my first try making a distro

[Artim]

Pretty cool! 
The only "homemade" OS I ever tried, besides a Debian net-install where you add all your own stuff, was a Xubuntu-Core minimal iso with selected personal favorite stuff added and edited.  Bare bones on my ancient 32-bit desktop.  I suppose I might have made it a micro distrolet and named it "RandomLinux" or something, lol.  You have gone to a lot more trouble and built it from a totally different base!  Good luck with it!

[bitsnpcs]

Hi @bitsnpcs

Built on an "Arch Linux Base", as I have already wrote

Antergos and Manjaro are both Arch based distros and grub says "Antergos" for Antergos and "Manjaro" for Manjaro. Not Arch Linux.

I will add a name for you. It will be my username for now. I'll probably start it on Tuesday.
Basically they download a tool and it is used to edit the grub name and other parameters.
For a throw away project it didn't seem a priority to look that up.

[bitsnpcs]

Yes it must be the case.

[Jerry]

Thank you bitsnpcs. And for the record, I've found @Moltke to be nothing other than most helpful across the Forums. I'm sure this was simply all 'lost in translation'. I see no evidence of stalking, just responses to posts. Believe me when I say this that if I saw evidence of that, I would swoop down on it quickly. Cheers guys and girls

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[bitsnpcs]

Thank You Jerry

I found it very difficult, but it was fun.
I thought it was a good way to try and understand more how much work goes into making the distros.
It is easy to not realize this when using a distro, so it was a good project for this reason too.
Looking I can see its like light years away.
It's a start of learning. I like to learn

I used the Arch Linux ISO then partition for root, home, and swap, format, enable, configure, then the Arch Linux base is downloaded from the prompt and the Arch Linux ISO is then removed from the Virtual Box.
The build is then done from the base files alone there onwards, you cannot reboot as there is no grub.
You download, add and then configure the grub, and other configuration pages and pages of the stuff, before you can do the first reboot after removing the Arch ISO or you have to start again, or be clever enough to know how to get back into it and I am not.
You have to download it as it is not in the base files, so you can choose which one you wanted etc.
It says they chose this grub as it is easiest for the first time trying.
Also they chose MATE and its why I only had the command for it.

Hope this explain to Moltke why the grub is as it is, eg I did not write the grub, I downloaded it and configured it.

After I finished with the book I then added some small bits of my own.

I used the "Definitive Series" on the "Linux and Open Source Manual", Volume 28 -
"build your own distro from the Arch base"
4 hours yes I can read and work fast when I am enjoying learning. I especially like to learn by doing projects, its how I got myself going with Linux Lite I done music projects, and GIMP projects.

@Jerry the Gnome Software Centre
https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Software
is like the Ubuntu software centre but made by Gnome , you can add in custom software source like Lite Software, and repos, it allows for installing software, OS updates, and security updates. I show it in use in the second video in the thread.

@Moltke  I cannot be a happy man or Mate. I am female.
I can be a happy girl, and I am.
Yes, I do have a nice life, thank you.

[Moltke]

Hi @bitsnpcs

Built on an "Arch Linux Base", as I have already wrote

Antergos and Manjaro are both Arch based distros and grub says "Antergos" for Antergos and "Manjaro" for Manjaro. Not Arch Linux.

you especially have stalked me around the forum this past week

stalked you? Hmmm I thought we were sharing music and stuff..but looks like I was wrong. Sorry if that bothered you somehow, that was never my intention. Won't happen again.

I'll stick with how I am doing it thanks

I never said otherwise. Do as you like cause I do as I like no matter what you or anyone else say.

If you don't like my first efforts , don't worry it is only the beginning LOL.
Look around in 4 years and we'll talk again

If you read my post I did said "congrats mate" I applaud your effort and actually was kind of impressed.

Are you then saying Linux Lite is not a distro ?

Does grub says Ubuntu or Linux Lite? I think that answers your question. I'm really sorry if I bothered you somehow, I kind of knew I should've kept myself out of this and let you alone. Don't worry, be happy man. I won't bother you anymore. Again, I didn't mean to minimize what you accomplished which is no little thing, quite the opposite, but it's clear that you misunderstood the whole thing. Well, nevermind and have a nice life! 

[Jerry]

Software centre now working.
Can we have this in a Linux Lite 4 ?

I'll take a look at it. What is it?

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[Jerry]

I applaud the effort bitsnpcs.

