Rescatux 0.40 beta 2 released

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Rescatux 0.40 beta 2 has been released.

Rescatux 0.40b2 - New GPT options. Gptsync. Recompute CHS. Check bios_grub partition.
Rescatux 0.40b2 – New GPT options: Gptsync. Recompute CHS. Check bios_grub partition.

Downloads:

Rescatux 0.40b2 size is about 596 Megabytes.

Some thoughts:

This release adds support for a separated /usr in case that the GNU/Linux distribution uses UsrMerge. This is again is a another feature in order to be able to support completely the Fedora, CentOS, RHEL and alike distributions.

Additionally there are three new features related to GPT support:

  • Gptsync – Create Hybrid MBR
  • Recompute Hybrid GPT/MBR CHS
  • Check bios_grub partition on GPT

Finally on the technical side the gdisk package has been added and support of gpt partitions by default has been checked thanks to newest fdisk binary on Jessie that now can detect GPT partitions ok.

Although some of these GPT features are useful in some scenarios where you use old OSes that do not understand GPT partition tables but only MBR partition tables in most of the cases you won’t need to use them. Probably the most useful option would be the Check bios_grub partition on GPT which could be useful in those cases where there is a GPT partition table but, somehow, you don’t manage to install grub-efi package (Maybe because the machine is not EFI but has a GPT hard disk.) That option will encourage you to create a bios_grub partition for you to be able to install grub-pc package finally. But, once again, if possible try to install grub-efi package instead.

The great feedback from prolinux.de (it’s the only community where I gather quite useful feedback on their comments) have made me think about reconsidering UEFI boot support and, even if possible, Secure boot support.

I don’t want to support Secure boot support because of ethics but that means in practice that less people would be able to use Rescatux (more easily) in order to fix their systems. And, well, I would probably add Secure boot support to Super Grub2 Disk too. Although in that later case I’m not sure if it makes sense.

I have also noticed that the current SElinux support on Rescatux needs to be improved because, e.g. I cannot install the ssh program in it while running because of context issues. It might be a problem of Debian Jessie ssh package but I think it’s a problem on how the aufs mount in the disk is being done. This is more an issue on Debian Live accepting SELinux support patch than on Rescatux not working ok on SELinux systems. It actually works quite nicely on them.

Roadmap for Rescatux 0.40 stable release:

You can check the complete changelog with link to each one of the issues at: Rescatux 0.32-freeze roadmap which I’ll be reusing for Rescatux 0.40 stable release.

  • (Fixed in 0.40b2) [#1323] GPT support
  • [#1364] Review Copyright notice
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2188] install-mbr : Windows 7 seems not to be fixed with it
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2190] debian-live. Include cpu detection and loopback cfg patches
  • (Reopened in: 0.40b1) [#2191] Change Keyboard layout
  • [#2192] UEFI boot support
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2193] bootinfoscript: Use it as a package
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2199] Btrfs support
  • (Closed in 0.40b1) [#2205] Handle different default sh script
  • (Fixed in 0.40b2) [#2216] Verify separated /usr support
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2217] chown root root on sudoers
  • [#2220] Make sure all the source code is available
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2221] Detect SAM file algorithm fails with directories which have spaces on them
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2227] Use chntpw 1.0-1 from Jessie
  • (Fixed in 0.40b1) [#2231] SElinux support on chroot options
  • [#2233] Disable USB automount
  • [#2236] chntpw based options need to be rewritten for reusing code
  • [#2239]https://www.supergrubdisk.org/wizard-step-put-rescatux-into-a-media/suppose that the image is based on Super Grub2 Disk version and not Isolinux.The step about extracting iso inside an iso would not be longer needed.”>Update doc: Put Rescatux into a media for Isolinux based cd
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2259] Update bootinfoscript to the latest GIT version
  • [#2264] chntpw – Save prior registry files
  • [#2234] New option: Easy Grub fix
  • [#2235] New option: Easy Windows Admin

