Great News For 20 in 1 Multiboot DVD

As many of my readers know, I have been hosting my Linux 20 in 1 Multiboot DVD on Rapidshare for lack of a better hosting service.
But then the other night a reader by the name of Greg asked me to contact him about hosting my files on his dedicated server.

I contacted him and he graciously offered to host all the 20 in 1 links on his server that is also used to mirror software from the likes of Mozilla, Open Office, GetDeb, PlayDeb and other project sites.

He has provided a folder filled with the full Iso for those users who have the bandwidth to download it in one shot or for those that are limited with download caps or slow speeds, the individual Rar files are available.
He also created and md5sum file so you can verify your downloads.
I also tested his download speeds and they are fast!

Greg exemplifies the true spirit of the Linux community because during our email discussion he said he wanted to host my files to help out my readers and the Linux community. That attitude and generosity is what makes the Linux community so strong. We believe in giving and sharing.

I'm still jumping for joy at finally having this project on a server that doesn't play wait and see games with users trying to download it. And I'm happy for everyone that passes through my blog and can now download my  20 in 1 Multiboot without any hassles.

If you would like to thank Greg you can leave comments here or stop by his blog found here;
http://labby.co.uk/

As for my Linux 20 in 1 Multiboot DVD links?
You can grab them from here;
http://labby.co.uk/ubuntu4you/

Finally I must say this again even though I have said it to him at least a dozen times;
Thank You!!!

Enjoy the new links and please say thank you to Greg who made this all possible.

I must be dreaming! LOL!!

TaZMAn

Linux 20 in 1 Multi Boot Has Arrived

 UPDATE!
New direct download links below! No waiting or membership required.
My newest 20 in 1 multiboot DVD is now ready for download. Let's start the new year celebration early!
I'm sorry about the delay but I wanted it tested by several sources before I released it.
As with any live distro, there are always some pc's that won't be able to boot and run a specific distro.
And unfortunately, you may come across a few in this release that will not boot.

Specifically Mint. For some reason Mint is very picky about hardware. During testing about 1/2 the pc's it was tested on could not run it. This is only one distro however. There are 19 others to choose from and many of them have boot options in the menu that allows a user to choose from several video modes that will allow even the older pc to run it. If a distro won't boot in a high end video mode try the vesa or safe graphics mode found in the sub-menu. I also enabled the feature to append commands to the boot script by pressing the Tab button.

Now for a run down of the distros included in this release. There is a wide variety of distros that I included as to give you an idea of what is out there other then the mainstream distros.
That said, here is what I have included;

Mint 7, CDLinux, xpud, NimbleX, Backtrack 3, antix, Austrumi, GeeXboX, MacPup, Netboot, Slax, Slitaz, TinyMe, Tiny Core, Wolvix, NT Password Recovery, Clonezilla, Parted Magic, Free Dos, Memtest

That should be a large enough variety to showcase all the different distros and their strong points.
Some notes about these distros. You may find that some of them don't have immediate internet access.
If you look in the software menu of the running distro you should find a program to configure you network connection or you may also see a wizard. Using one of these should allow you to connect to the internet but not guaranteed depending on type and age of the network card. Wifi was not tested so this will be something for you to check out.

I also want to comment on one distro in particular. That being Tiny Core. At 10 megs it is the smallest and also the fastest distro on the planet. Because of it's size there is no software included. But you can download and install it from within the distro very easily. Open the software window. You will see it is blank. Click on connect from within that window and it will connect over the internet to its repository.
A list of software will appear from which you can choose what you want to install.

