Making custom Ubuntu Live CD using Remastersys

I use LXDE desktop on Ubuntu and wanted to make a Live CD from the hard disk installation. It was so easy using Remastersys.

I added Remastersys repositories to the sources:
deb http://www.remastersys.klikit-linux.com/repository remastersys/

Then installed Remastersys:
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install remastersys

There was a menu entry "Remastersys backup" which I clicked, selected "Dist" and clicked on ok.

After some time "customdist.iso" was created in /home/remastersys/remastersys

I burned the iso to a CD and it works.

My custom distribution is Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron on LXDE with all updates, gnome-games, Brasero, Mplayer, GPIC Viewer, xpdf, Synaptic, Firefox 3.0.5 (with Adobe Flash Player), Pidgin, Transmission, OpenOffice.org 3.0.1, PCManFM, Leafpad, Xarchiver. The size of the iso is 686.5 MB

Kazehakase 0.5.4.2 on Ubuntu Hardy Heron

Kazehakase version 0.5.2 is available on Ubuntu Hardy Heron which has bugs. When you click on preferences it crashes with segmentation fault. I decided to install the version 0.5.4.2 available in Debian Lenny and downloaded the .deb and tried to install. The package complained for following dependencies to be installed:
libgcrypt11
libgnutls26
libxcbrender-util0

I downloaded .deb packages for the above libraries from Debian Lenny and installed and could install kazehakase .deb package.

Kazehakase is much lighter than Firefox and has all the features.

My struggle with Ubuntu Hardy Heron.

Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron arrived with Xorg 7.3 which brought many bugs. Prior to the launch of Hardy I had a glimpse of the troubles ahead when I tried PUD Linux LXDE version which was based on Hardy beta. Actually the problem was not with Hardy but with my Laptop whose display is broken and I use it as a Desktop along with external monitor.

When I tried PUD Linux the external monitor worked till GDM was started, then it became blank. I shifted to console by pressing Ctrl alt F2 and opened xorg.conf file and found the file was as good as not being there. It had no configurations. This was due to the new concept of auto-magic in Xorg 7.3. This concept had arrived in Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon in which if you delete xorg.conf you could still boot into the desktop. But in Gutsy you could rebuild the file through dpkg-reconfigure command. In Hardy dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg did not work. I tried to copy the xorg.conf from Gutsy but it did not work.

When Ubuntu Hardy Heron arrived I studied the changes in xorg.conf and wrote the file using vesa driver and after one or two changes it worked and I could get the desktop using vesa driver.

The video card in my Laptop is ATI Radeon IGP 340M and the driver used in Xorg 7.3 had a bug which was reported at bugs.freedesktop.org on 25th April 08.

The bug was resolved in June 08 and within a week the .deb file of updated ati driver appeared on Debian Sid (Unstable) repositories. I downloaded the .deb and its dependencies and installed on Ubuntu Hardy Heron and it works.

Now I could switch off the broken display of the Laptop through the command:

xrandr --output LVDS --off

I am Linux Geek.

After using Linux for 4 years, I think that I am a Linux Geek.

Proof: After struggling with Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron, I concluded that I can report a Bug in Xorg 7.3 and submitted it on freedesktop.org.

Original Specifications of my Laptop:
HP COMPAQ Presario 2500 series Laptop, Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.80GHz, CDRom, 30 GB HDD, 128 MB RAM, Mandrake Linux 9.1 Tailor made CDs with multimedia codecs and Linuxant internal free modem driver (14.4 Kbps), Radeon IGP 330M/340M/350M video card, Ethernet Card.

Bought in July 2004. Original Mandrake Linux 9.1 worked very well. Then I started using Ubuntu 5.04.

Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake could be installed but was slow, therefore, I added 256 MB RAM to make it 384 MB total. With this RAM it is just suitable for today's Ubuntu. I have started using LXDE to make it faster.

Hardware Changes and Laptop turned into Desktop:
Original HDD replaced by 40 GB HDD, CDRom does not work, LCD screen is broken. I have hooked up external COMPAQ V45 monitor and using it as a Desktop.

Since CDRom does not function I install from ISO.

Difficulty in installing Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron
I have installed from alternate ISO but the new Xorg 7.3 fails to show anything on the external monitor. I can see GDM login screen through broken patches on LCD screen, blindly enter my userid and password, hear the Gnome welcome music and get satisfaction that Hardy is installed.

I can see the console by pressing Ctrl Alt F1, login and try xrandr but could not make X work.

I went to Bugzilla and found a Bug in Xorg for my video card. I have also submitted a bug report.

Till the bug gets resolved using Ubuntu 7.10 with LXDE.