Fixed bugs (0.40b2):

  • (Fixed in 0.40b2) [#1323] GPT support
  • (Fixed in 0.40b2) [#2216] Verify separated /usr support

Fixed bugs (0.40b1):

  • (Fixed in 0.40b1) [#2231] SElinux support on chroot options

Reopened bugs (0.40b1):

  • (Reopened in 0.40b1) [#2191] Change Keyboard layout

Fixed bugs (0.32b3):

  • (Fixed in 0.32b3) [#2191] Change Keyboard layout

Other fixed bugs (0.32b2):

  • Rescatux logo is not shown at boot
  • Boot entries are named “Live xxxx” instead of “Rescatux xxxx”

Fixed bugs (0.32b1):

  • Networking detection improved (fallback to network-manager-gnome)
  • Bottom bar does not have a shorcut to a file manager as it’s a common practice in modern desktops. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.
  • Double-clicking on directories on desktop opens Iceweasel (Firefox fork) instead of a file manager. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.

Improvements (0.32b1):

  • Super Grub2 Disk is no longer included. That makes easier to put the ISO to USB devices thanks to standard multiboot tools which support Debian Live cds.
  • Rescapp UI has been redesigned
    • Every option is at hand at the first screen.
    • Rescapp options can be scrolled. That makes it easier to add new options without bothering on final design.
    • Run option screen buttons have been rearranged to make it easier to read.
  • RazorQT has been replaced by LXDE which seems more mature. LXQT will have to wait.
  • WICD has been replaced by network-manager-gnome. That makes easier to connect to wired and wireless networks.
  • It is no longer based on Debian Unstable (sid) branch.

Distro facts:

  • Packages versions for this release can be found at Rescatux 0.40b2 packages.
  • It’s based mainly on Debian Jessie (Stable). Some packages are from Debian Unstable (sid).

Feedback welcome:

Did you ever complain because of not being able to write in your own keyboard layout when asking for help in the integrated chat? Don’t miss your chance on testing if it works ok for your language and report us feedback !!!

Don’t forget that you can use:

Help Rescatux project:

I think we can expect four months maximum till the new stable Rescatux is ready. Helping on these tasks is appreciated:

  • Making a youtube video for the new options.
  • Make sure documentation for the new options is right.
  • Make snapshots for new options documentation so that they don’t lack images.

If you want to help please contact us here:

Thank you and happy download!

Rescatux 0.40 beta 1 released

Download, News, Rescatux, Rescatux, Rescatux Beta,

Rescatux 0.40 beta 1 has been released.

Rescatux - Grub install option - Fedora
Rescatux – Grub install option – Fedora

Downloads:

Rescatux 0.40b1 size is about 596 Megabytes.

Some thoughts:

Now Rescatux is based on Debian Jessie (Latest Debian stable release)!

Rescatux 0.40 beta 1 is now based on Jessie
Rescatux 0.40 beta 1 is now based on Jessie

The great new feature in this release is the SELinux support. SELinux support is used by the Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS alike distributions. It’s not so much about adding SELinux related features which might be implemented in a far future. It’s about being able to interact with SELinux based system without damaging original contexts (contexts like additional permissions in SELinux).

Currently if you wanted to use the change password option on these systems then the system did not let you login (even if you know a password from a user different from the one its password you had changed) because these wrong contexts.

Now it should work flawlessly but please give us feedback here on the comments or in the mailing list. Anything about you detecting that Rescatux is not using the correct contexts for your files is welcomed.

It’s also welcomed feedback from people who uses non standard policy types such as the military ones. Given the nature of these systems try the options in non production machines of course.

This new beta release loses the long awaited feature about being able to select your own language, country and keyboard. The reason is that Rescatux 0.40 is based on jessie. These means that I have to use tails-greeter from Jessie and not Wheezy. The other problem on tails-greeter is that I need to hack it (this time properly thanks to the insights I have been given in Debconf 15 from Tails people) in order to fit my needs.