New Links!
Thanks to Greg for his gracious offer to mirror my links on his dedicated server.
No waiting time between links and for those with good connections you can download the Iso file in one download. He also took the time to create a
MD5Sum text file so you can verify your downloads.
Please take the time to say thanks to Greg by dropping by his blog at:
http://labby.co.uk/

or you can leave a comment to him below in the comments section.
Here is the newest links to my files;

http://labby.co.uk/ubuntu4you/

I will also keep my Rapidshare links available here for downloading my 20 in 1 Linux multi boot DVD;

http://rapidshare.com/users/LN4B53/1


There is an excellent piece of software available for Windows and Linux users that makes downloading from Rapidshare and other share sites a breeze. It's called jdownloader and I will be doing an article on how to set it up in a few minutes. So look for my newest article on it.

Hope you enjoy this newest release and any feedback is appreciated.

TaZMAn

Linux 20 in 1 Multiboot DVD

Latest News UPDATE!!!

 The links have been posted in my blog post found here;
http://tazbuntu.blogspot.com/2009/12/linux-20-in-1-multi-boot-has-arrived.html

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

That's right! A 20 in 1 Linux Multi-Boot DVD. I'm putting the final touches on it right now.
I've packed in a lot of goodies and added a custom menu and sub menus. I've learned some new techniques since making the last multi-boot DVD.

I bet everyone thought I was dead or this blog was dead. Far from it! I have much more to add in the near future. I got the urge to create one of the largest (in terms of distros) multiboot DVD's and I was spending all my free time on it. Now that it's finished, I can continue adding other goodies to my blog.

Now for the technical portion and specifics. I will be uploading the links to Rapidhare. Expect to see them within 5 or 6 days. I have a few people still testing it and I won't upload it until I get thumbs up across the board. There will be 40 files. 39 of them will be 100 Mb and the last one is 65 Mb.

As for the distro list? Here you go;
Mint 6, Knoppix 5, Slax, Feather, DSL, Puppy, Astrumi, Slitaz, TinyMe, Tiny Core, Backtrack, xpud, antiX, NimbleX, Insert, NetBoot, Clonezilla, NT Password Recovery, MemTest, Free Dos.

That's a lot of computing power packed into one DVD. I decided to use Knoppix 5 rather then the newer releases as version 5 packs more software into it then the newer versions. Most of the other distros are the newest releases. I tried staying away from versions that were beta or 'cutting edge' as I wanted a stable DVD.

I'm including 2 screenshots of the main menu. When I post the links for the DVD I will also include a few screenshots of the sub-menus.
Here is the main menu layout. Had to do 2 screenshots because I used isolinux for my menu config and not all the distros fit in the window. You need to scroll up and down using the arrow keys on the keyboard.

    

   

I will add a post with the links to this DVD in 5 or 6 days. It will take some time to upload all the files as my ISP has serious issues with allowing us paying users to have more then a few 100k in upload speeds.

Hope I'm not the only person excited about this DVD.
LOL!!

UPDATE!!!!!

This project is on hold until I can sort out some of the issues I have encountered in Mint and Karmic Koala. Those issues being file permissions being changed to root during the burning with k3b and problems with checksums and the inability to create a proper iso file due to the "the size can't be determined" bug I have encountered in Karmic.

Thank you for your interest and patience during this time. I am working on getting this completed as soon as possible.
 
TaZMAn

I Made The Switch

I recently made the switch. No! Not to Windows 7 !!!!
I switched to Mint.
I have been using Ubuntu since Edgy and became a full time Linux user since Feisty.
As good as it is, I needed a change. Not so much a full distro change but more of a look and feel change.

I had some help with this decision. I was trying out ReneL's new multi-boot DVD which contains Mint (Both Gnome and KDE) along with all the Ubuntu versions, SysRescue and TinyCore.
In case you haven't been following the comments in my blogs and missed it, you can get the torrent from here;
http://www.mininova.org/tor/2837481

I will also be posting a new article about it and hope to put up some RS links to it.
Now about Mint.
After I installed it I realized that the look was very different. Instead of 2 task bars, there was only one. And that was at the bottom of the screen. I know I said I wanted a new look and feel but I'm so accustomed to having the task bar on top I switched its position.

