First and foremost... congrats to all involved on the wonderful antiX 11 turnout.
I am looking for help in making a distro of my customized setup to port to other computers.
Currently, I am working on setting up some older PII and PIII computers for a day care center. This is voluntary work; the hardware was donated; no monetary exchange. I have one computer set up nicely for preschool ages, using an iceWM setting. There are no programs foreign to what came with antiX 11. I use desktop icons for education and fun; autohidden panel; no Conky display; no dependency on Internet access during usage; so much cuteness that I have nightmares about Elmo. I have hidden most anything that would deter our future Linux geniuses from having a good experience.
Now, as I delve in deeper, I am paranoid that my next step will ruin what I have and force me to start over. I want to create a distro to copy this setup to similar computers, do some testing stages and reload whenever I feel like it.
So I am looking for a distro creator or cloner. I'm leaning heavily on distro. I read up on remastersys but when I added that repo to the source list, I got an error that the line was malformed. I probably did some newbie error. MS has softened my brain over the decades and my Linux customizing experience is limited.
Any one have any suggestions? Many, many thanks in advance,

Ron

Hi Ron

I had a look at remastersys, the code, how it works - not really used it.
Maybe you can try to use remastersys, but the Debian version, not the Ubuntu version

I experimented with a script that comes with antiX, the link:
a-zenity-driven-version-of-remaster-sh-script-t2836.html?hilit=remaster

This is now fairly easy in antiX and will get even easier with the next release. I've done it myself manually using the mksquashfs command with a LiveUSB.

For a more automated solution, take a look at
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for instructions on how to use the remaster.sh script found in /usr/local/bin.
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by Dave gives good step by step instructions.

You will probably need several gigs (or more) of free disk space and the process is cpu intensive because it compresses the entire filesystem so it will fit on a cd. You end up with a .iso file that you can burn to cd (if it is small enough) or use to create a LiveUSB.

Fairly easy? Apparently, you are all in a higher league than I am. I can't even do a successful"sh remaster.sh". I get an error"can't open remaster.sh". Three decades of bowing to MS has turned my mind to mush.
For now, I will just repeat the same steps on each separate computer over and over and over. I would love to get this done right, but it will have to wait. Tell a bunch of moms you can help them and they are your back forever and a day. I will get back to this after I rid myself of the monkeys on my back.

Thanks all for the advice.
Ron

I am not sure about the tools which come with antiX itself.
I do it with live-helper (now also called live-build).

You install and configure.
You create a working directory, say in your home: You use live-helper as root to create the installable backup. you wait. Or, for live-build (simply a newer version of the same tool): Again wait.
Like mentioned above you will need about three times as much space as you actually use for your install.
Make sure to not store any data you don't need, but only install the system and configure it.

You will find a lot of how-tos about this way to do it at forums.debian.net, how-to section, or here:

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If it was me i would stick to the tools which come with antix anyway (for several reasons). But i don't know them. This is simply something you could try. I do it like that in VirtualBox, and create a new CD each month.
remastersys should work fine too, but its been a while.
live-helper can be touchy, especially with non-debian-default kernels (for others it works, for me it doesn't).

Wait a bit, it might be this is a method which is pointless in antiX. I don't know (but once some people complained when i posted something similar at the Mepis forum, like in"its better to use the tools which are there". I agree, as long it works).

----------

I get an error"can't open remaster.sh".

Did you run it as root?

The main reason why i post at all: don't give up too early. It is not for super-gurus, but sure a subject which is taking place in the higher leagues (that is: you can run into trouble. a bit of trouble). Let the others help you , best with the script remaster.sh, and you should get it sorted soon.

the other thing one can do:
rsync the install to the other PC (either via lan or via usb-stick/external hard-disk)
boot a live-CD on the other PC.
chroot into the rsynced system
install grub
edit /etc/fstab
remove /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
exit chroot and reboot
if it went well: good. if not: repair from a live-CD via chroot.
As its not easy i won't tell all of the commands in detail. In case you are desperate you can look into that way too.

Thanks for the help. I had a little time to play around today so I thought I'd tackle this again. Rather than try the rsync or live-helper, I decided to tackle the remaster issue. Here is what I came up with. I am listing this in relative detail since there seems to be a fair amount of interest in this post and some of the inquiring mines may be as inexperienced as I am.

I chose Terminal from the main menu.
Typed in sux.
Typed in the root password.
Typed in cd /usr/local/bin (to position myself in the folder where remaster.sh is located).
Typed in remaster.
When asked where the live cd was, I inserted the AntiX M11 live cd and selected /dev/sr0.
Got a message the project will be created in"usr/local/bin/remaster".
At this point, I was temporarily distracted and did not pay attention but eventually AntiX Mountbox asked to"select the media which can be cd, flash or USB device".
I used Mountbox to unmount /dev/sr0, removed the live cd and inserted a blank cd.
I then exited Mountbox.
Got a message Do you want to remove"/root/bash_history"...(Y/n)?
Typed in Y and pressed [Enter].
Got a message Are you ready to start building the iso (Y/n)?
Typed in Y and pressed [Enter].
Got a message Would you like to amend your version File (y/N)?
Typed in N and pressed [Enter].
Got a message The iso file will be placed by default in"usr/local/bin/remaster" directory. Is that OK (Y/n)?
Typed in Y and pressed [Enter].
Got a message Enter the name of the iso file:
Typed in antix2 and pressed [Enter].
Got a message Good. We are now creating your iso...
<After approximately a half hour>
Got a message Done. you will find your very own remastered homemade Linux here: /usr/local/bin/remaster/antix2.iso.
I confirmed the presence of the file by typing in cd remaster then typed in ls. The iso file was there along with a folder called new-iso and a folder called new-squashfs.

