You are not logged in.

#1 2012-09-17 22:28:19

testdude281
Member
From: Vizag, India
Registered: 2011-03-04
Posts: 75

Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

Hi,

      i was reading about the CLI-based Finnix Rescue Disc, when i thought if Arch iso could be used in the same way. Checking around produced these threads about Arch-based rescue disks

     Mother's Arms Rescue System

     Minimax

     I was wondering if some rescue tools could be integrated directly into the Arch iso. That would have been a huge help when i had a problem with a partition on my system. I had to use mint to first download and burn system rescue disc and then use it to try to fix my partition. This way i could have kept only 1 cd for both installation and rescue and not bother with mint and system rescue disc. And since its only a few MB more, i would say its worth it since i found a huge no. of threads where a seperate rescue disk had to be used. Two posters have attempted to build a custom iso for their personal use

    https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=145328

    https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=49730

    Apologies if this is a previously discussed topic (i couldnt find any such thread) or if it violates KISS principles.

   PS : I am not asking for a full-featured rescue disc. Just something which can be used for common problems.

Offline

#2 2012-09-18 01:26:08

the.ridikulus.rat
Member
From: Indiana, USA
Registered: 2011-10-04
Posts: 765

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

Try Archboot iso.

Offline

#3 2012-09-18 01:33:51

WonderWoofy
Member
From: Los Gatos, CA
Registered: 2012-05-19
Posts: 8,414

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

I came across this the other day... went through the steps and it seems to work.  Though I have cdrtools rather than cdrkit...

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Re … nstall_ISO

Offline

#4 2012-09-18 09:23:14

brain0
Developer
From: Aachen - Germany
Registered: 2005-01-03
Posts: 1,382

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

testdude281 wrote:

I was wondering if some rescue tools could be integrated directly into the Arch iso. That would have been a huge help when i had a problem with a partition on my system. I had to use mint to first download and burn system rescue disc and then use it to try to fix my partition. This way i could have kept only 1 cd for both installation and rescue and not bother with mint and system rescue disc. And since its only a few MB more, i would say its worth it since i found a huge no. of threads where a seperate rescue disk had to be used.

What kind of rescue tools are missing? I feel that the Arch ISO contains everything you need.

Furthermore, you can use pacman from the ISO to install whatever you need into the live system.

Offline

#5 2012-09-18 21:08:11

testdude281
Member
From: Vizag, India
Registered: 2011-03-04
Posts: 75

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

I should have defined what i meant by common problems.
@brain0   Yeah, you are right. i can use archiso to download software for recovering partitions, recovering files etc, but my point is those software do not exist on the iso itself.

Does the iso have any software like foremost or safecopy for recovering deleted files? i know i could use dd but i would prefer those two.

Does the iso have any software like testdisk to recover partitions? i know parted could do it but it lacks options and no one is recommending it.

As i said, it would cost only a few more mb but i could junk my sys rescue cd.

On a related note:  i use a 3g usb modem to connect to the internet. given that the best cli-based tool for it is wvdial (which my isp recommends on his website), could you (or any other dev reading this) move wvdial and usb_modeswitch from community into the iso in the next iteration of arch. Since the present iteration would not do an offline install, i am stuck in a catch-22 situation. I know, although i havent tested it, i could use pppd but against the long procedure i prefer to use mint to download wvdial etc. Again, i understand if its against KISS principles.

@ridikulus @WonderWoofy Thanks i will be making my own. i did not know abt that.

Last edited by testdude281 (2012-09-19 01:57:19)

Offline

#6 2012-09-18 21:15:32

lilsirecho
Veteran
Registered: 2003-10-24
Posts: 5,000

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

Perhaps isomaster package is your cup of tea which works with CD's to allow customizing and re-making the .iso.


Prediction...This year will be a very odd year!
Hard work does not kill people but why risk it: Charlie Mccarthy
A man is not complete until he is married..then..he is finished.
When ALL is lost, what can be found? Even bytes get lonely for a little bit!     X-ray confirms Iam spineless!

