remastering DSL 4.4.10 question

[mrjones]

Figured I'd ask here since the Damn Small Linux forums are a ghost town.

I know that it's old, but I have a client that is insisting on using Damn Small Linux 4.4.10 embedded with some tweaks. Of course, they want these tweaks made permanent. I've customized it quite a bit installed as a VM as well as updated Qemu that the embedded DSL uses and it all runs well, however the one thing that stumps me is remastering the KNOPPIX file. I made one using some of the guides for remastering the iso (altering it to copy the filesystem as it's installed on the hda instead of copying the fs from the CD 'cause that simply doesn't work) , however it ended up over twice as large as the original and the X server refuses to work.

Here are the steps I take:

create a VM with the iso and an empty 1GB virtual disk.

boot the VM from the iso and allow it to launch.

once up and running, edit the dslrc to point to a new server.

install GNU-Tools

enable apt-get (dpkg-restore)

install my custom jwm theme and wallpaper as default

pull splashy and splashy themes from my fileserver  (0.1.8-0-sarge is the last version that will install on DSL 4.4.10 without updating anything)

change rc scripts so splashy launches before knoppix init script and edit the default splashy theme to turn off fade-in/out.



at this point, I'm ready to remaster.

Mount the partitions needed
#mount -rw /dev/hda1 /mnt/hda1

Create the directories needed
#mkdir source newcd newcd/KNOPPIX

Copy necessary files to the newcd directory
#cp -Rp /cdrom/boot newcd
#cp -Rp /cdrom/lost+found newcd
#cp -Rp /cdrom/index.html newcd

Copy the sources to the proper directory
#cp -Rp /KNOPPIX/* source
#cp -Rp /KNOPPIX/.bash_profile source

I still copy the cdrom stuff even though all I need is a new KNOPPIX file.

What doesn't make sense is where you copy the stuff from KNOPPIX to the source directory. This is the untouched filesystem, I don't want that, I want the stuff I just installed, not the same stuff from the CD! Splashy is not installed there, none of my changes are there so why am I using this to remaster?

since this didn't make much sense, I copied the contents of the running filesystem and used that to make a KNOPPIX file, but that, of course, didn't work.

any tips? something I'm missing?