
password= live
and
username= root
password= "not set"
to set a password just:#passwd root

Correct? And sorry if I am not suppose to be posting here. If so, my bad.

Thanks again,

EdwinStarr

Hey dude you got same last name as me!

thanks for trying it!

OH
with 504box only root account, no users

username: root
password: 77

if you need help setting up user I can help you.

EDIT: I vastly improved the modified fluxbox desktop compared to 503box
I want to get rid of fbpanel/lxpanel but they provide a menu that flux doesn't
I wish all the menus's between wm's were iin sync...

and its only about 1.1Gb full install to hard drive, thats minimal
with all the stuff its got

'course you can post here...

I was thinking of disbanding multidistro.com
and making ClutchOS; which would be a trinity of ubuntu/debian/slack13 distros
all having similar stuff and featuring fluxbox, icewm, and jwm only
with Slim as DM for all three

I made a prelim 12.2/13 ClutchOS Edwin
http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Syste...86-54962.shtml

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...nt-usb-793176/

their only expermental and suggest the vesa driver

Thanks alot for the thanks and tell me about your heritage?

My name (Starr) is from Arizona, though I was born/raised in Virginia
lots of Starr's in AZ

Also, did you see all the distro's Edwin?
http://linux.softpedia.com/progMoreB...isX-31789.html
504box was built directly off 503box-Chrome
I just removed some stuff and updated gtk engines, etc to Squeeze
but only limited Squeeze stuff
I also added Bum(and turned off many services so it should run lighter than 503box) and some menu stuff to /usr/share/applications so mc/nano show up in lxpanel menu,etc
I also added Slim from Slackware SBOPKG (ha!) and got rid of GDM

Says you like to remaster too dude, maybe we could collaborate?
you can upload your stuff to my servers too

OH
Please give me a critique would ya?
Be harsh too as I need to know what it needs?

Thanks again Linux72,

I figured out the password for 504box. It is 77. Yes, I am quite interested in collaborating with you in building distros. You may pm me at edh398@yahoo.com. I plan on using either 503box or 504box to base my next StarrLinux off of. I will sure reference you for all your great works. All my custom distros are GPLed and free to test and use for feedback. I do like kde 3.5 so will no doubt add that and maybe kdm to your great work and offer it for an option for another session.

Starr is my middle name. I have an Icelandic last name. Starr came from my family in America.

The boot of 503box does the same thing as my distro. Seems like it is in Fragadelic's great script about the grub image not loading and have to press any key to continue. The grub image is in /boot/grub/ not //grub/. This is easily fixed by adding the path for splash.xpm.gz in the /boot/grub/menu.lst file as /boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz. This is a very minor bug. I think I may find it in the Remastersys script some day. For now this is a very small bug. Thanks to Fragadelic's continued work with Remastersys for all this fun working with Ubuntu and Debian we can all collaborate to help Linux be more fun for all.

Later,

EdwinStarr

Hi all,

I could not get 504box-Live-i686 to log-in after a hard drive install. The gdm login manager did not load in 504box. With 503box-Chrome everything worked perfectly with a hard drive install. With 504box I just got a text only login prompt, no gdm manager. Nothing I tried would let me log in. I tried root wo/password; w/77 pw; w/root pw; tried just hit enter enter; tried guest wo/password; w/55 pw; w/live pw; w/user and all combinations of pw's and nothing worked.

Anyone else have this same problem? I installed 503box-Chrome and it all works perfectly. I also noticed that Remastersys-Installer asked for a username and password and root password in the install routine with 504box-Live; it does not do that with the 503box's. I checked the version Remastersys in 503box and it's v2.0.18-1; for 504box-live it's v2.0.18-1 too. I see that slim is used on 504box-live with auto-login, do not even see slim on live cd boot. Maybe slim is causing the log-in problem on my system. 503box uses gdm, if I am not mistaken, and there is no log-in probs for me on same desktop system with this set up.

Maybe in one of the "customized" scripts of Remastersys could live the "bug". Maybe just reinstalling Remastersys in Synaptic in the live cd session will kill the "bug". These are just guesses now, but should I find my solution I may post it next. Anyone else having the same prob? What I see in the 504box-Live live session I like a lot. Thanks Linux72, keep up the good work.

later,

EdwinStarr

1 members found this post helpful.

