multicd.sh - combine Linux ISOS into one

[maybeway36]

I just put it up last night Hopefully TRK and GParted work now, and I didn't break anything.

[acbatman54]

I'm getting my CD (DVD) close to where I want it to be, minus some backgrounds and help text. I've attached the two .cfg files in my isolinux folder for reference.

I'm still having issues with GParted, Clonezilla, and BackTrack. By the way, Clonezilla and BackTrack do work before I make my changes.

- GParted's menu stuff works but the boot up fails. I've attached a window capture from my VM. It happens on the original multicd.iso as well. Guess it's not being built correctly.

- Clonezilla is, at the moment, still using a separate .cfg file. I hope to change it soon to match the others. But currently, after adding what I thought were minor changes, it no longer boots. It just flashes on the menu page.

- BackTrack is also flashing on the menu page and not booting. I moved it down in the menu by Ubuntu and added a separate menu for it. I don't understand why it's acting up either.

I would appreciate it if someone could take a look and point out the dumb mistakes I'm making. I'm sure it's all minor issues that I'm too blind to see.

Thanks in advance.


Edit 1: *** I'm still using 5.8 as of this post. I'll give 5.9 a try and see if I have better results. ***
Edit 2: *** Using the GParted menu info from 5.9 in my 5.8 isolinux.cfg fixed my GParted issue. Still have Clonezilla and BackTrack issues. ***

[acbatman54]

Well... I opened up multicd-5.9.tar.gz, did the chmod +x, ran it with sudo, and this is what I got. (I edited the paths and names below for personal sake)

me:~/Downloads/MultiCD_5.9$ sudo ./multicd.sh m v b
[sudo] password for me:
BackTrack
Clonezilla
DBAN
GParted Live

Note: Hiren's BootCD already includes dban.

Note: Hiren's BootCD already includes ntpasswd.
Continuing anyway.

NT Password Editor
Ubuntu

Continuing in 2 seconds - press Ctrl+C to cancel
Copying BackTrack...
Making initrd(s)...67175 blocks
~/Downloads/MultiCD_5.9/plugins/backtrack.sh: 101: cannot create ..//~/Downloads/MultiCD_5.9/multicd-working/boot/backtrack/initrd.gz: Directory nonexistent

And then I'm back to prompt. Is it a permissions problem cause it should be just like my ~/Downloads/MultiCD_5.8 build?

P.S. I'm using symbolic links for my .iso's, just like I did for my 5.8 build.


Edited: *** I beileve I found the problem. backtrack.sh line45 should be "find . | cpio --create --format='newc' | gzip -c > $WORK/boot/backtrack/$i" NOT "find . | cpio --create --format='newc' | gzip -c > ../$WORK/boot/backtrack/$i". Check to see if this is correct. Thanks. ***

[ckenneal]

Sorry maybeway36. I went to download new version, but forgot to refresh the screen, Thanks for the 5.9 upgrade. Haven't tried it yet. Maybe tonight. I read your TODO.txt. Do I need to make those changes in the plugins or will it still run without the changes. I don't know much about script language, but it looks like it will work without me making changes. Thanks again. for the new upgrade.

[maybeway36]

The stuff in the TODO.txt is just for me to make all the plugins look the same and use some common variables so if I want to change one later, it's easier to do so. The old plugins still work, so you don't have to do anything about that.

[melkkoe]

Hi, new to this forum-thread maybe I post the wrong way.

I would like to try your script but before doing so would like to know whether it is

possible to add more than 1 flavor of one distro ?

Say puppy with so many derivatives.

If - it is possible do I have to rename them to puppy1 puppy2 or just puppy puppy puppy ?

Does this principle also apply to multi boot live usb

Thanks in advance.

[maybeway36]

Right now there are just plugins for Lucid Puppy (puppy.iso) and Macpup (macpup.iso); any other Puppy derivatives would need seperate (but very similar) plugin files, since they use different filenames inside the ISOs.

Ubuntu is an exception to this rule. You can include up to 8 versions of Ubuntu:

ubuntu.iso, ubuntu2.iso, ubuntu3.iso, kubuntu.iso, ubuntu_32_bit.iso, ubuntu_64.bit.iso, kubuntu_32_bit.iso, kubuntu_64.bit.iso

For ubuntu, ubuntu2, and ubuntu3, you can install "dialog" and then run

sudo ./multicd.sh i

and it will ask you what to call them on the boot menu.

@acbatman54: Are you editing the .cfg files after the ISO is made? That might be the problem - maybe ISOLINUX is picky. I tried using your .cfg files, but I put them in before "genisoimage" was run, and it seemed to work fine.
In the next version I'll have a feature where you run "./multicd.sh wait" and it gives you a bash prompt before it builds the ISO - that way, you can change things around.

[acbatman54]

Yeah, I've been ripping out the boot folder from the .iso, tweaking it, then rerunning the genisoimage part of your script. I thought it all seemed a bit weird that it works on the original .iso but doesn't on the remake. I'm going to give your idea a try... stop the build before the .iso, make my changes, then finish the build. Such a good idea... sad that my small brain didn't think of that.

P.S. Did you see my edit above that might be an issue with the backtrack plugin? Where or how would you prefer to receive such findings? Do you have a bug tracker setup somewhere? I would like to help out... ya know, support the open/linux community. Thanks.

[acbatman54]

Well I'll be a baboon's niece! I made my changes in the plugins and multicd.sh, ran the script, and bam... a near perfect build. Now I just need to add a part that organizes the entries in number order, referencing the menu labels, instead of alphabetical order. Who knew isolinux could be so fickle!?!? Thanks again for the suggestion. Now that I've mostly mastered my 5.8 build, I'm going to try out 5.9 again. I like where you're going with the variables, it will make the whole process a lot easier to work with.

I've attached the files ( from MultiCD 5.8 ) that I've changed for others to reference. All of my menu entries are now submenued for a cleaner look. Like I mentioned above, pardon the number scheme until I get it worked out.

[acbatman54]

And here's my ubuntu.sh and multicd.sh attachments ( MultiCD 5.8 ). Darn 5 attachment limit. This multicd.sh doesn't include the numbering fix. Look forward, hopefully, to an update.

Edited: *** Scratch that process. Maybeway36 was kind enough to leave this note in the multicd.sh that I've pasted over several times without reading. I had a feeling it would be that easy but didn't believe it.

"##BEGIN ISOLINUX MENU CODE##
#The ISOLINUX menu can be rearranged by renaming your plugin scripts - they are processed in alphabetical order." ***