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Ubuntu Information


How do you use it?

   At the command line, you simply run "sudo remastersys backup" to make a full system backup,  or "sudo su" to become root and then run "remastersys dist" to make a distributable copy to share with friends.  
   There is a configuration file - /etc/remastersys.conf where you can set things like the name of the livecd/dvd, the live session username, other files to exclude from the cd/dvd, etc.

   If you are a gui person, simply click on the "Remastersys Backup" icon in the System Menu and you can select which option you want to run.

  IMPORTANT NOTE: You must be connected to the internet so remastersys can download the correct Ubiquity frontend and it's dependencies.  If you do not have internet access when you start remastersys, it will fail to download the frontend for the installer and your live system will not be installable.

Some notes about using the dist option

   You should start with a clean install of Ubuntu or variant and use a single user to make all changes.  You should not install any proprietary video drivers like the nvidia or ati drivers as they will not be used on the livecd and users will have to reinstall them after installation.  Clean up history and cache and copy over the contents to /etc/skel but be sure to change the ownership of everything in /etc/skel to root.  While the livecd/dvd is being created, you should not open any other apps or windows. 

Some notes about the backup option

   You can log into the livecd/dvd with any valid user that was on the system on the hard drive but it is recommended to log into the first one created during the initial installation as that is the user that can sudo.  When you come to install this back to a hard drive, the user setup portion of ubiquity (the install program) is just a placeholder other than the system name.  The username and password set here will not be used but must be created in order to continue with the installation.  Part of the reason for this is that your users are already created so you don't need to create them again,  but more importantly because user setup is an integral part of the install program and cannot be removed or bypassed easily.  If you were using proprietary video drivers like the nvidia or ati ones, you will need to reinstall them.  The Ubuntu livecd scripts prevent these from running properly but reinstalling them after installation will make them work again.

Some notes about the 3.0.0-1 and up

There are many changes in 3.0.0-1 which supports Ubuntu Lucid and Newer.

Most notable changes are as follows:

Brand New GUI based on remastersys-gtk gui created by Krasimir S. Stefanov <lokiisyourmaster@gmail.com> and some tweaks and ideas from me Tony Brijeski <tb6517@yahoo.com> but most of the credit needs to go to Krasimir for it.

Incorporated in the gui are tools I created to help those creating a distro to customize the live boot background, the system grub background, creating a new plymouth theme and selecting which plymouth theme will be the default as well as copying the relevant settings from your user to /etc/skel making it the default for the live system.

The remastersys.log will also show a lot more detail and I also added in more checks to try and help make sure the remaster is a good one but I can't account for every situation so if you have issues I will try to help you out.

Starting with 3.0.1-1 there is a firstboot system startup script that is used for backup mode to remove the install icon from the desktop and you can add whatever other custom commands you like in it.  Just edit /etc/init.d/remastersys-firstboot and put your commands inbetween the lines indicated.

Thanks very much to all the folks that tested this out and provided feedback and tweaks.

This is the best version of remastersys yet and I hope you all like it.


Where to go to ask questions, report bugs, request features or make recommendations?

The main support area is on the Remastersys Forum


What license is remastersys covered by?

It is released under the GNU GPL Version 2

Where can I get remastersys?

The Remastersys repository needs to be added to your /etc/apt/sources.list

Paste the following into the sources.list:

For Gutsy and Earlier - up to version 2.0.11-1
# Remastersys
deb http://www.remastersys.com/repository remastersys/

For Hardy and Newer with original grub - version 2.0.12-1 and up
# Remastersys
deb http://www.remastersys.com/repository ubuntu/

For Karmic with grub2 - version 2.0.13-1 and up
# Remastersys
deb http://www.remastersys.com/repository karmic/

For Lucid and Newer - version 3.0.0-1
# Remastersys for Lucid and newer
deb http://www.remastersys.com/repository lucid/

Then simply either reload in Synaptic or you can "sudo apt-get update" and install remastersys.

If you prefer, you can directly download the old version files from the correct folder in http://www.remastersys.com/repository

Important New information for Ubuntu Lucid and newer!

Starting with version 3.0.1-1 for Ubuntu there is a proper signed repository that can be added to your system.

The Synaptic Method:

1. In Firefox, go to :

    http://www.remastersys.com/ubuntu/remastersys.gpg.key
   
save file as text someplace where you can find it.

2.  In synaptic, go to Settings/Repositories; select "Authentication" tab and "Import Key File" just downloaded.

3.  Still in synaptic, go to "Other Software" tab and click "Add", then enter the apt line and replace oneiric with either lucid, maverick, or natty to match your Ubuntu version:

    deb http://www.remastersys.com/ubuntu oneiric main

4.  Leave the repositories tab and "Reload".

5.  Search for "remastersys" and select for install.  Edit/Apply Marked Changes.

NOTE:  There is no source repository so if you see a line starting with deb-src you need to remove it.


The Manual Method

As root, download and apply the repository gpg key.

wget -O - http://www.remastersys.com/ubuntu/remastersys.gpg.key | apt-key add -

Add the following line that corresponds to your version of Ubuntu to your /etc/apt/sources.list

#Remastersys Lucid
deb http://www.remastersys.com/ubuntu lucid main

#Remastersys Maverick
deb http://www.remastersys.com/ubuntu maverick main

#Remastersys Natty
deb http://www.remastersys.com/ubuntu natty main

#Remastersys Oneiric
deb http://www.remastersys.com/ubuntu oneiric main

Now just apt-get update or reload in Synaptic to have the new Remastersys signed repository ready to use!