Good morning.

Is there a good solution to manually install a given LiveDVD? And/or boot from on disk?

Could I just write a program to: - mount iso - extract (squash) fs to empty partition - update grub for kernel - chroot to specify user, timezone, devices

Would anything else need to be done?

What if I copied the squashfs file out and built a new LiveDVD with isolinux? Would that work so to have a universal loopback template for grub entries?

On that note, I had thought of an idea. What if you store multiple liveDVD images on disk and boot from them without ever installing? It's amazing that you can boot from a compressed fs (inside a compressed fs.) I was wondering if you could mount out points from within the squashfs to your HDD. So your OS could still run on that minimal size, but have the data/configs/etc symlinked or mounted to a physical HDD. Is that possible? I feel like there must be a way to do that. It would really take advantage of that capability.

Thank you!

If you told us what you are using then we might guess better.


To install it would require only that the filesystem be copied. Maybe a few changes to how it locates resources. Maybe some initrid or kernel changes. Loader.
Could be as simple as dd or user it's installer.


To get an iso to boot from disk may be possible with some form of grub. Grub2, grub4dos maybe lilo finally has support.

The way Knoppix used to take a live cd and put it on a drive was basically expand compressed filesystem, change some stuff/loader, chroot and go.

Not sure what you mean about copy squashfs and such.

An iso is not compressed.

Yes, manually press Install to Disk.

No I mean I'm making my own liveDVD. Do you think if I put the disk in upside-down it will let me?

I didn't realize that an iso wasn't. So, every liveDVD has a squashfs where the rootfs actually lives. there's a copy of its kernel on the iso rootfs itself, which just basically prepares the squashfs to init.

An install requires some steps...but, best is to automate the install somewhat...
Your installer should typically mount the target drive, partition it and copy the stuff in its place, next it should best make a new user and the home folder, then take the root password...
Not a trivial task...

A simple copy as suggested can work too, provided you prepare (partition) the target drive...
Thor

So, here:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ux-4175544194/

It would make sense to boot directly from downloaded isos. Or if I could install manually by repeating the procedure correctly --> that'd be ideal.

...just...what is your goal?
You are new to Linux...and would want your own spin? A challenge, to put it mildly...
You want to write an installer...an installer does what I described above...but...to what end? Make an installer to install a Live CD/DVD that has an installer already? A Live medium usually has an "install me" option anyway...

Thanks, Thor. Sorry for the time to get back to you. I'm a little tired.

So, just thinking originally to optimize the set up of a multiboot system. Could also be educational. Maybe I'd put out some useful tool. And I've thought of a lot of other benefits along the way. For example, a squashfs is tiny compared to the unpacked fs, but a liveDVD somehow boots it right on up anyway, so maybe there's a technique in leveraging that ability. Like managing your fs in such a way that it exists natively in a squashfs. Could be some interesting approaches there.

I'm not actually looking to do my own spin! Unless I can think of a tangible way of implementing some improvement. I do see a lot of room for consolidation when we use a Linux kernel to prepare a nested Linux kernel! And then end up with a Linux partition next to a Linux partition. I know distros essentially overlap the bulk of their software.

I've run into all kinds of issues! I've exhausted booting from loopback entries, then tried the traditional DVD installs, and I'm still getting freezes and non-boots through the whole process. I may end up having to do the manual install from squashfs for some of these distros afterall!

I can't say how every DVD is made. It doesn't have to have a compressed image of some form. There are many ways, some use a sort of virtual filesystem in a compressed format. Some glob the entire system into a file that expands to ram. Can't say.
Your questions need some reference to a distro.