I am lookin to remaster a linux distribution for my needs. I need a distro that is sturdy, stable, small and fast. I need something with good hardware detection. I've been looking at different distributions all week and I am tired of installing different distributions. So, I came to ask you all for help. This distribution I want to make must be ultra customizable and a distribution primarily used as a Desktop distribution. If anyone can help, that would be helpful.

Things I can't use or accept.
SLAX (doesn't work on my computer )
SuSE (won't install )
Ubuntu of any type (it is just to restrictive > )
Live CD distros (Knoppix, SLAX, Puppy Linux, etc.)
extremly biased answers

This is all open source stuff. So if your clever enough and have the time you can take ubuntu and turn it into fedora if you want. In short, all linux distros are "utlra customizable" since you have access to the source code.
However, if you don't have mad hacker skills but still want to customize a distro take a look at this project:

http://www.instalinux.com/

I haven't tried this myself but it seems to be at least attempting to do what you want - provide an easy method for customizing a linux installation.

I just skimmed over the front page and I am all ready feeling really excited about it. I can't wait to try it out. Thank science for CD+RW! And thank you for the link!

Not tried it, but you can make your own LiveCD based on NimbleX here: http://custom.nimblex.net/

Well, the installinux coe was horrible. It destroyed my computer and I had to find an old install disk of Ubuntu and re-install. I just lost lots of data, but nothing irreplaceable.

LiveCDs don't really work for me though. I'm looking to create slick desktop solution. Not a LiveCD.

At the moment, my custom linux is being downloaded. If it work, I shall post in happiness proclaiming my linux is born. If it doesn't, I will still accept suggestions.

Sadly, I must say that it didn't work. I log into a GUI to choose my boot option. I choose one and the computer either just goes to a black screen and the cd ejects after a while or it gives me a ton of console messages and then returns errors.

Ah well, better find another distro. If anyone can find a good distro, I will veryy happy.

That is why you should ALWAYS back-up your data before doing anything that could potentially mean you lose it

I didn't lose much. Only my download of Final Fantasy Voices of the Lifestream (OCREMIX). Ah well. Do you know of any good distro to try remastering?

PCLinuxOS is my distro of choice for remastering. It was very easy for me to install and remaster, especially since the 2007 version came out. It's got a good package manager (Synaptic), up-to-date versions of everything, and a clean menu style (mandriva based).

Basically the process goes like this:

1) Download, burn, and install from the livecd

2) add/remove/change/customize anything you want, until you have a system exactly as you want it, customizations, decorations, skins, colors, fonts, menus, autologin, etc.

3) as root, run "remasterme"
No arguments needed, no config files to edit, no mess. It builds an iso image that you can use as install media or a live cd/dvd on other machines.

Afterwards, the only things you need to configure might be the xorg.conf and IP details (if not dhcp).

Downside - PCLOS only comes in 32-bit.

PCLinuxOS is my distro of choice for remastering. It was very easy for me to install and remaster, especially since the 2007 version came out. It's got a good package manager (Synaptic), up-to-date versions of everything, and a clean menu style (mandriva based).

Basically the process goes like this:

1) Download, burn, and install from the livecd

2) add/remove/change/customize anything you want, until you have a system exactly as you want it, customizations, decorations, skins, colors, fonts, menus, autologin, etc.

3) as root, run "remasterme"
No arguments needed, no config files to edit, no mess. It builds an iso image that you can use as install media or a live cd/dvd on other machines.

Afterwards, the only things you need to configure might be the xorg.conf and IP details (if not dhcp).

Downside - PCLOS only comes in 32-bit.

Try RPath Techwizard. Foresight has put together a decent Linux using their tools. I've played with it, but am to much of a perfectionist who doesn't know enough to get too deep into the GUI customizations. So I always end up back on my own little desktop end of the world.

Actually, I do know how to program software. That's why I am building this distro. So I can have a convenient programming desktop. So, rPath doesn't work for me.

PCLOS would work for me, but when I am installing, it asks me for a runlevel and I don't know which one to try. I have tried 1, 3, 4, 5 but to no avail. Mepis, Debian, Ubuntu, and PCLOS are at the top of my distrolist. Ubuntu and Debian are the only ones I can get to install easily, although Debian is much harder. Mepis installation freezes at about 27%. I have no idea why.

If it is important to anyone, I run a Dell B130 laptop. I am currently running a slightly tweaked (a few dev packages and xmms) version of Ubuntu. The tutorials on how remaster Ubuntu don't work for me though. For some reason 'rsync' doesn't work. I follow the tutorials down to the letter and they don't work.

Curious predicament, don't you think?

I've never run into the runlevel thing before, and I've installed on a couple of laptops and many desktops with different hardware. Forgive me for the following lame questions:
1) are you booting from the livecd media, or using the copy2ram boot option?
2) how much memory in your laptop?

Forums I'm reading are suggesting that 256MB is on the edge of installability for some PCLOS. You may want to try (at least temporarily) lowering the memory carved out for video in your BIOS until the install is done.

Another option is to install to a spare pc, strip out all the applications garbage, install the notebook drivers and video drivers you'll need, and burn a remaster from that to use to install on your laptop.

I'm late to this discussion, as usual, but I found this guide very useful. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCDCustomization With it I remastered a debian-live cd based on etch with kde into a etch/lenny mix that has all the latest graphics, video capture & editing software I want to run. It's a very clean fast little system. Now if I could figure out how to get nvidia drivers to work with it.
Before this I tried bootcd, dfsbuild, live-magic, & remastersys with unsatisfactory results.