Getting ready for DebConf10 I wanted to put Debian ( Unstable ) Squeeze 64bit on my Work Laptop. But do to new "Global Services" rule the laptops HD is locked and you can't mess with the boot loader. So I cooked up some good old "Debian on a Stick" => http://www.pendrivelinux.com/debian-live-flash-drive-install-from-windows/(Sorry did this from the work Laptop so I had to follow these instructions ). You can read the complex Debian instructions here http://live.debian.net/manual/en/.
But here are some of my tweaks ( that give you a persistent Live install ): 1) Build your own version! http://live-helper.debian.net/ let's you cook up your own .img file 2) Step (3) part (1) Set the Filesystem to Ext2, you can chose ext3 or ext4, I have a working stick with ext4 3) Step (6) do not use the live.cfg that they have.I was not able to get it to work, but I was able to modify the stock live.cfg to get it to always boot to persistent mode. You end up with a FAT32 partition and your live-rw one. On the FAT32 partition in the directory /syslinux you can change the file live.cfg: My original: label live menu label Live kernel /live/vmlinuz append initrd=/live/initrd.img boot=live live-config label livefailsafe menu label Live (failsafe) kernel /live/vmlinuz append initrd=/live/initrd.img boot=live live-config noapic noapm nodma nomce nolapic nomodeset nosmp vga=normal label memtest menu label Memory test kernel /live/memtest #label floppy # localboot 0x00 #label disk1 # localboot 0x80 #label disk2 # localboot 0x81 #label nextboot # localboot -1 Then I modified it so that it would always load in persistent mode. That is replace "label live" and also add "label live non persist": label live menu label Live Persistent kernel /live/vmlinuz append initrd=/live/initrd.img boot=live persistent union=aufs live-config label live non persist menu label Live Non Persistent kernel /live/vmlinuz append initrd=/live/initrd.img boot=live union=aufs Now I can boot from the 4GB USB stick without touching my Laptops HD! I can update and install new deb packages all my desktop settings are kept from boot to boot. OpenOffice 3.2.1 and the latest IceWeasel are installed and run fine. (Debian does not have Firefox) Just need to get WiFi working, but with Debian that seems to be a challenge even on my T61p. Heading to DebConf10 Sunday! Joe
_______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium Aug 4 - Samba Sep 1 - BOINC Oct 6 - Creating Firefox Extensions