Offline

#7 2012-09-18 23:19:47

brain0
Developer
From: Aachen - Germany
Registered: 2005-01-03
Posts: 1,382

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

First of all, your reply is such a mess I had trouble reading it and I do not dare quote any of it. Would you please read what you write before you click the Submit button? Also, complete sentences, punctuation, and maybe a clear line of thought might help.

Second, wvdial and usb_modeswitch are on the ISO (even though wvdial sucks and is just as complicated to configure as pppd).

From your reply, I still have trouble finding out what tools exactly you miss. All this is about is knowing what people actually need. The bug tracker is a good place to make such requests.

Offline

#8 2012-09-19 02:02:48

testdude281
Member
From: Vizag, India
Registered: 2011-03-04
Posts: 75

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

@brain0 There, i have edited it to help you understand my point better. i blame my lack of sleep for the two rambling sentences.

As for wvdial, i am sorry i did not know. i have installed arch 3 times now and every time i had to download wvdial via mint. i have not used the present iteration yet for me to comment on wvdial's availability. As a 3g stick user, wvdial is way better than nm or pppd, but thats just my personal opinion.

Offline

#9 2012-09-19 07:33:53

brain0
Developer
From: Aachen - Germany
Registered: 2005-01-03
Posts: 1,382

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

testdude281 wrote:

Does the iso have any software like foremost or safecopy for recovering deleted files? i know i could use dd but i would prefer those two.

Does the iso have any software like testdisk to recover partitions? i know parted could do it but it lacks options and no one is recommending it.

We don't have foremost or safecopy in the repositories, and I never heard of them. Do you have links? We have dd and dd_rescue on the ISO, but I don't think they are useful for recovering deleted files. We have testdisk in the repositories, so adding that is easy.

Offline

#10 2012-09-19 08:44:00

tomk
Forum Fellow
From: Ireland
Registered: 2004-07-21
Posts: 9,839

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

IMO the answer is in your thread title - the arch iso has a single purpose i.e. to install an Arch system. Of course, it also can be used in various rescue scenarios, but it was not designed for that.

There are various dedicated rescue isos out there - sysresccd, grml, etc - that have all the tools you need for more or less every emergency that could arise. It was my understanding that dedicated linux users, and in particular Arch users, always kept a rescue system at hand - personally, I have both sysresccd and grml on a single usb drive.

Offline

#11 2012-09-19 10:50:08

TheSaint
Member
From: my computer
Registered: 2007-08-19
Posts: 1,523

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

tomk wrote:

always kept a rescue system at hand - personally, I have both sysresccd and grml on a single usb drive.

That's true.
I preferred to make a USB with Arch on it, plain installation. I also can upgrade it add or remove packages. For the least I used to reinstall Arch on another machine in the grave case of total failure. My UFD is 8 Gb, but even 4 Gb suffice at resonable price.


do it good first, it will be faster than do it twice the saint wink

Offline

#12 2012-09-19 11:57:33

Awebb
Member
Registered: 2010-05-06
Posts: 6,275

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

tomk wrote:

It was my understanding that dedicated linux users, and in particular Arch users, always kept a rescue system at hand

Indeed. Grml for anything Debian-ish and the Arch installer for anything Arch-ish. Besides that, I rsync the pacman package cache to a NAS. Even if the Arch installer does not come with whatever I need, changes are high I still have the package.

Offline

#13 2012-09-20 01:07:01

mhertz
Member
From: Denmark
Registered: 2010-06-19
Posts: 681

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

I'm with brain0 on that the arch iso allready features a nice cli recovery-solution!

I previously used grml, but now I only keep the arch iso around for both recscue operations or reinstalls.

If needing extra tools then it's dead easy to use archiso to add the extra tools to a new custom arch iso.

I myself make my own iso with archiso, because I like to add vim and my own configs to the iso, like my .zshrc, .vimrc, wpa_supplicant.conf and my automated install-script...

Last edited by mhertz (2012-09-20 01:31:42)

Offline

#14 2012-09-20 04:13:33

_voidStar
Member
Registered: 2012-09-20
Posts: 10

Re: Use Arch Installation Disk as System Rescue Disk

I used the arch installation disk as a Windows rescue disc earlier today (those annoying bcd files, I tell you).

Also, I believe it is disc, not disk.


***_vS***

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB