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diff --git a/build_tools/larch8/larch0/docs/html/gui_medium.html b/build_tools/larch8/larch0/docs/html/gui_medium.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..516e526 --- /dev/null +++ b/build_tools/larch8/larch0/docs/html/gui_medium.html @@ -0,0 +1,221 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> +<title>GUI Tab: Preparing the Medium</title> +<!-- (en) Add your meta data here --> + +<link href="css/larchdocs.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> +<!--[if lte IE 7]> +<link href="css/yaml/core/iehacks.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> +<![endif]--> +</head> + +<body> +<!-- skip link navigation --> +<ul id="skiplinks"> + <li><a class="skip" href="#col1">Skip to main content (Press Enter).</a></li> +</ul> + +<div class="page_margins"> + <div class="page"> + <div id="top"><div id="tm"></div></div> + <!-- begin: #col1 --> + <div id="col1" role="main"> + <div id="col1_content"> + <div id="header" role="banner"> + <h1><span><em>live Arch Linux</em> builder</span></h1> + </div> + + <!-- begin: #col3 navigation column --> + <div id="col3" role="complementary"> + <div id="col3_content"> + <img class="indent2" alt="larch logo" src="css/screen/larch150x.png" width="150" height="150" /> + <div class="vlist"> + <ul> + <li><a href="index.html"><h6>Table Of Contents</h6></a></li> + <li><a href="gui_larchify.html"><h6>Previous:</h6> + <div class="indent1">GUI Tab: Larchify</div></a></li> + </ul> + </div> + </div> + </div> + <!-- end: #col3 --> + +<div class="larchdocs"> + +<h2 id="pagetitle" level="2">GUI Tab: Preparing the Medium</h2> + +<p>This tab presents the various possibilities for installing the +<em>live</em> system that was built on the 'larchify' tab onto a bootable +device, which can be in <em>iso9660</em> form (to burn to a CD/DVD), or +a partition on a hard disk or flash storage device. A suitable bootloader +can also be installed. In addition the copying of a larch system from one +medium to another is supported and also the building of a boot-iso for +a USB device. +</p> + +<h3>Bootloader</h3> +<p>To keep things simple only the <em>syslinux</em> family of bootloaders is +supported. This allows booting from CD/DVD (<em>isolinux</em>) and partitions +formatted with 'ext2/3/4' or 'btrfs' (<em>extlinux</em>) or with 'vfat' +(<em>syslinux</em>). +</p> + +<h3><a name="bootlines"></a>Boot entries/options</h3> + +<p>The bootloader offers a selection of 'boot lines', so that +different systems, or various kernels in combination with various +boot options can be started. The file 'cd-root/boot/bootlines' in the profile +contains this information for the <em>larch live</em> system in a +form which can be converted automatically into bootloader specific +formats. This allows the boot menu entries to be supplied in the +profile in an easily parseable way which is independent of the actual bootloader +which is used in the end. The format should be pretty clear from +the default version. +</p> + +<p>The 'bootlines' file covers only the menu entries for the +<em>larch live</em> system. All other entries must be supplied in +a bootloader specific 'template' file. A button is supplied to edit +this, too. Note the '###LARCH' line, which specifies where the +information from the 'bootlines' file is to be included. +</p> + +<h3>The 'cd-root' directory</h3> +<p>The handling of this directory is described +<a href="profiles.html#cd-root">here</a>. It allows customisation of +files on the medium which are not directly used by <em>larch</em>, but +can be useful in certain circumstances. You could, for example, include +a package repository, or just about any data files needed by the +specific <em>live</em> system. The default settings might well be +adequate for many purposes. +There is a button to open a file browser on this directory +(within the current profile). +Note that only the '/boot' and '/larch' directories of the medium are +available for customisation, so in general any application data should +be placed in the '/larch' directory. +</p> + + +<h3>Choice of build medium</h3> +<p>The main choice is between a partition (on a hard-disk, USB-stick, etc.) +and an <em>iso</em> file (for writing to a CD/DVD). It is also possible to +build a 'boot-iso' (to burn to a CD) for an already prepared <em>larch</em> +USB-medium, to enable booting on older systems which don't support booting +from USB. +</p> + +<p>The destination can be changed by clicking the button - a