

Build your own Linux Distro bootable from RAM - wocp
http://build.porteus.org/

======
networked
Worked for me. Considering how the HN effect hasn't brought down this service
I wonder if they pregenerated the ISO images. Realistically, you could do that
for all the basic combinations of user selections since there are relatively
few of them and then patch in the advanced customizations at download time if
needed. (Although mkisofs is pretty cheap to run, so depending on your
platform you could probably get away with no pregeneration.)

It's also interesting to see a distribution offer Razor-qt as the default
desktop -- I'm looking forward to what comes out of Razor-qt's collaboration
(merger) with LXDE.

A few similar services:

* Slax (a Slackware-based live CD Linux distribution) offers a build service where you can select individual packages ([http://old.slax.org/build.php](http://old.slax.org/build.php)). I'm not sure if it has been deprecated for good with the new version of Slax being developed but it still works. Edit: From how it works it looks like Porteus was forked from Slax. I can't access their website proper right now but googling around confirms this.

* SUSE Studio ([http://susestudio.com/](http://susestudio.com/)) generates highly customizable live media images and VMs of openSUSE. Their gallery ([http://susestudio.com/browse](http://susestudio.com/browse)) is a nice feature. It requires registration.

Edit: I mistakingly wrote that Razor-qt is merging with XFCE rather than LXDE.
Fixed.

Edit 2: While it's not strong evidence their download links (i.e.,
[http://build.porteus.org/dl/$HASH/Porteus-
RAZOR-v2.1-(i486|x...](http://build.porteus.org/dl/$HASH/Porteus-
RAZOR-v2.1-\(i486|x86_64\).iso)) suggest they don't pregenerate ISOs but they
may cache them.

~~~
rorygreen
Razor-qt is merging with LXDE, not XFCE. This is due to the similar goals of
the two projects.

[https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/razor-
qt/PNvkoidV2Ik](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/razor-qt/PNvkoidV2Ik)

------
lawl
It's kinda cool that i can download a customized iso, but why exactly would I
need this? I'm sorry either I'm misunderstanding it or tinycore
([http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/](http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/))
[Full disclosure: no affiliation whatsoever] already solved the usecases i see
for this. And in my opinion way better just without a fancy online form. I can
stick in their packages in an image way more granular than your form.

Edit: I opened porteus.org now and have found a description on what porteus
linux is.

 _Porteus is a complete linux operating system that is optimized to run from
CD, USB flash drive, hard drive, or other bootable storage media. It 's small
(under 300Mb) and insanely fast which allows you to start up and get online
while most other operating systems are left spitting dust. Porteus comes in
both 32 & 64 bit and aims to keep on the bleeding edge. It also supports
several different languages and the user forum has language sections._

Would have liked to read that pitch on the build page too so I knew what I was
looking at :) I do see some usecases now.

~~~
Alterlife
Most folks who are on the build page are there because they are already sold.
I think the pitch is in the right place.

A back link probably wouldn't hurt though!

------
ryanweal
This is cool, I could consider booting up my old netbook again if I can just
use flash. One problem I foresee though is that the keyboard layouts are some
short list. I don't know which "Canadian" keyboard layout it is, there are at
least 3 common variations. I hope they can fix that so we can select from the
full list of keyboards.

------
solnyshok
I have it one the MicroSD in my Android phone. I also have MicroSD-to-USB3
card reader on a keychain. Easy to boot any PC. Running from RAM is fast and
leaves no traces on the host PC. One feature especially worth mentioning, is
that you can have AMD and NVIDIA drivers in /porteus/optional and depending on
the detected GPU, porteus will load the required driver. So far, it worked
everywhere except for some Atoms (netbooks) with PowerVR GPUs.

------
chalst
A choice to create a bootable USB image would be nice, since despite the
existence of some automation tools, this is a hurdle that puts off some people
interested in exploring RAM-resident Linuxes.

~~~
solnyshok
simply extract files from .iso with 7zip or winrar and copy to USB and run
small utility to make it bootable (in the subfolder /boot choose Installer-
for-Windows.exe or Installer-for-Linux.com ) More info here
[http://www.porteus.org/tutorials/26-general-info-
tutorials/1...](http://www.porteus.org/tutorials/26-general-info-
tutorials/114-official-porteus#USB-Windowshere)

------
nitrogen
A heads up to the Porteus site operator, if they read this: HTTPS Everywhere
redirects requests to [https://porteus.org](https://porteus.org), which
reports the following error: ssl_error_rx_record_too_long.

------
coppolaemilio
It's great! I would love to see more complex version of it :)

------
known
Brilliant. I'll try it.

------
BorisMelnik
this is seriously bad ass! what a great idea.

------
Gonzih
amazing! can i use dvp layout by default?

