Re: Writing a Linux installer?

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 10:56:09 +0200 Guy Fawkes <spare_the_rod@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

| I'm looking for some info on how to write a Linux installer for Linux my own
| custom Linux distro.
|
| From what I understand a Linux installer is simply a bootable CD?DVD which
| starts a 'custom' slimmed down version of Linux which in turn starts a
| program which will detect the hardware, formats and hard drive and then
| copies the binaries to the hard drive.

With a DVD, it would not have to be all that slimmed down, depending on
how many packages you want to stuff in there.


| Could someone point out some info on how to go about this?

There are (at least) a couple different approaches. The classical one is
to install (most) everything while still running the system originally from
the CD/DVD. Another approach is to install a basic system to the target
disk which has enough to come up and find the package source and install
all the rest that way (whether that package source is the DVD, files put
on some partition that isn't targeted, or a LAN, or the internet). If
you identify a very basic essential set of stuff that is needed, don't
bother making it into individual packages. Make the essentials be one
big package, or even a non-package tarball.

--
|---------------------------------------/----------------------------------|
| Phil Howard KA9WGN (ka9wgn.ham.org) / Do not send to the address below |
| first name lower case at ipal.net / spamtrap-2006-10-21-1842@xxxxxxxx |
|------------------------------------/-------------------------------------|
.

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