linuxgeek: [LINUX_Newbies] Re: Disabling Install on Live CD's

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

[LINUX_Newbies] Re: Disabling Install on Live CD's

--- In LINUX_Newbies@yahoogroups.com, J <dreadpiratejeff@...> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Dec 30, 2009 at 13:15, Darksyde <m_alexander61@...> wrote:
> > How would I go about disabling the Install feature on a distro (most often it'll be Ubuntu or a
> > derivative) before burning it to disk? I'd like to feel more comfortable giving out distro's to
> > friends and knowing that they can't accidentally install the system would be of great
> > comfort.
> > Thanks,
> > Mark
>
> The short answer is this:
>
> extract the ISO's contents to a directory.
> edit all the stuff that does installing (any boot loader entries,
> desktop links, etc)
> rebuild new ISO images.
> Burn new ISO images.
>
> That is all...
>
> Do some reading on rolling your own bootable ISO images for tips on
> how to actually do this. It's semi-trivial, meaning it's not hard,
> but it can be a complicated process.
>
> Also, does it really matter. It's really HARD to accidentally install
> an OS. If the ISO includes a "Install OS" boot option, usually they
> have to specifically select that, then they have to manually do some
> things IN the installer, getting past at least one or two screens that
> say "Installing $OS". If it only provides an install option from
> within the live system, via a tool, or desktop link, then they have to
> actively click that link or tool, and again pass the "I'm going to
> INSTALL on your computer" screens, as well as do a few other things
> and actually say OK to the "do you want to continue and install this
> over your computer" screens that most installers come with.
>
> I can't, off hand, really think of any Linux OS that comes with an
> automatic, hands-off, destructive installation option that doesn't
> require some sort of user involvement (e.g. selecting the destructive
> option at boot as it's not the default, booting in a PXE environment
> with an auto-boot script like autoyast.xml or ks.cfg).
>
> Even the windows install disks don't just automatically destroy a
> working system when you boot from them (with the exception of special
> ISOs specifically built for quickly installing OEM systems, and even
> then those are usually installed via disk imaging than actual
> installation).
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jeff

Thanks, Jeff, I'll peruse the files next time I am about to burn a disk. You're right, of course, about it being nearly impossible to install accidentally but some friends have teenagers...need I say more?
Cheers,
Mark