Frugal install

frugal install
Users can run antiX as a persistent live iso on a hard drive. This is similar to Puppy linux's frugal install.

Note, for now, unlike Puppy linux, users have to set up frugal manually.

A frugal install is similar to running a live cd or live usb, except that it is running from a hard drive.

Advantages of frugal:


 * space is saved (installation to hard drive typically is 4 times the size of the iso, whereas with frugal it is the size of the iso).
 * Frugal from hard drive is faster than live usb and live cd.
 * great for testing (once set up).

antiX is able to run frugal with persistence which means you can run it (like Puppy linux), add/remove apps and changes will be saved. You get to create antiX exactly as you want it, and then you can remaster it for use on other boxes/devices if you wish.

You need a working grub already installed.

antiX-frugal works on ext2, ext3, ext4, fat and ntfs partitions, but ext is recommended.

'''Scenario 1. Single partition running antiX.'''

You can run frugal from within your running antiX. Note: Do not use this if you intend to install to hard drive. frual must be installed from a separate partition.

In your root partition (not root folder) make a folder called antiX-base (or whatever).

# cd / # mkdir antiX-base

Open mc and navigate to your iso file, press Enter and you will see the contents of the live iso file. Copy all the contents of the antiX folder to antiX-base on your root partition.

Now you need to edit your running /boot/grub/menu.lst to add the frugal entry. Put this near the top.

#Frugal title antiX-base-frugal-sda1 root (hd0,0) kernel /antiX-base/vmlinuz quiet noxorg bdev=sda1 bdir=antiX-base antiX=LMX nomodeset persist initrd /antiX-base/initrd.gz

Note: antiX=LMXD are cheats to disable unnecessary startup processes.

L=lean - disables acpi acpid bootlogs bluetooth cherokee cpufrequtils cron cups gpm ifplugd irqbalance loadcpufreq rsync rsyslog saned ssh stop-bootlogd sudo transmission-daemon wicd

M=mean - disables networking and resolvconf

X=Xtra lean - disables bootlogd dns-clean eeepc-acpi-scripts hdparm hwclock.sh hwclockfirst.sh ifupdown-clean mountnfs-bootclean.sh mountoverflowtmp pcmciautils policykit pppd-dns svgalib-bin ufw urandom

D=dbus - disables dbus

nomodeset - 'blocks' nouveau driver and 'forces' xvesa.

noxorg - Do not create an /etc/X11/xorg.conf file as it should be autodetected and xorg.conf is not needed.

Note: For antiX-12 and later, do not use the D cheat as the SLiM login manager needs it.

'''Scenario 2. Multiple partition running antiX.'''

The same process as in scenario 1 applies when running frugal on other partitions eg for sdb6. This is the best method for testing live.

In your partition (eg sdb6) make a folder called antiX-base (or whatever).

# cd /media/sdb6 # mkdir antiX-base

Open mc and navigate to your antiX iso file, press Enter and you will see the contents of the live iso file. Copy all the contents of the antiX folder to antiX-base on your chosen partition.

Now you need to edit your running /boot/grub/menu.lst to add the frugal entry. Put this near the top.

#Frugal title antiX-base-frugal-on sdb6 root (hd1,5) kernel /antiX-base/vmlinuz quiet noxorg bdev=sdb6 bdir=antiX-base antiX=LMX nomodeset initrd /antiX-base/initrd.gz

Once you have booted, you can set up persistence. See this thread.

http://antix.freeforums.org/live-persistence-t3566.html

Give frugal a try. It's fun.