The install and updates along with additional software installs took about 2 hours.
And thanks to Linux keeping all your personal files in the Home directory along with the ability to have your Home folder loaded into it's own partition, my documents, bookmarks and email were all ready and waiting for me.

So now I will be using Mint until I tire of it and switch to another distro.
But I still have my back up computer that currently has Vector Linux on it that I also use.
I enjoy variety and thankfully Linux provides me with plenty of choices.
Maybe I will just have to set up a multi-boot on my back up computer and install TinyCore next to Vector just for the fun of it.

BTW..... As with all the Debian distros, Streamtuner also needed to be patched for the Shoutcast bug. Mint may look different but it still has it's roots in Debian.

Until next time.

TaZMAn

Multiboot Links

I've gotten many requests for some multiboot links and info so I gathered up a bunch of the best from my library.

I used the info to learn how to make my TaZMAn's 15 in 1 Multiboot DVD.

Since I built that DVD some new software and scripts have been released that make this task easier. Two that immediately come to mind are Unetbootin and the script I posted earlier that will create the Cd/DVD for you.

So without further fanfare here are the links and I hope they help all of those who want to create their own multiboot disk.


multicd.sh
http://multicd.tuxfamily.org/

Creating a Multi-boot DVD
http://pcquest.ciol.com/content/enterprise/2005/105070101.asp

Bootland Forum
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/

ISOLINUX
http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/ISOLINUX

LiveCD Creation Resources
http://www.livecdlist.com/wiki/index.php/LiveCD_Creation_Resources

Create a multiboot CD
http://www.mepis.org/docs/en/index.php/Create_a_multiboot_CD_%28or_USB_flash_drive%29

Multi-boot 30+ Operating Systems with just the ISO, no Disks
http://www.askapache.com/security/install-multiple-os-without-cds.html

Repository of Distros
http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/

XercesTech
http://tech.xerces.com/

Super-Disc: Multi-Boot Project CD/DVD Using ISOLINUX
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=94398

Multiboot DVD with Isolinux
Look on the last page for Jotnar's post
You want this article he posted;
Chris D'Hondt- Changes to Support Multibooting Linux Live CDs on the Same Disc

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=703905&page=3

Update!

This just in from Mufaizal. A pdf file that explains how to make a multi-boot Linux disk.

http://www.byui.edu/Societies/Linux/Archive/creating_a_linux_multi-boot_dvd_LWellman.pdf

Thank you Mufaizal.


Enjoy!

TaZMAn

MultiBootin With UNetbootin. A Multiboot Flash Drive Tutorial

I have found that it is fairly easy to make a multiboot flash drive using UNetbootin.
A bit of time, moving files and some simple edits to the syslinux.cfg file is all that is needed.

I'm going to give a short tutorial on how to dual boot Mint Linux and Puppy Linux.
This is done on a 1 gig flash drive with only one partition.

Assuming you already have UNetbootin installed insert your flash drive.
Make sure that any data on your flash drive is saved elsewhere as UNetbootin will wipe it all out.

Start UNetbootin and from the drop down list select Puppy Linux.
The only version available should be the 'Latest Live' version. Select it and then choose the proper destination drive for the flash drive.

After it is finished downloading and configuring Puppy it may be a good idea to try it out by rebooting your computer with the flash drive still installed. If your Bios is configured properly to boot from the flash drive you will see Puupy boot up, ask some questions about hardware and screen resolution then boot to it's Desktop. Once you have verified that it works, reboot your computer with the flash drive removed.

Now that you are back in your computer make a folder on the Desktop or anywhere else you prefer and name it something like USB Puppy.
Insert your flash drive, open it, select all the files and copy them over to the new folder you just made. Now delete all the files on the flash drive. It's time for step 2.

Open UNetbootin and select Mint Linux. Choose the flash drive for the destination and start the download. After it is done you will again want to test it to verify it is working.
When you are satisfied that all is working properly boot back into your main system and then insert your flash drive once again.

