Minimal Linux install

sultan1624 · 07-04-2014, 02:01 AM

hi, i have to change the linux code and make it small for a project. i mean, i need to omit the gharphical code and have a small kernel that knows derivers , plz help me i am really confused.

jdkaye · 07-04-2014, 02:07 AM

Please don't use the Thread title "urgent". Your question is NOT urgent for all the unpaid volunteers answering questions here. If you really expect to get an answer you have to provide much more detail about your problem and about the linux distribution you are running. Please remember: details, details, details. The more you explain the quicker you will receive an answer. And please don't use words like "urgent".
jdk

sultan1624 · 07-04-2014, 04:04 AM

ok, i will, you know i need a linux kenel that detect the drivers like H.H.D, system file and ... needless to any gharaphic, i need a linux version that seems like DOS OS. when the kernel detect the HDD i must search and find some special file.as a hole i need a small os, now i have linux os source i dont know about its version, i want to omit the extera code and see the result, how can i do this?
is any software or simulator?

bill_from_tampa · 07-04-2014, 11:25 AM

It sounds like you want to install just a base system, with no graphical capacity. In Debian, for example, the installer walks you through the process of selecting and formatting the hard disk(s) you will use, and it then installs a "base" system. You then can choose additional "tasks" to install. Simply unselect all of the tasks (especially the "desktop environment" task.

The resulting installation should boot into a non-graphical environment using bash as a command line interface (ie, it will look like old DOS, no graphics).

If your system needs to be even "smaller", you may need to look into versions of linux designed for embedded devices, about which I know nothing. Good luck!

gonny95 · 07-05-2014, 06:24 AM

You can do this by installing any distro and remove desktop environment. Debian or Redhat will be easier to uninstall that packages

maples · 07-05-2014, 08:39 AM

Finnix? It's a liveCD, though, don't know if that will work for you.

onebuck · 07-05-2014, 08:54 AM

Hi,

Welcome to LQ.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sultan1624

hi, i have to change the linux code and make it small for a project. i mean, i need to omit the gharphical code and have a small kernel that knows derivers , plz help me i am really confused.

Please consider reading the following to insure that you can compose a post that can readily be answered by members;

Quote:

FYI: Netiquette is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and forums.

FYI: I suggest that you look at 'How to Ask Questions the Smart Way' so in the future your queries provide information that will aid us in diagnosis of the problem or query.

Look at the sticky: Newbie alert: 50 Open Source Replacements for Windows XP

You can use the following to help to download & verify the ISO image on a Windows/Xp machine;

Quote:

M$Windows:
Windows Burn tutorial <- 'Nero' Live Video for the newbies who burn the iso instead of the image of the ISO.
Imgburn <- 'ImgBurn is a lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application that everyone should have in their toolkit!' + Freeware
-- MD5SUM:
M$Windows iso md5sum checking <- LQ Post on how too
md5sum.exe <- M$Win Application to perform md5sum checking.
winMd5Sum Portable <- FREE + Good for all M$ Windows

The above links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

I do suggest that you use a slow burn rate, 4 should provide a valid burn of the ISO image. Please be sure to burn the ISO image.

BTW, look at:

Quote:

Puppy
Puppy is super small—just 85 MB—so that is usually loads into RAM on most systems and runs incredibly fast, even on older systems that might have been running Windows XP. Despite its small size, it includes a full graphic interface designed for new Linux users.

Puppy would be a good place to start for older hardware & new user. You can use cli or GUI Desktop.
Hope this helps.
Have fun!

TobiSGD · 07-06-2014, 09:12 PM

For small custom distributions the Slitaz Scratchbook is a good start, it will provide you with a basic system that you can customize as you wish: http://www.slitaz.org/en/doc/scratchbook/
Just stopp when it comes to the X installation and you are ready to go.

DavidMcCann · 07-07-2014, 10:42 AM

If you want the smallest non-graphical system, you probably want Tiny Core — perhaps its MicroCore version:
http://www.tinycorelinux.net/

and a rather old review of mine
http://www.linuxquestions.org/review...page/15/sort/7

jefro · 07-07-2014, 03:27 PM

Make your own at www.SuseStudio.com

jpollard · 07-07-2014, 05:39 PM

The smallest Linux system that clearly meets all your needs is just the "initrd".

That uses a memory resident filesystem, but can recognize any device that the initrd has drivers for...

maples · 07-08-2014, 01:43 PM

I didn't know you could do that...how would you get just the initrd?

Shadow_7 · 07-08-2014, 03:31 PM

How small and what type of project? A minimal debootstrap install of debian is < 0.5GB. Or are we talking ddwrt, openwrt, et cetera where you have to reside in double or single digit MB's of space. At which point the CPU type comes into play as some distros only support select CPU types.

TobiSGD · 07-08-2014, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maples

I didn't know you could do that...how would you get just the initrd?

Look at the link above I gave to the Slitaz Scratchbook, they explain it. There are also other ways, for example I have created single purpose systems already using Slackware's mkinitrd command, just let it create a filesystem-tree, make your modifications, then let the program create the initrd. Other options are building toolkits like T2 SDE, Yocto, OpenEmbedded, ... .