Finally don’t expect any new release in the next months. I am too busy. Anyway once I’ll start not being busy I will be able to speed a lot because the SELinux support improvement was very difficult to implement.

Many options have not been tested after having based Rescatux on jessie. So please use the Rescatux 0.32 beta 3 as if it was an stable release and this one as if it was a beta one. Use Rescatux 0.40 beta 1 if you have a SELinux based system of course.

In case you were asking yourself I add 0.1 to the Rescatux version either when the Rescapp program has been improved a lot or when the Debian OS has been updated to a new stable release. The latter is the reason why we jump from 0.3X to 0.4X suddenly.

I almost forgot. Thank you very much to the #fedora-devel and #selinux who helped so much on bringing SELinux support to Debian Live.

Roadmap for Rescatux 0.40 stable release:

You can check the complete changelog with link to each one of the issues at: Rescatux 0.32-freeze roadmap which I’ll be reusing for Rescatux 0.40 stable release.

  • [#1323] GPT support
  • [#1364] Review Copyright notice
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2188] install-mbr : Windows 7 seems not to be fixed with it
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2190] debian-live. Include cpu detection and loopback cfg patches
  • (Reopened in: 0.40b1) [#2191] Change Keyboard layout
  • [#2192] UEFI boot support
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2193] bootinfoscript: Use it as a package
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2199] Btrfs support
  • [#2205] Handle different default sh script
  • [#2216] Verify separated /usr support
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2217] chown root root on sudoers
  • [#2220] Make sure all the source code is available
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2221] Detect SAM file algorithm fails with directories which have spaces on them
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2227] Use chntpw 1.0-1 from Jessie
  • (Fixed in 0.40b1) [#2231] SElinux support on chroot options
  • [#2233] Disable USB automount
  • [#2236] chntpw based options need to be rewritten for reusing code
  • [#2239]https://www.supergrubdisk.org/wizard-step-put-rescatux-into-a-media/suppose that the image is based on Super Grub2 Disk version and not Isolinux.The step about extracting iso inside an iso would not be longer needed.”>Update doc: Put Rescatux into a media for Isolinux based cd
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2259] Update bootinfoscript to the latest GIT version
  • [#2264] chntpw – Save prior registry files
  • [#2234] New option: Easy Grub fix
  • [#2235] New option: Easy Windows Admin

Fixed bugs (0.40b1):

  • (Fixed in 0.40b1) [#2231] SElinux support on chroot options

Reopened bugs (0.40b1):

  • (Reopened in 0.40b1) [#2191] Change Keyboard layout

Fixed bugs (0.32b3):

  • (Fixed in 0.32b3) [#2191] Change Keyboard layout

Other fixed bugs (0.32b2):

  • Rescatux logo is not shown at boot
  • Boot entries are named “Live xxxx” instead of “Rescatux xxxx”

Fixed bugs (0.32b1):

  • Networking detection improved (fallback to network-manager-gnome)
  • Bottom bar does not have a shorcut to a file manager as it’s a common practice in modern desktops. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.
  • Double-clicking on directories on desktop opens Iceweasel (Firefox fork) instead of a file manager. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.

Improvements (0.32b1):

  • Super Grub2 Disk is no longer included. That makes easier to put the ISO to USB devices thanks to standard multiboot tools which support Debian Live cds.
  • Rescapp UI has been redesigned
    • Every option is at hand at the first screen.
    • Rescapp options can be scrolled. That makes it easier to add new options without bothering on final design.
    • Run option screen buttons have been rearranged to make it easier to read.
  • RazorQT has been replaced by LXDE which seems more mature. LXQT will have to wait.
  • WICD has been replaced by network-manager-gnome. That makes easier to connect to wired and wireless networks.
  • It is no longer based on Debian Unstable (sid) branch.

