RUNNING AV LINUX “LIVE”:

AV Linux can be used “Live” in 2 different ways with no changes to the host machine operating it, by
running it from a LiveDVD or using a Unetbootin Bootable USB Key.

LiveDVD:

➢ Download the AV Linux 4.2 ISO file from http://www.bandshed.net/AVLinux.html

➢ Burn the ISO file to a DVD-R or RW using your existing Burning Software
➢ Set your Computer BIOS to Boot from your DVD Drive if it doesn't by default
➢ Reboot into the AV Linux LiveDVD

Bootable USB Key:

Requirements:

PC Capable of booting from USB Key

At least 2GB USB Key (4GB Recommended)
avlinux4.2-liqx-lxde-i386-en.iso from here: http://www.bandshed.net/AVLinux.html
Unetbootin

This guide is written assuming you are using an existing AV Linux install, however any Linux Distribution
with Gparted and Unetbootin installed should suffice. This operation will utilize the entire USB Key so
use a key you don't want to share data on other computers with and remove any important data from
the key. I would also suggest you use a clean key without any U3 or other proprietary launching
software on it, most manufacturers provide utilities to remove this.

STEP 1.
Insert your USB Key into the USB Port. From the menu go to 'Preferences'-->'GParted' and launch
GParted.

STEP 2.
Using the drop down dialog in the upper right corner of GParted select your USB Key. MAKE SURE YOU
KNOW WHICH DRIVE YOUR USB KEY IS!!

STEP 3.
Select any existing Partitions on the Key, Right Click on them and delete them until the Key is
completely unallocated space. You may need to right click and 'unmount' any mounted partitions on
the key before you can make changes

STEP 4.
Create a new FAT32 partition on the USB Key (approx 2 Gb). In the remaining unpartitioned space
create an ext2 or ext3 partition and in the 'label' field enter 'live-rw'.
STEP 5.
Click on the checkmark icon at the top of GParted and apply the partitions you have created to the
key.

STEP 6.
Once GParted has finished creating your new partitions right click on the FAT32 Partition and select
'Manage Flags' and from the list select 'boot'. When you close the Flags dialog Gparted should quickly
rescan and display the boot flag on your FAT32 Partition. Close GParted

STEP 7.
Remove your USB Key and then plug it back in. Then open PCManFM...you should see 2 partitions
available to mount relating to your USB Key, you can mount them both but you only need to mount the
FAT32 one. Hint... it is the one not called 'live-rw'.

STEP 8.
From the menu open 'System Tools'--->Unetbootin. Select the Diskimage option and navigate to where
you have downloaded or placed the avlinux4.2-liqx-lxde-i386-en.iso file and Click OK. Unetbootin will
take several minutes to copy the image and bootloader to your Key.
Adding Persistence to the Key:

If you simply want AV Linux on a USB Key without persistent storage you can stop here. This will give
you the partition AV Linux runs from and a small additional partition to store files on while you are
running it. For persistence there are a few more steps and a few things to consider:

➢ Persistence will slow bootup time considerably.

➢ Persistence causes the system response to be a little slower than a non-persistent Key but
faster than a DVD ROM
➢ Installing AV Linux from a persistent Key is possible but not advised.
➢ During startup and shutdown the GDM login may appear briefly, it doesn't need a password and
will disappear on it's own.
➢ System shutdown may display several harmless errors, do not remove your key when prompted
until it stops flashing.

NOT SCARED OFF?

STEP 9.
Mount the FAT 32 Partition of your Key (if it isn't already) in PCManFM and navigate to the 'syslinux.cfg'
file. Right click on it and open it with gedit and modify it's text in line 9 like the example below, once
done save the edited syslinux.cfg file and you are ready to boot into your new Key. Enjoy!

append initrd=/ubninit file=/cdrom/preseed/custom.seed boot=live quiet splash

vga=788 persistent –

IMPORTANT! - Extra Notes on Installing AV Linux from a USB Key:

If you install AV Linux from a USB Key made with Unetbootin it will treat the USB Key as a CD-ROM
device during installation and will make an entry in /etc/fstab that doesn't correspond to the address
of the actual CD-ROM. This will result in USB devices giving an error when you attempt to mount them
following an AV Linux install. This is quite easy to fix and only requires a minor edit to the /etc/fstab
file like this:

From the menu go to Accessories-->Root Terminal, enter your Root password and open the /etc/fstab
file for editing with the Gedit Text Editor by entering this command into the Terminal:

gedit /etc/fstab

Scan down the /etc/fstab file for the text line pertaining to the CD-ROM like in the example below, it
is highlighted in this example for further instruction:

# cdrom
/dev/sdb1 /media/cdrom udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

If you computer has a SATA CD/DVD-ROM you can probably simply change '/dev/sdb1' to 'dev/sr0'
otherwise delete ONLY the line that is shown with the yellow highlighting from the /etc/fstab file and
then click 'Save' in the Gedit Text Editor.

