How To: Easily build an Ubuntu Live CD/DVD

In this video you can see how easy it is to build an Ubuntu live CD (or DVD, depending on how much software you have installed).

This guide is for Ubuntu 8.04, 8.10, 9.04 or newer. For older versions, please upgrade your installed system to the latest version.

Read the full article to see how easy it is to build it.


The guide:

1. Boot into Ubuntu (installed system, not live CD)

2. Personalize your Ubuntu system (remove, install software, change the theme, wallpaper, etc)

3. Update your Ubuntu system

4. Go to System > Administration > Software Sources > Third Party Software

click Add, paste this line:
deb http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/repository ubuntu/

5. You're asked if you'd like to update the list of packages - no and close

6. Open the Terminal, Applications > Accessories > Terminal

7. sudo apt-get update

8. sudo apt-get install remastersys

answer y to both questions

9. apt-get upgrade
(to be sure you really have the newest packages)

10. open the Remastersys GUI, System > Administration > Remastersys Backup

11. close all other applications (keep the window which just popped up from Remastersys open)

12. after you finished step 11, click ok

13. Choose clean, click ok

14. Decide what you want:
a) you want a LIVE CD/DVD which is exactly like your installed system (keeps all settings and every PASSWORD you saved, every document, all the apps installed in wine, absolutely everything)
- this kind of LIVE CD/DVD is appropriate if you just made a fresh install of Ubuntu and installed all the apps you want to have on it
- not OK if you use an older install with a lot of files (personal documents, other files and non-free software)
- not OK if you plan to redistribute it to other people so they can use it as a live cd and/or install it
- not OK if you stored password and sensitive data - if you lose the disc or someone steals it, they will have all your sensitive data and passwords (no need to explain how bad this is)


b) a redistributable live CD/DVD to share with other persons
- the good choice if you have a lot of personal files and documents
- only keeps the installed applications
- your documents will not show up on the live cd
- the live CD/DVD is installable and your files will not show up on that system

for a, choose Backup
for b, choose Dist

I chose Backup because I've installed Wine to run Notepad++. You'll see later that I can run Notepad++ from the live DVD.

15. Click ok

16. wait for it to finish building (about 5-20 minutes, depending on your hardware)

17. in terminal, run this:
ls -ahl /home/remastersys/remastersys
My ISO was called custombackup.iso and it was 910MB.
A Dist made out of the same installed system was 810MB.

Depending on the choice you made (Backup or Dist), the ISO filenames are: custombackup.iso for Backup and customdist.iso for Dist.

18. burn /home/remastersys/remastersys/customdist.iso or custombackup.iso to a RW CD/DVD
note: if the resulting ISO is smaller than or exactly 700MB, you can use RW CD
if it's bigger than 700MB, you will have to use a RW DVD

19. boot from the disc you just created

This is it. I hope you'll make some useful Live CDs for you and for others.