[Discuss] Persistent mode with Mandriva live CD

[John Blomfield]

----- Original Message -----
From: Murray Strome <wmstrome at shaw.ca>
Date: Monday, December 17, 2007 3:46 pm
Subject: Re: [Discuss] Persistent mode with Mandriva live CD
To: jabfield at shaw.ca
Cc: discuss at vlug.org

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: John Blomfield <jabfield at shaw.ca>
> Date: Monday, December 17, 2007 7:27 pm
> Subject: Re: [Discuss] Persistent mode with Mandriva live CD
> To: Murray Strome <wmstrome at shaw.ca>
> Cc: discuss at vlug.org
> 
> 
> > Have you tried updating your software yet?
> > 
> > John
> 
> Yes, and I have also added new packages (Acroread, Firefox, 
> GIMP). The only problem I have had is that every time I do an 
> update, and often when I add new software, it ends with a 
> message saying it could not commit to all changes because it 
> might break something. It seems to have something to do with 
> cupsys. 
I am still a bit puzzled as to how your updates are working.  I thought at first that the procedure you followed resulted in a "full" install and not just a livecd type image that was not persistent.  However, when I looked the files main file is an image?

 However, everything that I have used seems to work 
> fine. I have a script that I run to start which mounts my 
> Windows and LINUX partitions on my HD. I am not sure (don't 
> really know how to tell), but I believe that it is using the 
> swap partition that I have on the HD. During my trip, I have 
> used the wireless networks at hotels, and I just installed my 
> wireless from home on my son's system where I am visiting, and 
> it works great.
> 
> Murray
> 
> Murray
>  
>
My main interest in all this is not quite the same as yours.  You want to run Linux on your Windows laptop without having install it onto the hard drive, where as I want to take a pen drive an plug it into any computer and do stuff in Linux.  The main restriction for me is that the BIOS on the computer has to be able to recognize the USB flash drive and many older computers can't.  The other problem is that having completed a full install on my flash drive the display needs to be reconfigured when moved to another computer. (I now have a 4GB drive and a minimum of about 2.5GB is required, 2GB for the system and 500MB for a swap partition).  The solution to this is to boot the flash drive in the new computer and it will default to a level 3 command line.  Then as root type:
# system-config-display
which brings up the display configuration GUI.
You have to have the hardware details of the video card and monitor which you just select, save and reboot.  If you don't have the video card details you can:
# touch /etc/reconfigSys
and reboot and the video card will be auto detected hopefully, reboot and run system-config-display to set the correct monitor.

If you have a boot GRUB CD then you don't have to mess with the BIOS as long as the BIOS is the sort that recognizes the USB flash drive. So you boot the Grub CD and run through the grub commands:

> find /boot/grub/stage1
"answer for example (hd1,0) (hd0,1)
> root (hd1,0)
> kernel /boot/vmlinuz-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> initrd /boot/initrd-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> boot
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx stands for the name of your kernel image

John Blomfield