Open the flash drive to reveal all the files and folders. Now open the first folder you created named USB Puppy. I resize both windows so they are visible side by side for easy transfer.
In the Puppy folder select all the files except those that have duplicate names in the flash drive containing Mint.

These are the file names you do NOT want to transfer over;
vesamenu.c32, ubnpathl.txt, ubnkern, ubninit, ubnfilel.txt, syslinux.cfg, ldlinux.sys

You could also select all then tell the file manager to skip the files that already exist but I don't like taking a chance that a file may get overwritten or corrupted.

Now that you have all the files from the Puppy folder copied to the flash drive it's time to add the Puppy Linux entry into the Mint syslinux.cfg file. It really is painless! :-)

Open the syslinux.cfg file in the Puppy folder with your favorite text editor.
This is what you will see;

default vesamenu.c32
prompt 0
menu title UNetbootin
timeout 100

label unetbootindefault
menu label Default
kernel /ubnkern
append initrd=/ubninit pmedia=cd

label ubnentry0
menu label puppy
kernel /vmlinuz
append initrd=/initrd.gz pmedia=cd

All we want is the last 4 lines of this file (In Bold). Select this portion and copy it.
Now open up the syslinux.cfg file for Mint which looks like this;

default vesamenu.c32
prompt 0
menu title UNetbootin
timeout 100

label unetbootindefault
menu label Default
kernel /ubnkern
append initrd=/ubninit file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper quiet splash --

label ubnentry0
menu label Start Linux Mint
kernel /casper/vmlinuz
append initrd=/casper/initrd.gz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper quiet splash --

label ubnentry1
menu label Start Linux Mint in compatibility mode
kernel /casper/vmlinuz
append initrd=/casper/initrd.gz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper xforcevesa ramdisk_size=1048576 root=/dev/ram rw noapic noapci nosplash irqpoll --

label ubnentry2
menu label Memory Test
kernel /isolinux/memtest
append initrd=/ubninit

label ubnentry3
menu label Boot from local drive
kernel /ubnkern
append initrd=/ubninit


Now place your cursor in between the section that starts with label ubnentry1 and label ubnentry2 and paste the entry from Puppy between them. I use the Enter and Delete keys to make this new entry conform to the format of the other entries. Makes editting easier.
Now before we close and save this file we need to correct some of the label entries.

Notice that each new entry starts with label unetbootindefault then continues with label ubnentry0, ubnentry1, etc. until we get to the entry that contains the new Puppy info.
That one says label ubnentry0 but we already have a label ubnentry0 that points to Mint.
So we take the last entry numbered 3 and change it to 4. Then change entry number 2 to number 3. And finally change the label for Puppy from 0 to 2.

The final syslinux.cfg file should look like this;

default vesamenu.c32
prompt 0
menu title UNetbootin
timeout 100

label unetbootindefault
menu label Default
kernel /ubnkern
append initrd=/ubninit file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper quiet splash --

label ubnentry0
menu label Start Linux Mint
kernel /casper/vmlinuz
append initrd=/casper/initrd.gz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper quiet splash --

label ubnentry1
menu label Start Linux Mint in compatibility mode
kernel /casper/vmlinuz
append initrd=/casper/initrd.gz file=/cdrom/preseed/mint.seed boot=casper xforcevesa ramdisk_size=1048576 root=/dev/ram rw noapic noapci nosplash irqpoll --

label ubnentry2
menu label puppy
kernel /vmlinuz
append initrd=/initrd.gz pmedia=cd

label ubnentry3
menu label Memory Test
kernel /isolinux/memtest
append initrd=/ubninit

label ubnentry4
menu label Boot from local drive
kernel /ubnkern
append initrd=/ubninit

Now close and save this new modified syslinux.cfg file.
Close all open folders, reboot your system with your new multi-boot flash drive still inserted and try it out. If you did it right you should now be able to access either Mint or Puppy and use them in 'Live' mode.