So apparently, typing in remaster while I was in terminal mode as root and located in /usr/local/bin was what I needed to do in lieu of typing in sh remaster.sh. The next steps however were not as successful, so I will detail them in the following post.

Ok, now my bubble has completely burst.

First, I did the remaster again following my instructions above. Oddly enough, this time I had to type in remaster.sh instead of just remaster. And to avoid swapping CDs around, I installed second CD drive.
I used xfburn from the sound and video menu to burn an iso image. All appeared to work well until I used the CD on another computer. The new iso image comes up the same as the original with the demo login and NONE of my customization.
I repeated the whole process three times and got the same results every time.
I noticed that the remaster folder which was created during the remastering process is hidden and can only be seen if I rox to it with root privileges (terminal / sux /password / cd /usr/local/bin / rox).

So, what am I doing wrong?

I started Swift Linux, the first antiX-based Linux distro. The URL is
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.

I modified the remastering script to automate the process of creating Swift Linux. I use GitHub for version control. The Swift Linux GitHub page is at
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. I'm in the process of rearranging things, but I think you can follow along what I've done.

dnr_ron, I could use more developers. Email me or PM me if you're interested in joining the team.

Ok, I see that you have figured out how to make it work... But I am not sure why it is going back to the default .iso image. Anyways I will write out a more detailed step by step to try to help a bit more.

1. installed antiX on a my testing system, installed and configured as I found fit.
2. opened terminal in my ~/ directory ( verify by typing pwd, output should be /home/USER/ )
3. typed mkdir $home/new-iso
4. type cd $home/new-iso ( verify correct directory, type pwd and the output should now be /home/USER/new-iso )
5. typed su followed by the root password to gain root access
6. ran remaster.sh by typing"remaster.sh"
Followed the steps for remaster.sh....

There are essentially 2 operating systems installed on your computer, one is the test machine OS, and the other the remaster OS. The test machine OS reside under / and the remaster OS resides under /home/USER/new-iso/remaster/new-squashfs. The goal of steps 7 & 8 are to make the two operating systems the same.

General rules:
a) all user related config files found in ~/ directory or /home/USER/ go to the /etc/skel folder for the remaster OS or /home/USER/new-iso/remaster/new-squashfs/etc/skel
b) other config files fall into the appropriate directories, EG: /etc/config-example.conf goes to /home/USER/new-iso/remaster/new-squashfs/etc/config-example.conf
c) try to copy only the affected application config files from ~/. You do not need to copy the entirety of ~/ ( This will cause a longer waiting time when making new users, as well as set your locales as default, this may or may not be desired. )

7. when at the" When done please type"exit" or press CTRL-D" section I began installing my applications as if I were configuring my test machine again using apt.
8. ( Here is where the setup of the test machine comes into play )
After installing all the applications in step 7, I copy the configuration of my test machine ( usually the hidden contents of ~/ directory, or /home/USER/ EG: /home/USER/.config ) to the /home/USER/new-iso/remaster/new-squashfs/etc/skel EG: /home/USER/new-iso/remaster/new-squashfs/etc/skel/.config . This is done by using a file manager as root or in a new terminal. menu --> run | type: gksu FILEMANAGER or menu --> run | type: gksu roxterm

This is done to be able to have the proper configuration of the applications you wish to run, as you cannot start the application from within remaster.sh.

9. Once finished installing all the applications ( STEP 7 ) and moving the appropriate config files ( STEP 8 ) you may now press CTRL-D or type exit and follow through with the options
10. burn the new iso image ( within the /home/USER/new-iso/ directory, unless otherwise specified )
!*!# As a tip, use a virtual machine or the antix2usb script to test the new image, the new setup may not be 100% correct. It may take a few tries #!*!#

If the changes are not to satisfaction, then...
1. open terminal
2. cd to ~/new-iso or /home/USER/new-iso
3. type su followed by the root password to gain root access
4. start remaster.sh with the -c switch. ( refer to remaster.sh --help for all other switches )
5. make changes at" When done please type"exit" or press CTRL-D" section
6. type exit or press CTRL-D and follow the instructions

Wow. I can't believe it's been almost two months since I started this little project. I got side-tracked for a bit with a request to do a triple-boot system with Windows / Linux / Linux. That was fun. Not very difficult but easily destroyed by a Windows update.
I now have some time for this task; at least until the college crowd gets moving again. I love that there are so many choices and suggestions listed here. I plan to try them all even if I find a solution in the first one. I did manage to clone the systems; and even modify the setups rather quickly. But I would really like to do a Live CD with an install option.
BTW, the ladies think I am a genius developer. I told them I was just the messenger and suggested they consider donating. The only fee I accepted was 20% over cost for some memory chips.

swiftlinuxcreator, thanks for the invite. I am honored. But I need to shake off a few filthy windows habits before I dig deep into this. I make my living fixing Windoze flaws. Is there a name or phrase for old time win developers who cross over? Like born again blah -blah -blah? I mean really born again! I started my career with the new-fangled Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups.

Is there a name or phrase for old time win developers who cross over? Like born again blah -blah -blah? I mean really born again! I started my career with the new-fangled Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups.

I make my own words up as I go along. I am known as a Linux Friganeer on some Forums.


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If me. My made up word for you would we AntiXexe.r