This document is intended to describe the process to get an easy install of any linux system just by booting on a compact flash. This document also describes how to explain the installation to semeone who doesn't know anything to linux and command line.

Get a mandrake running on CF:

First you need to run umigumi in order to get Mini-Debian. This will install you a Debian running directly from the compact flash. There is also on this card a deb.tar.gz wich is a full Debian archive, usefull for installing an hard disk.

Update of the CF Required:

By default there is a script wich allows to install the deb.tar.gz archive directly on the compact flash. So we have to update the script so that the installation will occur on the hard disk instead of the compact flash.

And by default, we need to run the script by hand, so it will be necessary to update the cf so that the installation on the hard disk will occurs on each boot time.

Updating the way of booting:

There is on the cf a etc.tar file. I will update it so that the installation will happens on each boot.

First, untar the etc.tar file :

    tar xvf etc.tar

Then modify the etc/rc.local file and happend this line :

    /mnt/backup/install

Then update the archive :

    tar cvf etc.tar etc

You need to create on the root of the cf a script called install wich contains :

    /mnt/backup/dreinst.sh

Since the cf is using a vfat filesystem the name dreinst has to be quite small. Still on the root of the cf, the script dreinst.sh looks like this :

    DISK_DEVICE=/dev/hdb
    DISK_MOUNT_POINT=/mnt/cf
    DISK_TGZ_DIR=/mnt/backup
    DISK_TGZ=deb
    cd $DISK_TGZ_DIR
    sfdisk -uM $DISK_DEVICE < parts
    ./mke2fs -T news ${DISK_DEVICE}2
    mount ${DISK_DEVICE}2 $DISK_MOUNT_POINT
    cd $DISK_TGZ_DIR
    tar -xzf ${DISK_TGZ}.tar.gz -C $DISK_MOUNT_POINT
    cp -a $DISK_TGZ_DIR/lilo2.con ${DISK_MOUNT_POINT}/lilo.conf
    cp -a $DISK_TGZ_DIR/fstab ${DISK_MOUNT_POINT}/etc/fstab
    lilo -C ${DISK_MOUNT_POINT}/lilo.conf
    umount $DISK_MOUNT_POINT
    echo "Installation Finished successfully"

You also need to create the file fstab on the compact flash, and it looks like this :

    # /etc/fstab: static file system information.
    #
    # <file system> <mount point> <type>  <options>     <dump>  <pass>
    /dev/hdb2 /   ext2  defaults,errors=remount-ro  0 1
    proc    /proc   proc  defaults      0 0
    /dev/hdb1 swap swap defaults 0 0

And finally the file lilo2.con is like this :

    boot=/dev/hdb
    map=/mnt/cf/boot/map
    vga=normal
    default=Debian
    lba32
    prompt
    nowarn
    timeout=100
    ignore-table
    menu-scheme=wb:bw:wb:bw
    disk=/dev/hdb bios=0x80
    disk=/dev/hda bios=0x81
    image=/mnt/cf/vmlinuz
            label=Debian
            root=/dev/hdb2
            read-only

First installation :

This part can be explained to anyone, most people will be able to understand it.

Finally, all you have to do is to install a hard disk on a openbrick, then insert the compact flash. Turn on the brick, it will boot the system on the compact flash then install everything on the hard disk. You will need to wait until nothing is moving on the screen (easy to explain to anyone).

Once nothing is moving on the screen, then you need to turn off the openbrick and then remove the compact flash.

If you want to be sure that the system is installed you can turn on the openbrick again (make sure the compact flash is not on the compact flash reader) and see if there is the lilo window.