Hey guys,

Due to MCNLive (Toronto) I've recently gotten into linux and I'm enjoying my experience so far.

What I want to do now is make a trimmed down version of Toronto to install onto my 512MB USB Flash Drive that I have lying around so I can have a barebones linux in my pocket which I could use/show off to people. Basically, I just want some help trying to figure out what to uninstall from the default MCNLive Toronto LiveCD.

I'll just be using it for:

Browsing (Firefox -- I'll uninstall Opera )
Watching Videos (vlc I think is my best bet, because it can play almost any file type)

Can anyone help me figure out how to uninstall a majority of stuff without breaking MCNLive? It works fine as it is, I just find that I don't use most of the programs but I don't want to uninstall stuff that's important to have MCNLive running smoothly.

P.S. Can I uninstall one of the Desktop Environments?

There are two recent versions of MCNLive, Delft and Toronto. Both have the same code base. They only differ in size and applications and look&feel.

Both fit on a 512 MB usb key. Both can be installed on your flash drive as they are.

But if you want a smaller size:
Delft is only 358 MB of size. You might want to start with this version. And uninstall one applications after the other.

The steps to make your own version. Click up a browser, click on the HowTo link. There is a remaster howto. Please read it!
If you have a NTFS hard disk (and no linux partiton) you need to start the live cd with: livecd ntfsrw
Don't start with 'persistent changes'.

1. Uninstall programs: MCC (Mandriva Control Center)
2. Install programs: MCC
3. Change the look and feel, your bookmarks, and so on
4. Menu - MCNLive - Remaster Live (simple)

You will get a new iso (stored on your hard disk), with all changes, which you can burn on a CD, start and setup on usb key.
Because of the nature of the thing, you can experiment as much as you want, if you break stuff, you would just reboot.
And make a new iso.

PS: There is only one desktop environment, it is KDE. The rest are libraries you do need.

I don't about whether you have experienced many of the Linux Distros, but I've tried several Dozen and not one can
match This One for loading flawlessly without nary a Hiccup, so I would advice you not to remove anything that would
possibly break a thing of Beauty, and especially now, with even 1 Gig and Up USB Thumb Drives priced very cheap. But
if you must, then go into RPMDrake Package Manager as Root and Experiment with Safe Removal and I do hope you get
the Modifications you desire.
"If its not broke...then fix it til it is"

Thanks anna, Vanrip.

I forgot to mention that I have already followed the directions on the website on how to remaster using the mklivecd command.

anna: I guess I didn't know the nature of the livecd, so I can experiment and uninstall as much as I want until it breaks? Hahaha..

I have the same goal that Primetime has. I already moved through the steps Anna is mentioning in post #2 but I’ve found in step 1 a critical step:
1) how do I link the name of the application that I would like to remove to the name of the modules listed on Rpmdrake?
2) how do I know if the dependencies listed by Rpmdrake for a specific application will have an impact on another application I want to keep ?

The first question I don't understand.

The second: you get a list of all dependencies = what is getting deleted. (and you can click on 'cancel' if you want to stop).
In this list you will find the names of the programs. After a while you know which program and which library is needed.
For example, you can't uninstall certain gtk libraries, otherwise it will erase the whole Mandriva Control Center :-)

Just to add a small note. If you guys are trying to get MCNLive VERY small --- why? The size does not make it faster! It does not matter how big the iso is. The only reason to make it smaller is to fit it on a small usb key and the copy2ram feature. But it does already fit on 512 MB thumb drive.
And it is almost impossible to get it under 256 MB, trust me. I tried everything. Not even with xfce.

The reason is: the MCC (and all gtk deps) & 3D desktop & the codecs & flash-plugin and more...

PS: 'Delft' is smaller ...

Thanks for your attention, Anna (and all).

Question 1: I was unclear, shame on me. Let me try with an example: let's assume that I want to get rid of an application that I launch clicking on an icon named Word; which is the name of the module that I have to remove with Rpmdrake ? It's not enough to say that I have to look for modules that have "word" in their name !

Question 2: you're telling me that everything is based on experience :-( Ok. Is there an application able to spot the orphan modules (In MS there a similar application able to spot the orphan dll files and, I believe, Debian has also something like that).

