[LINUX] HOW-TO make a minimal install of Ubuntu on Acer Revo ION in under 25 minutes

Pete_London · 2009-07-05 10:23

I'm going to be playing with my Revo quite a bit today unless it gets really sunny so will be looking at some issues raised.

Another thing I'm going to look at doing is making a backup onto an SD card in case the whole thing goes wonky. This will probably be as simple as booting from an Ubuntu Live CD or USB key and issuing a 'dd if of' command.

Pete

vikjon0 · 2009-07-05 10:38

Quote:Another thing I'm going to look at doing is making a backup onto an SD card in case the whole thing goes wonky

Maybe you want to use something like this?:

http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/index.html

add source
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/repository ubuntu/

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install remastersys

Pete_London · 2009-07-05 13:23

If that can work from the command line and can see the Revo's hard drive in install mode, then it's exactly what I'm looking for....

Pete

vikjon0 · 2009-07-05 15:48

I beleive you can.

http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/ubuntu.html

Quote: At the command line, you simply run "sudo remastersys backup" to make a full system backup, or "sudo su" to become root and then run "remastersys dist" to make a distributable copy to share with friends.

I is a great tool, it is not only backup, you can create a liveCD or distro as well.
I got stuck on Live USB persistence, but at least part of that problem was due to a bug in Ubuntu 8.0.4.2 /Casper that is fixed in 8.0.4.3.

Pete_London · 2009-07-05 16:44

I've had it make a bootable image of the drive... but really want it to make a boot menu with an install option..... it says it can but I haven't worked it out yet.

vikjon0 · 2009-07-05 16:48

But when you boot, you get the option to install or use Live CD like with UbuntuCD? Or maybe I missunderstand what you mean.

I guess we should move this outside the sticky before someone get upset?

Hannes The Hun · 2009-07-05 20:37

vikjon0 Wrote:B
I guess we should move this outside the sticky before someone get upset?

I really don't think somebody might get upset, but this deserves a dedicated thread as this remastersys thing would allow us to create an Ion-specific XBMC live CD that can be installed, customized, upgraded and backupped without any hassle if I understand this right, and that's some major stuff! Nod

Pete_London · 2009-07-05 23:14

I won't get upset.... and it's my thread....

all jokes aside, I think this would be a very relevant part of the first post. I have made the image this afternoon but have been too tied up with Wimbledon and then Top Gear to test it.... so we'll see what tomorrow morning brings!

Pete_London · 2009-07-06 09:58

OK.. when I 'burn' my iso to SD using:

dd if=image.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=1M

The system can see the SD card in the boot menu, but cannot actually boot to it. This happens when I try it from Linux and also from my Mac. Any ideas?

vikjon0 · 2009-07-06 10:18

I am not good enough with linux to know what you are doing, but it is normally not possible to get a bootable HD or USB by burning an ISO.

I am using the usb creator in Ubuntu 9.04.default. I am guessing you have to apt-get usb-creator. I have no idea how to run it in command line though...

Pete_London Senior Member Posts: 196 Joined: May 2009 Reputation: 1	2009-07-05 10:23 Post: #41 I'm going to be playing with my Revo quite a bit today unless it gets really sunny so will be looking at some issues raised. Another thing I'm going to look at doing is making a backup onto an SD card in case the whole thing goes wonky. This will probably be as simple as booting from an Ubuntu Live CD or USB key and issuing a 'dd if of' command. Pete
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Pete_London Senior Member Posts: 196 Joined: May 2009 Reputation: 1	2009-07-05 13:23 Post: #43 If that can work from the command line and can see the Revo's hard drive in install mode, then it's exactly what I'm looking for.... Pete
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Pete_London Senior Member Posts: 196 Joined: May 2009 Reputation: 1	2009-07-05 16:44 Post: #45 I've had it make a bootable image of the drive... but really want it to make a boot menu with an install option..... it says it can but I haven't worked it out yet.
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vikjon0 --- Posts: 2,429 Joined: Apr 2009 Reputation: 7 Location: Sweden	2009-07-05 16:48 Post: #46 But when you boot, you get the option to install or use Live CD like with UbuntuCD? Or maybe I missunderstand what you mean. I guess we should move this outside the sticky before someone get upset?
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Pete_London Senior Member Posts: 196 Joined: May 2009 Reputation: 1	2009-07-05 23:14 Post: #48 I won't get upset.... and it's my thread.... all jokes aside, I think this would be a very relevant part of the first post. I have made the image this afternoon but have been too tied up with Wimbledon and then Top Gear to test it.... so we'll see what tomorrow morning brings!
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Pete_London Senior Member Posts: 196 Joined: May 2009 Reputation: 1	2009-07-06 09:58 Post: #49 OK.. when I 'burn' my iso to SD using: dd if=image.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=1M The system can see the SD card in the boot menu, but cannot actually boot to it. This happens when I try it from Linux and also from my Mac. Any ideas?
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vikjon0 --- Posts: 2,429 Joined: Apr 2009 Reputation: 7 Location: Sweden	2009-07-06 10:18 Post: #50 I am not good enough with linux to know what you are doing, but it is normally not possible to get a bootable HD or USB by burning an ISO. I am using the usb creator in Ubuntu 9.04.default. I am guessing you have to apt-get usb-creator. I have no idea how to run it in command line though...
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