My Working CF<->IDE HD Install
Forum: HD Install
Topic: My Working CF<->IDE HD Install
started by: amahler
Posted by amahler on Jan. 23 2005,16:30
Hello!So after much pain, suffering and experimentation, I managed to get a tiny Linux distro to boot on an old P-II laptop that I have stripped down to its bare guts. I'm planning on fitting it all into a picture frame, complete with wireless access, so I can make a 14", customized version of the Ceiva.
I had a lot of trial and error with DSL and Knoppix to finally figure out what was causing one problem or another with making a bootable system. In the end, I had my luck with a combination of SanDisk cards (as opposed to some small SimpleTech's I had) and grub. Lilo was a nightmare for one reason or another. I might be able to get it to work with the SanDisk cards now, but I prefer grub anyway from my normal desktop Linux world. Nothing - including grub - could install a bootloader that passed stage 1 on my non-SanDisk cards. Go figure. I got past all that hell, though, so now I'm up to a key question I need to ask:
How much writing to disk is going on with a CF-based install of the DSL HD install?
A read-only install such as frugal might be ok for me... but I find this infinitely easier to configure as my system takes shape and I might, in fact, want an occasional write to the root filesystem depending on what I do in the long run. I do NOT, however, want it sitting there writing stuff 24/7 that will cause an earlier failure of the CF media.
I already killed syslogd in startup and eliminated the boot time update of modules.conf and fstab. I can live with the lastlog stuff since it will be rare in the final system and maybe useful. What else, however, is being written with any regularity in this form of DSL? I haven't checked yet to see if there are any at or cron jobs.
I'm running this in console (runlevel 2) and not using X. I'm seeing if I can get this built using all framebuffer stuff and avoid the additional X overhead. So far so good. I'll need more RAM for this old clunker if I opt to go for X (64 megs on it right now). I am using CF, btw, to eliminate any moving part inside that might make noise or fail mechanically.
Also, is there a way I'm missing to possibly lock the system into a r/o state after boot - even on the currently r/w root filesystem?
Any input would be appreciated regarding this or any other aspect that springs to mind to fit the project. I'm new to DSL and haven't read a lot about it yet since I started on it 24 hours ago.
Thanks!
- Aaron
P.S. Why is every slash or apostrophe while writing this post causing my Firefox to open the FIND tool at the bottom? It is driving me insane.
Posted by cbagger01 on Jan. 25 2005,05:08
My quick answer is:Flash drive = Frugal install.
I would not risk doing a full hd install on flash media. In addition to the known culprits for freqent writes (log files, browser cache files, swap partitions, etc), you never know if there is an application that you are using that will come back to haunt you and over-write to your drive because you were unaware of the way it works under certain circumstances.
With a frugal install, the compressed filesystem is Read-Only, so there is nothing to worry about.
You can format your device with EXT2 or FAT/FAT32 and still use it to store data files as needed. But the writes will be completely under your control.
It also allows for easy upgrading because all you need to do is just replace the \KNOPPIX\KNOPPIX file with the one from the latest version of the DSL livecd. And it insures the integrity of your OS because you can't accidentally delete the wrong file inside the compressed filesystem, although it is still possible to mess up your backup file. So if you accidentally mess things up and delete a temporary copy of a system file that is sitting in your ramdisk, all you need to do is reboot and you are back to your normal system as taken from the compressed filesystem..
Of course this is just my opinion, for what it's worth.
Posted by amahler on Jan. 25 2005,15:12
And it seems a good opinion. Thanks. I had actually done a frugal install since writing this post and have been playing with it. It does seem to be the way to go.What are your suggestions for the best way to modify the configuration of the system and retain those changes? I can place apps I need elsewhere, but I need a way to add these things to the startup process of a frugal boot. Do I modify the KNOPPIX file on an outside box and replace is on this install? On that note, I've had the damndest time getting the cloop module to compile on my desktop Linux box (2.6.10) so I can make new images.
Also, is there an add-on for DSL that will allow me to mount remote smbfs filesystems? smbfs or some other, I need to mount a remote Linux server so that my frame has its pool of photos to read.
Thanks!
- Aaron
Posted by cbagger01 on Jan. 25 2005,17:52
There are a few ways to modify the configuration of the system and retain them.First, there is the backup/restore system that is explained in the documentation. This system uses a file called "filetool.lst" that contains a list of the files that you want to backup and restore again upon bootup. If you have a file or directory that changes often (like web browser settings and bookmarks, for example) then you can add it to the filetool.lst Usually these types of files are located in your /home/dsl, /opt or /etc directories.
For files that don't change very often, you can create a gzipped tar file (*.tar.gz) that contains the files or programs. If you place this file in the root of your boot filesystem (IE: C:\ or /) on the flash device where your /KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX file is stored then it will be automatically loaded back as part of the myDSL boot process.
For example, you might have something like MyNetworkSettings.tar.gz that contains your TC/PIP settings, or MyPrinterSettings.tar.gz that contains your printer configuration. This will also work for installed programs, provided that they are installed to a writable portion of the file system like /home/dsl or /opt
If you need to install the program where parts of it reside somewhere in the file system that is normally Read-Only for a Frugal install (like /lib or /usr), you can still do it. First, you need to install a *.dsl extension like dsl-dpkg.dsl
This will run the mkwritable script and create a writable file system in your ramdisk. Then you can install your program. Please keep track of all of the files that are created by your new program and then wrap them up in a *.tar.gz file, but rename it to the *.dsl extension and place it is the root directory of your Frugal storage device and it will be extracted upon bootup.
You can include just about anything inside a *.dsl file, such as boot scripts and kernel driver modules or whatever you need. The boot scripts will appear in your runlevel subdirectory and can get automatically executed. It is a very flexible way to modify your Frugal install.
Of course you can also download and try out any of the dozens of myDSL extensions that exist inside the DSL repository. Someone may have already done your work for you.
Like for example, there is a samba.dsl extension that gives you the ability to mount a remote smbfs filesystem. In addition to the command-line ability to mount a Windows network share, it also includes the LinNeighborhood graphical utility.
Once you get a feel for how the *.tar.gz and *.dsl extensions work and also the backup/restore process, you could try to create a *.uci extension, which is a unified compressed ISO extension. This extension allows you to install a program in a location like /opt and it takes the bundle of files and stores them inside a small compressed ISO filesystem, similar to the 50MB KNOPPIX file that the DSL livecd uses. The advantage to the *.uci files is that they use very little of your Ramdisk, which frees up your RAM for other uses like applications.
Finally, you can do a full-blown remaster of DSL using the methods that are described here in the forums. This will result in a custom KNOPPIX file to suit your personal tastes.
I wouldn't bother trying to use your Desktop Linux distro to do the remastering.
Instead, use DSL itself to do the job. Boot up with the DSL livecd and use the included tools (included cloop and the create compressed filesystem script) to customize it as needed.
Hope this helps.