Distro facts:

  • Packages versions for this release can be found at Rescatux 0.40b1 packages.
  • It’s based mainly on Debian Jessie (Stable). Some packages are from Debian Unstable (sid).

Feedback welcome:

Did you ever complain because of not being able to write in your own keyboard layout when asking for help in the integrated chat? Don’t miss your chance on testing if it works ok for your language and report us feedback !!!

Don’t forget that you can use:

Help Rescatux project:

I think we can expect four months maximum till the new stable Rescatux is ready. Helping on these tasks is appreciated:

  • Making a youtube video for the new options.
  • Make sure documentation for the new options is right.
  • Make snapshots for new options documentation so that they don’t lack images.

If you want to help please contact us here:

Thank you and happy download!

Super Grub2 Disk 2.02s3 downloads

Download, Super Grub2 Disk, Super Grub2 Disk Stable

Recommended download (Floppy, CD & USB in one) (Valid for i386, x86_64, and x86_64-efi):

Super Grub2 Disk 2.01 rc2 Main Menu
Super Grub2 Disk 2.01 rc2 Main Menu

 

 

 

 

 

EFI x86_64 standalone version:

CD & USB in one downloads:

About other downloads. As this is the first time I develop Super Grub2 Disk out of source code (well, probably not the first time, but the first time in ages) I have not been able to build these other downloads: coreboot, i386-efi, i386-pc, ieee1275, x86_64-efi, standalone coreboot, standalone i386-efi, standalone ieee1275. Help is welcome on this subject.

 

Source code:

Everything (All binary releases and source code):

Hashes

In order to check the former downloads you can either download:

or you can check their contents right here.

MD5SUMS

e7515b7d4e9ea90f28b7f5a534906b85  super_grub2_disk_hybrid_2.02s3.iso
1538893f58fa9dbd3a1fd5a3789f7cb5  super_grub2_disk_i386_pc_2.02s3.iso
38260bfd2b93586a25b2db1a27072661  super_grub2_disk_standalone_x86_64_efi_2.02s3.EFI
247f2219579d1826cf6fbdbee37d1296  super_grub2_disk_x86_64_efi_2.02s3.iso

SHA1SUMS

e1f0da49d4e600383647875f773f6182a5e3f3c4  super_grub2_disk_hybrid_2.02s3.iso
c4087937567d28f46f18c100ee047057d3acbac4  super_grub2_disk_i386_pc_2.02s3.iso
7af5cbbf947caa975a406b70c43fad803ba9c10d  super_grub2_disk_standalone_x86_64_efi_2.02s3.EFI
1e49427f95dcff3dc0318f20bbe934b4a5eb3493  super_grub2_disk_x86_64_efi_2.02s3.iso

SHA256SUMS

74def37a1208e4e2f54bbe4bd1b66337b6f026a6c553a3b8e7db8e2206fd59ed  super_grub2_disk_hybrid_2.02s3.iso
ce46670541ed9506832d1bf255a454273ac493beee68e88f823687c8ae3cc340  super_grub2_disk_i386_pc_2.02s3.iso
c4589c1d12fdf1260d025d11908f985a4e2b5c6b63e61d64ef0fc36e27613b30  super_grub2_disk_standalone_x86_64_efi_2.02s3.EFI
3ba7724f871f83d6996b74a529c79e6b7c237d7951eb642fd5fb7740f5d0464c  super_grub2_disk_x86_64_efi_2.02s3.iso

Super Grub2 Disk 2.02s2 Beta 1 released

Download, News, Super Grub2 Disk, Super Grub2 Disk, Super Grub2 Disk Beta

This is an exciting release. For the first time we are not relying on Debian’s grub packages but on our own grub2 build system. Yes, just like the distributions do when they build their own packages.

This improvement let us to track grub git so that we can use its latest features. Sometimes you choose to rely on an stable grub release but sometimes some features are needed  as right now.

