Stripping DSL

Forum: Other Help Topics
Topic: Stripping DSL
started by: Dirtbiter

Posted by Dirtbiter on April 13 2005,12:28

Hello!

I am new to DSL, and a newbie to Linux alltogether, so I have a few questions. I would like to put them all in one topic.

I am using a PCM-3350 processor board from Advantech, and all I really need is a basic Linux kernel with some libc and console functions.

Questions:

- I would like to strip allmost all apps from DSL, because i don't need them. How can I do this? I have read about remastering, but as far as I understand it, it is only to add more programs and functions and not to strip some.
- How can I modify the default boot. I would like to boot into runlevel 2 without USB, ethernet, PCMCIA, FireWire, DHCP etc. Now I always have to enter this information at boot. I would like to make shure it boots like that default.
- How can I make shure DSL does not autoconfigure it's devices? It makes the boot slow, and I don't have a lot of devices to be configured. (only keyboard, cd-rom, monitor and compact flash trough IDE interface are connected)
- When booting, it tries to mount /hdc2, that's the second partition on my compact flash card. But it does not succeed. It says:

Code Sample

mount: can't find /mnt/hdc2
/mnt/hdc2 in /etc/fstab or /etc/mtab
umount: /mnt/hdc2
/mnt/hdc2: not found

But in my /etc/fstab is:

Code Sample

/dev/hdc1 / ext2 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/fd0 /floppy vfat defaults,user,noauto,showexec,umask=022 0 0
/dev/cdrom /cdrom iso9660 defaults,ro,user,noexec,noauto 0 0
# partitions found by dsl
#/dev/hdc1 /mnt/hdc1 ext2 noauto,users,exec 0 0
#/dev/hdc2 /mnt/hdc2 ext2 noauto,users,exec 0 0
# Added by KNOPPIX
/dev/hdc2 /mnt/hdc2 ext2 noauto,users,exec 0 0

and my /etc/mtab says:

Code Sample

/dev/hdc1 / ext2 rw,errors=remount-ro 0 0
/proc /proc proc re 0 0
/dev/pts /dev/pts devpts rw 0 0

What do I need to add/edit to make it work?
- How can I disable the ethernet device? do DHCP helps some, but does not disable the eth0.

I have been reading a lot on this forum, but I can't find the right topics. I hope someone can find the time to help me with this.

Posted by tronik on April 13 2005,13:14

As for most of your questions, spend a little time in DSL and figure it out, its actually very simple and all of those are ALREADY covered on the forums ;)

As per the first remark about remastering being difficult to understand, I would say hundreds if not thousands of people have been able to remaster...You said you're a Linux new guy so, spend a little time in Linux and you might find its not as hard as you first thought. ;)

For the record, I would think just the opposite from reading about remastering. Adding programs in is a lot more difficult than removing them. ;) There is a thread devoted specifically to remastering DSL here on these forums.

In response to your mofidying the boot...how to boot without those features would be found by hitting 'f2' at the boot menu like the bootloader says to do =)...in fact most of the 'cheat codes' are on those screens.

Enjoy learning =)

Posted by Dirtbiter on April 13 2005,13:22

Quote (tronik @ April 13 2005,15:14)

Thanks for the quick reply. I find the search option of the forum not so usefull, because it comes up with a lot of irrelevant information. I have found the remastering guides and read them, but i will do it again if you think it's good. I am just getting tired of not finding what i'm looking for on the forums...

I know that its possible to insert boot cheat codes, but I have done a HD install, and want DSL to boot with some of those cheatcodes by default. I have editted lilo.conf, but that didn't work.

Ofcource I will be searching the forum for some more information, but after a week of fulltime searching and trying (it's for work) I am getting tired of it. So if anyone can point me to the right tread or just give a simple answer, I would be thankfull.

Posted by clivesay on April 13 2005,13:39

Looks like you are trying to do alot of things at once..Pretty adventurous for a new user.

I think you would be better off to break this down into sections.

First let's look at the cheatcodes. I really great way to get your cheatcodes automated on the live cd is with the mkmydsl script. This allows you to make a custom DSL cd. You will find it in the DSL menu. If you have enough memory, I would suggest at least 512 but 256 may work, and a CD burner.....

Boot the DSL cd with the 'dsl toram' bootcode. This loads DSL into ram.

Create something like a /newcd directory and run the mkmydsl script from the menu. You will have options to add mydsl extensions but right now you are just interested in cheatcodes. Add all the cheatcodes you want to use on your new CD. After that the script will prompt you to enter a blank CD for burning. When it's done you should have a CD will all your boot options included!!

Why don't you try this first to get your feet wet.

Good luck

Chris

Posted by tronik on April 13 2005,22:09

After you edited lilo did you reinstall the bootloader? Run 'lilo' as root.

Posted by cbagger01 on April 14 2005,04:26

Also,

The search function for the forums is an logical OR search function.

So if you search for keywords:

blue hat

You will get ALL posts that contain "blue" and also all posts that contain "hat". So the correct keyword format is:

blue AND hat

which will search for all posts which contain both "blue" and "hat".

String wildcards also work, so:

filetool.lst

will only find " filetool.lst" and will not find "/home/dsl/filetool.lst".

a better search keyword would be:

*filetool.lst

which would find both posts.

Also, be sure to search for ALL FORUMS and FROM THE BEGINNING or NEWER

FYI, it is possible to modify your lilo "append" statement and save the file but you must re-run the "lilo" command from the terminal window in order for your changes to be activated.

Also, it is possible to modify the floppy/cd boot defaults by editing the SYSLINUX.CFG file.

Good Luck

Posted by Dirtbiter on April 18 2005,08:52

Quote (cbagger01 @ April 14 2005,06:26)

Thanks! That are 2 very usefull reply's.

Indeed, after I ran lilo it worked fine. So one problem is solved.

The information about the searchfunction is also very usefull. Normally, a searchfunction is a logical AND, but in this case its not. OK. That will speed up my search process.