Before I go I want to leave you with some ideas, thoughts and tips.
This tutorial is not the only method to create a multi-boot flash drive nor may it be the fastest or easiest. But this is the way I first tried it and with this method I had success.

Not all distros will be multi-bootable in the same manner. If two distros have the same kernel or boot loader name you will have conflicts that will cause it not to work.
One method to get around this would be to either use 2 partitions or put them in seperate folders. I have not tried this nor am I saying these methods will work. I'll leave you to try it and experiment.

Don't feel that you are limited to just these 2 distros or that you can only have 2 distros for a multi-boot flash. Since I first tried this experiment I have also added Clonezilla to the drive giving me the option to boot to one of three distros/software.

Some flash drives may not be compatible with the Bios and will not boot.
I have some 2 Gig flash drives that won't work yet my 1 Gig flash drives from the same manufacturer works. So if it doesn't work the first time try a different flash drive.

I will not hold anyone's hand or walk them through these procedures. Learning computers and new ideas requires the user to try it and possibly fail until they have success. I have found that this works the best when teaching people new ideas or techniques. Call it tough love or whatever. It works!

Finally I need to make a comment on hidden files. Some distros have them, others don't.
Puppy doesn't but Mint does. I could have had you install Puppy then moved Mint over to the flash drive. But in order for Mint to work properly you would need to choose Show Hidden Files from the View button and make sure that you copied these over to the flash drive as well as the main files.

Hope this mini-tutorial helps you into your journey of multi-boot flash drives.

Enjoy!!

TaZMAn

UNetbootin - Boot Distros From Flash Drive

UNetbootin is a great free program that is available for Windows and numerous Linux Distros.

It allows you to boot your computer from a flash drive that has a pre-installed Distro or App on it.
Your computer needs to both boot from USB and recognize the flash drive as a USB Hard Drive. You will need to access your Bios and set it to boot from the USB port.

UNetbootin can either use a supported distro ISO file that has been saved on your hard drive or you can select a distro from the drop down box and it will download and configure the flash drive for you.

I've tried several distros found in the drop box with much success. The only distro I had a problem with was Slax. Not sure why I had a problem with it because I have used Slax in a 'Live' environment on this system before with no problems.

I'm planning to use UNetbootin to make a multi-boot USB flash drive.
I figure that if I use one larger distro like Mint, I can still get 2 or 3 smaller distros on a 1 gig flash drive.

I have several larger flash drives in the 2, 4 and 8 gig varieties but my system won't properly recognize these flash drives during the boot process.
So until I get a chance to find a work around like partitioning the larger flash drives into 1 gig partitions, I will stick with the 1 gig variety.

I don't see much of a problem setting up a multi-boot flash drive.
I'll install the distros one at a time. When one is installed I will copy the contents of the flash drive and save it on my hard drive then wipe the flash drive for the next distro.
Then I will install the 2nd and 3rd distros doing the same as the first between each download.
When the last distro is downloaded and installed on the flash drive I will copy the contents of the previous installs onto the drive one at a time.

The boot loader used is Syslinux which is easily modified to include the boot info needed by the other distros.
If I can get the larger flash drives working by setting up multiple partitions then I may need to use grub with a modified loader and menu but for a simple 1 partition drive Syslinux should be fine.

I'll update my blog with the results once I'm done playing.
I need some premium playtime and this project will be just what the doctor ordered.

UPDATE!
Check my May 12 entry for a mini tutorial on making a multiboot flash drive using UNetbootin.

Enjoy!

TaZMAn

15 in 1 MultiBoot Linux DVD With Links

Just finished up a multi-boot Linux DVD that contains almost everything a user could need.
I previously had said I wasn't going to make any more multi-boot disks but this was done on a challenge. Someone made a comment to me that it couldn't be done because of conflicts between distros with the same kernel names.
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I like a challenge.

So I made this DVD and now the bug has bit me.
I have already started working on another disk that will also include an XP Pe environment. I don't use any special software to make these disks other then a hex editor, iso master and my archive reading software.