I gave it a quick try on an ASUS 1005HA. Unfortunately, the 2.6.26 kernel sees neither wired or wireless ethernet.

01:00.0 Ethernet controller: Attansic Technology Corp. Atheros AR8132 / L1c Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (rev c0)
02:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)

Edit: The above is taken from lspci on a Fedora Rawhide install, which sees both. Actually lspci saw both cards, though didn't give them model numbers, just saw them--however, there's no ath9k module and trying to modprobe the atl1e didn't help with the wired ethernet.)

That makes it a problematic for me. However, I liked the basic look of it, and it's nice to have a fluxbox based distro around. I'll be watching its development.

One thought--so many of the distro targeted netbooks use either OpenBox or LXDE--nothing against either one of them, but I'm a bit surprised that fluxbox isn't more popular with such things. The point is, that perhaps trying to use a 2.6.31 or 32 kernel might be worthwhile so that more of the netbook hardware is recognized.

Please don't take this as the "harsh criticism" you requested. I think it's a nice looking distribution with potential.

Other recommendations (again, I only played with this on a relatively new netbook.) Rather than the default LXterm, which took up most of the screen, maybe xterm? (I think the type of user who will try a flux based distro is going to be familiar with terminals.)

It might also be nice to have a few keyboard shortcuts built in--especially as it's so much quicker to change defaults in fluxbox than say, in openbox. For example, #!Crunchbang Linux has a few defaults that open a terminal, open a web browser, and so on. (They're actually on the screen with a default install, made part of the Conky setup.



Hope that at least some of this is useful and thanks for your efforts with this.

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks to both of you for your honest critique

I will have to fix all of that
Edwin, I got rid of GDM in 504box; instead using Slim; which is lighter
I dont know why or how the problem with yours occurred
though I am sure it is my fault.

I changed /etc/sudoers and this may have lot to do with it as I am no guru
with the sudoers thing.

For any who wish to install it to HDD:

Please first login to the root Desktop; create a User and password with the user setup in System menu
then logout of root Desktop
login as the user you made at Slim login screen

Then run Remastersys-Installer as the User you made

Or

Login as root above; make new User account
then run Remastersys-Installer

The Remastersys Installer isn't perfect; although the only issue is with how it understands user accounts
like it will also install the "guest" account; even though you didnt login to that account

In 504box i deleted the User guest account
Only User is root; password 77

as it says at Softpedia download page about only root account
http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Syste...86-55141.shtml

and scottro11; as for kernel, I am probaly gonna have to go up to Squeeze to get a higher kernel
or maybe I should install a custom 2.6.33 kernel?

and your right about making it even lighter using xterm,etc

Forthwith; I will endeavor to persevere

Thanks Linus72 for a few more tips/instructions for 504box. I am using Squeeze with Openbox now. I can not get everything to work the way I like, exactly, but seems that all the stuff that works in Fluxbox works in Openbox. So thanks for showing your work openly. Thanks all others too.

I am using xfce4's panel and xfce4's menu, because it picks up my newly installed programs in the menu button. Also idesk for icons on the desktop, gxrandr, grandr gui, xscreensaver, conky, fehbg (eval 'cat $HOME/.febg' &) and a script I created to control desktop background switching. I have no gui for the script yet, for now I just type /scripts/./wallpapers.sh at terminal.

#contents of my script:
WALLPAPERS="/home/username/wallpapers"
ALIST=( 'ls -wl /home/username/wallpapers' )
RANGE=${#ALIST[@]}
let "number = $RANDOM"
let LASTNUM="'cat $WALLPAPERS/.last' + $number"
let "number = $LASTNUM % $RANGE"
echo $number > $WALLPAPERS/.last

feh --bg-scale $WALLPAPERS/${ALIST[$number]}
#end

I got this script from the Internet and just copy/paste (ed) in a text file. It works great for me. The Squeeze I used is using kernel 2.6.32-trunk-686 and/or2.6.32-3-686. I am using grandr at startup of x so I can choose my screen resolution 1280x1024@75 that I like. This was the only way I figured out so far to handle resolutions in Openbox.

Seems like if you want a Linux that works just the way I like it to today it is best to just do a netinst or command line install of a good distro and build it from a "ground-up" algorithm to just the way I like it. Or be lucky enough to find someone with mostly the same tastes as I have and start from their work.

thanks all,

EdwinStarr