Close Gedit and the Root Terminal and reboot the system to recognize the changes, USB devices should
now mount properly and your CD/DVD-ROM will function properly as a removable device.
 INSTALLING AV LINUX:

The following section involves major system changes like hard drive partitioning etc. There is
always a risk of Data loss or corruption when installing a new or different Operating System.
ALWAYS back up any important Data before making changes to your existing Hard Drive. If you are
completely unfamiliar with the concept of drive partitioning, or terms like “Master Boot Record” it
is recommended that you don’t attempt to install AV Linux.

Installation Info:
There are two methods to install AV Linux to your hard drive, the preferred way is using the Graphical
Remastersys Installer which is launched from the desktop by double clicking the “Install AV Linux” icon,
or alternately the 'Text-Mode' Installer which is non-graphical and can be manually started from a Root
Terminal with a remastersys-installer command. AV Linux uses 'GParted' to perform disk
partitioning, you can choose to set up partitions before running the Installer or do it as part of the
installation process. The Installer is laid out in a very simple step by step manner, take your time and
carefully read the Installer prompts to ensure a successful install. Please also take time to read the
rest of this section before installing, screenshots will illustrate three possible installation scenarios.

PLEASE NOTE! AV Linux does not use 'sudo' it uses the pure Debian Root Superuser and User method.
When installing and setting up AV Linux you will need to have a password for your Root Superuser to
administrate the system and a regular User password for normal system use.

AV Linux is primarily "Image-based" this means it is self contained and ready to use once installed with
minimal post-install software and configuration being required. It is suggested for it to be installed a
little differently than a regular Linux distribution. It is suggested to create a single ext3 Partition at
least 16GB in size and a Swap Partition of 1GB. It's '/home' should usually be included on the Root
Partition and not used for permanent data in the usual Linux fashion. For Audio and Video work it is
most beneficial to have Data on a separate physical drive if possible or at the very least on a separate
partition not involved in the Installation process for safety's sake. A secondary consideration is the 4GB
limit of Remastersys Backup, by not using the /home folder for data storage it is much easier to create
Backups that conform to the 4GB limit. Since AV Linux is primarily updated with complete new ISO's
starting out with this suggested installation method paves the way for quick and easy upgrades or
reinstallations, safe data and easy backups.

IMPORTANT! Remastersys Installer Info

ANY Partition targeted by the Installer INCLUDING an existing /home Partition will be formatted! The
Remastersys Installer DOES NOT currently have the capability to preserve an existing /home. A
workaround is to transfer the contents of your existing /home to a different or external Drive and copy
the content back to your newly created AV Linux /home folder after an install. The Remastersys
Installer currently uses GRUB v1 and does not support installing to ext4 partitions however there is ext4
support in the AV Linux Kernel.
Example 1 - Single Boot AV Linux:

This example has an AV Linux installed by itself on a 320Gb SATA hard drive. The ext3 sda1 partition
has AV Linux and the user’s /home on it, the large ext3 sda2 partition is used for data and the last 1Gb
partition is the linux-swap partition. Since AV Linux is the only OS the GRUB bootloader installed to the
MBR (Master Boot Record)
Example 2 - Dual Booting with ‘Buntu:

The next example was submitted by ‘trulan’ an AV Linux user who dual boots with Ubuntu. In this
example sda1 is a primary ext3 partition with Ubuntu installed, Since Ubuntu uses the more recent
GRUB 2 bootloader it is used to boot both OS’s and has been installed to the MBR . Partition sda2 is an
extended partition which contains the rest of the partitions on the drive. AV Linux is installed on sda 5
and has GRUB installed on it’s root ( sda5) partition not to the MBR. The ext3 sda6 partition is used to
share data between both OS’s and sda7 is used as the linux-swap.
Example 3 - Dual Booting Setup with Windows XP (Vista and 7 Untested):

This final example on an 80gb IDE drive demonstrates a setup in progress for a dual boot with Windows
XP in which a common NTFS data drive is shared by Windows and AV Linux. The first partition is a 20Gb
NTFS partition for Windows XP, the next 16Gb ext3 partition is for AV Linux. A common 40Gb NTFS
partition in the remaining space will serve as shared data space for both OS's with a final 1Gb linux-
swap partition left at the end. In this scenario XP should either be the existing OS or installed first, by
installing AV Linux second and having the GRUB bootloader write to the mbr both OS’s will boot from
the GRUB bootloader. If this example had the existing Windows XP filling the entire drive the
installation would involve removing and saving all saved data and large files from the 80Gb drive,
running the Windows Disk Defragmenter at least twice and resizing the 80Gb NTFS drive as small as
needed (ie 20Gb) and then creating the three additional partitions like in this example.