Request for way to backup custom hd install

[lupin]

Thanks for the replies, I realize I can use dd, g4u, clonezilla, etc to backup and restore my install, but Im looking to have a bootable live image (then use a tool such as unetbootin to put it on usb since I have no cd) from my current hd install rather than just clone it. Something similar to "remastersys" which actually seems to work, creates the .iso, but will not boot when put on usb (kernel panic). Actually I dont know if the problem is in the backup process or when I put it to an sd card. I'm wondering if there is some reason this shouldnt work with bt4, or if there is some other workaround for either step in that process.

My fault for a bad title to the post, which you all provided a good answer too, should have been how to backup hd install to live usb or something!

The term you are looking for is "remaster" - you want to remaster a custom Backtrack ISO (theres actually a hint to this term in your own post). A good title would have been "customised backtrack 4 on bootable usb"

I havent tried the following, but it may work for the USB booting part of your problem:

http://stealcode.blogspot.com/2009/0...ntchanges.html

For the "customised" part of your problem, have a look on the web for Linux live CD remastering guides, and see if they work. Start with Ubuntu/Debian live CD guides. At the very least a good read of these guides should give you an idea of how the process works.

[D_0ne]

Yes, Thank you Lupin, Most of the info that comes up when searching shows how to take the live cd, edit it, then repackage it, where I dont want to have to redo all the changes I've already made. I did find some usefull info on remastersys from htt....../linux-guider.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-to-remaster-livecd-perfectly.html:

Known problems

* A Live CD/DVD created from a system with installed proprietary ATI or Nvidia drivers, when booted, will not load these drivers because casper (the ubuntu livecd boot routine) disables ati and nvidia proprietary drivers. [1]
* When running from a wubi installation, remastersys seems to enter an infinite loop when trying to create an iso from that system.
* failed to create base package list

Tips:
I found many factor when remastering livecd fail especially have been struggling to install remasters - they all fail at the bootloader installation. A factor to avoid are:

1. KDE = most KDE cannot remaster well. If someone has done in KDE, it's only 5% from linux user.

2. proprietary ATI or Nvidia drivers

3. System/repo broken (fix it before remaster!! = eg: apt-get -f install, dpkg --configure - and etc)

4. 2 in 1 or 3 in 1 gnome OS. You have Kde, xfce or etc in your gnome!

5. You have install something in Wine (game or windows software)

6. Language = Only use English!

So one of these issues is probably my crux. My guess is it fails because of the driver issues or the KDE. Can anyone confirm this? Will replacing KDE with Gnome break anything functionally in BT?

[lupin]

So one of these issues is probably my crux. My guess is it fails because of the driver issues or the KDE. Can anyone confirm this? Will replacing KDE with Gnome break anything functionally in BT?

You haven't described the symptoms of your problem (other than the fact that its not working) so its hard to confirm exactly whats going on.

Id suggest you first of all break the problem into multiple steps to assist in troubleshooting. First, can you take the original BackTrack 4 DVD and make this boot from USB? Second, can you create your own customised Backtrack 4 bootable DVD? You may even want to try remastering the BackTrack 4 DVD without making any changes, just to see if the error is caused by that part of the process. Only once you get these working individually should you try and combine them to make a customised USB BackTrack 4.

Once you run into a problem, do a Google search covering what you did (e.g. remaster linux) and the symptoms of the problem (e.g. kernel panic, or whatever error message you see). Try variations of the search (e.g. just try the error message) if you don't get usable results. This will help you narrow down the cause.

Apologies if what Im telling you seems too basic, but Im unsure of your troubleshooting abilities. The above is what I would be doing if I was in your position.