menu appropriate +to the type of destination appears (note that for destination partitions +only unmounted ones will be shown). +</p> + +<h4>Build an <em>iso</em>, for CD or DVD</h4> +<p>Only limited customisation possibilities are offered here, you can +set the volume label ('-V' option to <em>mkisofs</em>). The boot CD is +discovered at boot by searching for '/larch/system.sqf'. +</p> + +<h4>Install to partitition</h4> + +<p>Here one must select the partition to install to - which must be +plugged in and not mounted (good luck to automounters!), and +also select how the <em>live initramfs</em> is to find the correct +partition. The available options are: + +<ul> + <li>Partition: The device will be sought on the basis of its (current) + device name - such as /dev/sdb1. This is only suitable if you can be + sure the device will always get the same name (which - especially with + pluggable devices - is unlikely).</li> + <li>UUID: Each device normally has a unique UUID, so this is a pretty + reliable method. It's just that the UUIDs themselves are rather ungainly + and unmemorable.</li> + <li>LABEL: Booting on the basis of the device label can be quite reliable + and quite readable, so it might be a good compromise. This is the + recommended choice.</li> + <li>Search (for larchboot): The <em>live initramfs</em> tests all + visible devices until it finds one containing the file larch/larchboot. + </li> +</ul> +</p> + +<p>The partition will be formatted with 'ext4', and you can choose whether +to use the journalling feature of this file-system. +No other file-system types are supported at present (though by formatting +exernally and using the 'Don't format' option it is possible to use +another one, so long as it is supported by <em>syslinux/extlinux</em>). +The option to install without formatting should only be used by people who +know what they are doing, in general it is <strong>not</strong> recommended. +Another option for experts is the suppression of the installation of the +bootloader to the Master Boot Record of the <em>live</em> medium. If you +don't install to the MBR, you will need to provide some other means of +booting the device, but in certain circumstances this could be a useful +option. +</p> + +<p>The option 'Not bootable via search' suppresses the generation of the +'larch/larchboot' file, so that the method of medium detection which +searches for this file will not work on the generated medium (this of +course makes no sense if the 'Search (for larchboot)' medium detection +method is selected for this medium). +</p> + +<h4>Create boot iso</h4> +<p>In this case the <em>source</em> medium - a partition containing the +<em>larch</em> system (presumably on a USB device) must be selected, +by clicking on the button in the source frame. Only unmounted partitions +with volume labels will be offered. A small <em>iso</em> file with just +the kernel and initramfs, plus the necessary bootloader files, will be +created. This is to cover cases where a machine cannot boot from USB +devices, but can boot from a CD. +Note that the USB device for which the CD is to be generated must be +plugged in, but not mounted. +</p> + +<h3>Volume label</h3> +<p>The maximum length of the label should be 16 characters, which is ok +for both 'iso' (CD/DVD) and for 'ext4'. +</p> + +<h3>Write the larch medium</h3> +<p>When enough information is available, this button will be enabled and +the generation can be started. +</p> + +<h3>Copying larch media</h3> + +<p>By choosing a medium (iso-file or labelled partition) in the source +frame, it is possible to copy this system to another medium. Certain +aspects of the destination device can be set just as in the initial +creation process. When a device or iso-file is selected as source a +simple validity check will be performed on it, a failure resulting in +the selection not being accepted. +</p> + +</div> + + + + <div class="topref"><a href="#top">Top</a></div> + </div> + <!-- begin: #footer --> + <div id="footer"> + <div id="footer-content" role="contentinfo">© 2010 Michael Towers<br /> + Page layout assisted by <a href="http://www.yaml.de/">YAML</a> and + <a href="http://www.kuwata-lab.com/tenjin/">pyTenjin</a> + </div> + </div> + <!-- end: #footer --> + </div> + <!-- end: #col1 --> + <div id="bottom"><div id="bl"><div id="bm"></div></div></div> + </div> +</div> +<!-- full skiplink functionality in webkit browsers --> +<script src="css/yaml/core/js/webkit-focusfix.js" type="text/javascript"></script> +</body> +</html> |