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[bitsnpcs]

Built on an "Arch Linux Base", as I have already wrote.

Just like Linux Lite is built on an Ubuntu base, as is Linux Mint, and many other distros.
It is not built line by line in openSUSE or anything even remotely like it.

Are you then saying Linux Lite is not a distro ?

It is built exactly the process how I built.
Then after this Linux Lite has spent many years heavily tweaking and improving the distro, by multiple programmers and developers on the team, it also created some unique Lite Software to add in to the distro too, which takes a lot of time and work as well.
I stated the time of 4hours because even I can see easily mine is nothing like Linux Lite or any completed distro, as I tried it alone and have not spent years on it.

I chose Arch base instead of an Ubuntu base, because I knew the trolls would start , like they do on almost every post I make, you especially have stalked me around the forum this past week.

I'll stick with how I am doing it thanks.
In free bits of time, as it's coming along okay for one evening, and is nicely backed up on an offline computer too.

I will leave the reinventing of the wheel or distro for the likes of you, as you seem to enjoy that.
Its good for you that you have done all these that 4 years ago.

If you don't like my first efforts , don't worry it is only the beginning LOL.
Look around in 4 years and we'll talk again

[Moltke]

Then added the Arch Linux base for the distro

@bitsnpcs I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but you didn't create a distro, you just installed Arch Linux. I can tell by watching that grub screen in your video

Code: [Select]

*Arch Linux
 Advanced options for Arch Linux
check my Arch Linux VM:



Nevertheless, it's said that installing Arch Linux is for advanced Linux users only, so you must feel good by knowing that you succeded in your first try   First time I tried like 4 years ago it took me quite a while to get Arch properly installed, so congrats mate 
You might want to read this http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/downloads/stable/LFS-BOOK-8.1.pdf  this will teach how to create a Linux Distro from scratch. I've been reading it too cause I'd like to learn that, and as far I have, I can assure you it takes more than 4 hours to create one.

This is also a place to learn somes stuff on this https://susestudio.com/ here, you can create your own OpenSUSE based distro; name it what you want it to, add as much or as less software as you want, your own repositories and much more. I created one back in February 2107 based on OpenSUSE LEAP 42.1 The only downside was that I couldn't install it since Live installer didn't work, it was deprecated and it didn't work anymore. But it sure was fun.    

   

[bitsnpcs]

Software centre now working.
Can we have this in a Linux Lite 4 ?

[bitsnpcs]

Tweaked it a little bit, changed wallpaper, changed theme to dark.
Added GNOME software centre for graphical software installs/updates, I am still trying to get this working lol
To fetch the software etc. https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Software

[bitsnpcs]

Hello,

this is my first try at making a Linux distro, I done it from the command line up.
I made it to try and learn some things about how Linux works, which I did learn some things.
I have not edited the desktop such as wallpaper, or added any software like a web browser, I will do some of those things another time.



I made it on Linux Lite, using VirtualBox.
Lots of first things for me that I done/tried out with this.
I made the 25GB VirtualBox machine then partitioned it, and formatted the partitions, enabled swap.
Then added the Arch Linux base for the distro.
Configured it for location, and keyboard, persisting on reboot, made a root, and a user account with less permissions.
Connecting to internet from command prompt pinging a website site for tests, I'd not tried these stuff before.
Then disconnecting the Arch Linux iso, and working purely from the base and booting from the my first try distro afterwards.
Afterwards installing the X windows server, from Xorg.
Then installing a desktop environment , MATE.
Then installing the display manager LXDM,  testing and setting to start on boot.
Then installing a font set.

I made some screenshots at random times whilst doing it, in case either the computer or my head fried lol, so that I could look at them afterwards and maybe spot an error etc.
I made 2 errors, 1 was adding an s in a command where it didn't need it, after about 5 tries I realized this.
Another error was a command I used and the place I got it from had made an error and added an - before a word where it didn't need one, this took me about 1 hour to solve lol.

Afterwards I made a small SimpleScreenRecorder video for YouTube, which I hope is interesting/fun, it is shown below some the screenshots during making the distro.

In total time it took me 4 hours just under to make the distro, it kinda shows, as it is not very pretty looking and lacks any of added apps yet.
I would like to try some more builds with different desktop environments but I only found the command for adding MATE at the time and I wanted to do it this afternoon, so I need to do some more searching once Ive finished with this one.