I answer then to the clever note that you added: for my part I aim to shrink down MCNLive because I would like to have on a USB pen only OpenOffice, Firefox and as much space as possible devoted to documents.

NB1 Your note should deserve a philosophical TD: why is difficult for a Linux distro to downgrade to the plain OS ? The user could then be able to add the applications he likes. Why more or less every Linux distro (MCNLive is on the less part) is replicating MS approach in which, as an example, is very difficult and not advisable to remove Internet Explorer, Directix, etc..

NB2 You already wrote twice that Delft is smaller. I assume that it doesn't have many drawback and... I'm downloading it, thanks for the tip!

By 'modules' you now mean 'packages', don't you? 'modules' is something different.
Well, you can see which command it starts and then search for that in rpmdrake.

Mandriva 2007 has something called 'urpmi_rpm-find-leaves' that find those packages installed that nothing else depends on.

When the programm name is Opera, then type in 'opera' (lower case) in the search field in MCC - Sofware - Remove software (it is called something like this ...).
You want to remove Amarok, search term is: amarok
You want to remove all 3D desktop stuff, search: task (this is an example that I can't remember how it is called exactly and I am too lazy to look it up)

On the mirror where you downloaded MCNLive you can find a file (rpmlist-xxx.txt) for each mcnlive version. Download this file, save it, open it. You'll find a list of all packages, the main programs, the libraries, the base system ...

In rpmdrake you can browse all packages, look at descriptions etc., click on the arrows to expand the information.

2. Q about orphaned stuff - I simply don't know. Sorry.

My question for you: why did you choose MCNLive that did not come with OpenOffice and Firefox (there are reasons why, they are huge and slow)? It would be much easier to just start with a live linux distro that includes it ...

Anna and Mhn, thanks again for your replies, you covered my questions.

My answer to your fair question, Anna: 1) MCNL is targeted for running on a CD/USB with persistency (b.t.w. did you know that Ubuntu 7.04 faisty fawn (last release) has the persistency broken ???) 2) it has a built-in script to install on a USB thumb drive 2) it's a subset (remaster) of a popular distro such as Mandriva: I can use it for an hard-disk install 3) Mandriva (and therefore MCNL is I've well understood) has a large number of packages (that I can install if and only if I need) 4) I didn't had any problem with my wireless card ipw2100.
Just to recap: you did a fantastic job with MCNLive !!!!

Also please note that I was thinking that to remove packages was as easy as a walk in the park !!!

Of course any amendment to what I said/suggestion for other distros are more than welcome

Hey anna Thanks for all your help.

I wanted to ask, if it was possible to install better drivers for the graphics card on the remastered cd? Something like FGLRX? The 3d stuff is working ok, but when I rotate with video, the video turns blue! I'm thinking I have to update the drivers....

If you have an ati card, you can enable the (already configured, but by default disabled) non-free software sources (Mandriva Control Center), and install these packages:

ati-kernel-2.6.17-13mdv-8.34.8-1mdk.i586.rpm
ati-8.34.8-1mdv2007.1.i586.rpm

Then run the 'Configure Video' tool (Menu - MCNLive)

I don't know if this helps. I am not familiar with closed source drivers.

Thanks.

I'll try to figure it out with your suggestion and post the results here

Hello. I suppose whenever One discovers a nearly perfect Live Linux, then One may assume that it may be shrunk just as easily?

Congratulations! MCNL has achieved the quality features that all the other developers can only hope for!

Mandrake users rpm, which has some nice featers. for example, if the program that that icon is running is /usr/bin/donaldduck (right clock on the icon, select properties and application, and look for the file name it runs) then
rpm -qf /usr/bin/donaldduck
will tell youwhich package it was installed from.
Then just do
urpme dduck
( or whatever that package name was.) Now if it tells you that it needs to uninstall 20 other packages which depend on this one, you might want to think again about uninstalling it.



No idea what you mean by orphaned. If you use rpm, and make sure that you uninstall using rpm or urpm, then you will not have orphaned files.



You could remove all of kde and install some lightweight X windows manager instead.