I do test my projects in VirtualBox before I burn the final product. Saves me money on DVD's when I screw up which is bound to happen.
For the record this multi-boot contains several major distros and numerous utilities.

One of these utilities allows me to install from a list of several major distros using the DVD and an internet connection. A virtual 6 in 1 by itself as I can choose which Linux distro I want to install on a computer and not need the specific disk.

The list is as follows:

Mint
Puppy
DSL
SliTaz
Clonezilla
DBAN
NT Password and Registry Editor
PING (Partimage Is Not Ghost)
Parted Magic
RIPLinux
Net Boot
SystemRescueCd
Trinity Rescue Kit
Balder Dos / FreeDos
Memtest

So I'm still alive and very active.


Here are the links

I have finally gotten the files uploaded to Rapidshare.
There are 15 Rar files and 1 How-to text file.
The links can be found here;

15 in 1 Links
http://rapidshare.com/users/LN4B53/2
Unrar all 15 files. This will create 1 Rar file. Unrar that file and you will have a DVD Iso that can be burned to a blank DVD.

Instructions on how to unrar, burn and modify the Iso can be found in the How-to text file.

Also feel free to pass it around, host it as a torrent or whatever. It's Linux, Open Source and free for all.

UPDATE!  

Check out my new 20 in 1 Live DVD found at my blog post here;
20 in 1 Multiboot Live DVD

Enjoy!

TaZMAn

Multiboot Linux Cd And Automake Script Download

I have been asked numerous times about providing download links to some of my multiboot disks I have made. Unfortunately, they are all over 4 gigs as they contain 8 or more distros on them and my upload speeds make that type of upload almost impossible.

So I put together a small multiboot Cd that will provide you with Damn Small Linux, Puppy Linux and Memtest.
The total size is 136 megs and is split into 2 rar files (Using the script in my previous post) and is available via the 2 Rapidshare links.

MultiCd Part 1 75 Megs
http://rapidshare.com/files/161640669/multicd.iso-Split_RAR-75Megabyte_s_.part1.rar

MultiCd Part 2 61 Megs
http://rapidshare.com/files/161640671/multicd.iso-Split_RAR-75Megabyte_s_.part2.rar

Not only do you have a small Iso file but it contains 2 fully functional Linux systems and a utility to test your Ram! Also, both are very small and fast and will work on older, slower systems with minimal Ram and hardware.

It will also help you to see how a multiboot Cd is made although I have a confession to make.
Every other multiboot disk I have ever made was created by me from scratch. I did all the tedious editting and creating both the loader and menu.

But then I found a forum post that has a script to make multiboot disks.
It supports many distros and even a WinPE compilation.
There is a slight bug however that doesn't seem to affect the final Iso.
It has to do with the genisoimage version 1.1.6
I get an error that it expected a certain value but gets a different value.
No matter. I leave it run and it usually finishes with a working Iso.

But I have had the occasional tests where the script failed after getting that error.
It is a known bug when dealing with genisoimage version 1.1.6
If you use an older version you have no problems.
I must express the fact that the genisoimage bug is not due to itself but rather the way scripts are trying to use genisoimage.

Another con of this script is that it allows a limited choice of Linux distros.
The creator of the script has done a remarkable job of adding many distros but there are some good ones missing.
Also, because many distros use the same kernel you have to be careful of which versions you add into your compilation.

Examples would be Damn Small Linux and Knoppix. They both use the Knoppix kernel. Because the kernel of each Distro needs to be in the root path of the Cd and they are named the same you can't use both on a Cd unless you do custom editting of the files needed to boot up a renamed kernel.

But other then that it does a good job of creating multiboot Iso's.

The forum post can be found here;
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=718016

And the script file can be found on this page;
http://multicd.tuxfamily.org/

I strongly suggest you read all the pages in the forum post and the page at tuxfamily to understand how this script is used.

Enjoy!!

TaZMAn

P.S. I hope a few thank you's are in order.