2 Copyright (C) Kern E. Sibbald, 2009
4 This directory is used to build a USB key containing a Kubuntu 8.04 LiveCD
5 with persistent OS files and persistent /home files.
7 You will need to run as root for most things ...
10 apt-get install syslinux mbr
13 1. Start by editing the "config" file. Be sure to get your USB_DEV
14 definition correct. Note: you can see what devices you have
22 [1:0:0:0] cd/dvd _NEC DVD+RW ND-1100A 108B /dev/scd0
23 [1:0:1:0] cd/dvd PHILIPS DVD+-RW DVD8631 9D03 /dev/scd1
24 [9:0:0:0] disk Kingston DataTraveler 2.0 PMAP /dev/sda
26 and in my case, the USB device is the Kingston DataTraveler on
29 Alternatively you can do:
33 2. The scripts you need to partition the key and
34 to write the boot image to it are all in this (usb) directory.
36 3. If you ever want to put the key back to its prior state, *before*
37 running the partition_usb_key, you might consider doing a:
39 sfdisk -d /dev/key-device >save_me
41 where key-device is the key device name (e.g. sda). The
42 output file can be fed back into sfdisk to recreate the original
45 sfdisk /dev/key-device <save_me
47 4. The next step is to get a copy of kubuntu8.tar.gz, which is the
48 USB boot image. Currently, it can be downloaded from:
50 www.bacula.org/downloads/kubuntu8.tar.gz
54 www.sibbald.com/download/kubuntu8.tar.gz
56 5. Edit the file "config" and fill in the values that correspond
59 6. After editing the config file, run:
63 Note, this script will destroy *all* data on the key, and assumes
64 that you have a 3GB or bigger key. It may work for a 2GB key,
65 but you might want to reduce the size of the second partition.
68 The partition_usb_key script creates three partitions:
70 1. kubuntu8 -- USB boot partition containing the OS
71 2. casper-rw -- A writable ext3 partition for saving OS changes
72 3. home-rw -- A writable ext3 partition for saving /home
74 6. Mount your USB key and detar the kubuntu8.tar.gz image
75 into the first partition. Do this with:
77 ./write_usb_boot_partition
79 This can take a good amount of time (5 mins) since it must format
80 the new partitions then copy the boot image.
82 7. You should now have a USB stick that can be booted providing the
83 machine permits booting from the USB port -- this can be adjusted
84 by modifying the BIOS boot sequence. On Dell machines, you can
85 enter the BIOS setup by pressing F2 just after power on.
87 Alternatively, most machines let you boot from an alternate device.
88 For example if you press F11 while a Sony Viao is powering up, it
89 will boot from the USB port.
91 On Dell machines during power on, if you press F12, you will be
92 able to select any boot device (one time only) other than the one
93 that is the default (normally the CDROM or HDD).
95 8. When the key is booted, assuming you choose the first option
96 (LiveCD), you will be running as user "ubuntu" the password is
97 "bacula", and you will be in /home/ubuntu.
99 9. Before booting, you might want to remove the USB key, using the
100 remove safely mode, then plug it back in so that you can access
101 the home-rw partition. Here you can put anything you want from
102 your system. However, you must use care to ensure that the files
103 are written with UID=1000 and GID=1000, which is ubuntu:ubuntu when
104 your boot the USB key.
106 10. Finally, if you are running with a KDE desktop on Kubuntu 8.04,
107 you can copy it to the key with:
109 ./copy_kubuntu_desktop_to_usb
111 If you are not using Kubuntu, you can modify the script to
112 adapt it to your situation or simply create a new script.
116 If you want to add additional OS tools to your USB stick, there are two
119 1. Remaster the iso boot image (a bit complicated) see README.technotes
120 2. Simply use sudo apt-get install ... when booted into your USB stick.
121 The changes will be written to the casper-rw partition (the
122 read/write OS partition).
124 If you want to add something to your USB home directory simply mount
125 the home-rw partition and write to it in the appropriate place as noted
128 One slightly annoying thing about the USB key is that the casper-rw and the
129 home-rw partitions must be ext3 (with journaling turned on), and journaling
130 is not really the best way to run with USB keys that have a finite write
131 lifetime. Switching the partitions to ext2 seems to prevent them from being
132 written correctly, which means a lot of things such as starting X do not