repackaging an updated bt5

[bwana]

There are a bunch of things i'd like to update to my bt5 usb stick. Thing is, it's a live install. So, I have to boot from the usb, do the updating, and then repackage the thing into squashfs, etc.

Why update you ask, well, installing nvidia drivers for one and also the marvellous update script
(http://www.backtrack-linux.org/forum...section/41766-[-]-update-script-backtrack-5-a-6.html)

Instructions for repackaging ubuntu are here
(https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCDCustomization)

But this is for repackaging a modified but not installed ubuntu liveCD
Instructions for repackaging BT4 are here
http://www.offensive-security.com/ba...e-tutorial.pdf
but the link mentioned in there does not work. And the reference to remastersys is generic but not instructive.

Is there any faq on repackaging bt5 that I may have missed in my searches?

[Scamentology]

Remastersys isn't that complicated

root@postgres:~# remastersys --help
 
Usage of remastersys 2.0.18-1 is as follows:
 
   sudo remastersys backup|clean|dist [cdfs|iso] [filename.iso]
 
 
Examples:
 
   sudo remastersys backup   (to make a livecd/dvd backup of your system)
 
   sudo remastersys backup custom.iso
                             (to make a livecd/dvd backup and call the iso custom.iso)
 
   sudo remastersys clean    (to clean up temporary files of remastersys)
 
   sudo remastersys dist     (to make a distributable livecd/dvd of your system)
 
   sudo remastersys dist cdfs
                             (to make a distributable livecd/dvd filesystem only)
 
   sudo remastersys dist iso custom.iso
                             (to make a distributable iso named custom.iso but only
                              if the cdfs is already present)
 
   cdfs and iso options should only be used if you wish to modify something on the
   cd before the iso is created.  An example of this would be to modify the isolinux
   portion of the livecd/dvd

There are a bunch of things i'd like to update to my bt5 usb stick. Thing is, it's a live install. So, I have to boot from the usb, do the updating, and then repackage the thing into squashfs, etc.

Why update you ask, well, installing nvidia drivers for one and also the marvellous update script
(http://www.backtrack-linux.org/forum...section/41766-[-]-update-script-backtrack-5-a-6.html)

Instructions for repackaging ubuntu are here
(https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCDCustomization)

But this is for repackaging a modified but not installed ubuntu liveCD
Instructions for repackaging BT4 are here
http://www.offensive-security.com/ba...e-tutorial.pdf
but the link mentioned in there does not work. And the reference to remastersys is generic but not instructive.

Is there any faq on repackaging bt5 that I may have missed in my searches?

[bwana]

tnx for the pointer to remastersys. here are the details for any other linux noobs like me.

remastersys is not included in bt5. I have to install it.
I went to install it to my current bt5 install this way:

nano /etc/apt/sources.list

add the following line
deb http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/repository karmic/

(this particular repository for For Karmic, Lucid and Newer with grub2 - version 2.0.13-1 and up)
then
apt-get update

then
remastersys backup

well, it starts out ok but there is a cryptic error

cannot create regular file '/home/postgres/Desktop' : No such file or directory

but it keeps going and seems like it's going to work but then i get these 2 lines over and over

[number] aufs au_xino_do_write:381ostgres[1822]: I/O error write failed (4294967268)
[number + ~.006] aufs au_xino_do_write:417ostgres[1822]: I/O error write failed (-5)

Not even control -c or a soft reset will stop this runaway train. I have to power down to reboot.
I am guessing that it's trying to backup the system to the usb stick but cannot-maybe because there is no real directory structure on the usb stick-just a squashfs file.

So I rebooted, reinstalled remastersys,mounted my hard drive this way
mkdir /mnt/win
mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/win

and did
remastersys backup /mnt/win/custom.iso

SAME PROBLEM! I look on my hard drive and find
custom.iso.md5 but obviously no iso
now what?

[Scamentology]

wait - you want to make an iso of your usb install?

tnx for the pointer to remastersys. here are the details for any other linux noobs like me.

remastersys is not included in bt5. I have to install it.
I went to install it to my current bt5 install this way:

nano /etc/apt/sources.list

add the following line
deb http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/repository karmic/

(this particular repository for For Karmic, Lucid and Newer with grub2 - version 2.0.13-1 and up)
then
apt-get update

then
remastersys backup

well, it starts out ok but there is a cryptic error

cannot create regular file '/home/postgres/Desktop' : No such file or directory

but it keeps going and seems like it's going to work but then i get these 2 lines over and over

[number] aufs au_xino_do_write:381ostgres[1822]: I/O error write failed (4294967268)
[number + ~.006] aufs au_xino_do_write:417ostgres[1822]: I/O error write failed (-5)

Not even control -c or a soft reset will stop this runaway train. I have to power down to reboot.
I am guessing that it's trying to backup the system to the usb stick but cannot-maybe because there is no real directory structure on the usb stick-just a squashfs file.

So I rebooted, reinstalled remastersys,mounted my hard drive this way
mkdir /mnt/win
mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/win

and did
remastersys backup /mnt/win/custom.iso

SAME PROBLEM! I look on my hard drive and find
custom.iso.md5 but obviously no iso
now what?

[bwana]

Yes.


I am working o a friend's pc and do not want to install stuff to his HD. I boot into bt5 and want to make modifications (update the tools, update the distro,install nvidia drivers, install remastersys!) I can do all this but then want to save my changes so that they are persistent. However, a persistent live usb install still wont do the trick as it saves only certain data and not changes to the os.

So i am trying to make a 'fresh' usb install with all the changes and then re-image that. remastersys can be installed to a live usb install but obviously it disappears at next boot, UNLESS i rebuild the iso. Can this be done booting from the usb?

[bwana]

fragadelic (author of remastersys) says:


"The problem with trying to run it on a live running system is exactly what you are encountering. The installed one shouldn't have the issue though.
The other issue is that it will require a lot of ram since the /home folder and any changes made to it are actually stored in ram while running the live.
You should install this to a temp hard drive and remaster it from there."