One of these features is being able of booting from EFI system from a hard disk or usb in EFI mode. (That feature was wrongly announced in the past releases of Super Grub2 Disk as being functional). And, what it’s better than that… The same disk also works for BIOS based boot and also for CDROM boot.

Let me repeat it slowly. With Super Grub2 Disk hybrid iso you will be able to boot from:

  • EFI mode. Cdrom or DVD media.
  • EFI mode. USB or hard disk media.
  • BIOS mode. Cdrom or DVD media.
  • BIOS mode. USB or hard disk media.

Another fix from upstream grub enables us to avoid showing Super Grub2 Disk device itself as a (wrongly detected) Mac OS X installation. This error arised on last beta and we discovered that grub itself did not work ok when testing two expressions if the first one was detecting if a file existed or not. You can check this grub commit if you are interested.

That same fix might make Super Grub2 Disk run faster because now our tests will work as expected. I haven’t tested Super Grub2 Disk speed myself so if you have feedback on it please report here on the comments.

Dedicated to forum.ubuntu-fr.org and malbo

I want to dedicate this release to the Communauté francophone d’utilisateurs d’Ubuntu forum people and specially to malbo who managed to make Super Grub2 Disk to boot from a USB thanks to the standalone version. Now the Super Grub2 Disk hybrid version should boot in either BIOS or EFI mode when burned to a cdrom and also when dd to a hard disk. No need to build your own usb version for that.

I know that around that community there are many great people that did find many ways of dealing with EFI specifics (Hopefully I can reuse some of these next year for Rescatux) but I chose malbo because he is great at writing howtos or step-by-step instructions so that other people can debug why their systems do not boot and hopefully they can finally boot into them.

Unfortunately Microsoft’s approved secure boot is not in my Super Grub2 Disk TODO list because of ethical reasons. That would even help even more, till then, make sure you disable secure boot when booting from Super Grub2 Disk in an EFI machine.

Changelog

  • Updated grub 2.02 build to commit: 8e5bc2f4d3767485e729ed96ea943570d1cb1e45
  • Updated documentation for building Super Grub2 Disk
  • Improvement on upstream grub (d29259b134257458a98c1ddc05d2a36c677ded37 – test: do not stop after first file test or closing bracket) will probably make Super Grub2 Disk run faster.
  • Added new grub build scripts so that Super Grub2 Disk uses its own built versions of grub and not the default system / distro / chroot one.
  • Ensure that Mac OS X entries are detected ok thanks to Users dir. This is because Grub2 needs to emulate Mac OS X kernel so that it’s detected as a proper boot device on Apple computers.
  • Thanks to upstream grub improvement now Super Grub2 Disk supports booting in EFI mode when booted from a USB device / hard disk. Actually SG2D was announced previously to boot from EFI from a USB device while it only booted from a cdrom. Use dd to put Super Grub2 Disk in your usb device if you want to make use of it.

 

Recommended download (Valid for i386, x86_64, and x86_64-efi):

 

Super Grub2 Disk 2.02s1 Beta 1 Main menu
Super Grub2 Disk 2.02s1 Beta 1 Main menu

 

EFI x86_64 standalone version:

Floppy, CD & USB in one downloads:

About other downloads

As we no longer rely on Debian grub packages some of the releases have been removed (till someone teachs me how to rebuild them). The downloads you will not be finding are: coreboot, i386-efi, ieee1275, standalone i386-efi and standalone ieee1275. Help is welcome on this subject and also feedback if someone was actually using them or not. Else I might remove them completely.

How to test

Try to boot your desired operating system with this version. If it does not boot try the 2.00s2 stable version. If you can boot with the stable version but not with this beta version please report it to the bug tracker.

This is a Super Grub2 Disk tutorial that it’s not based in this beta version but that can help you understand what you can do with Super Grub2 Disk.

Development miscelanea:

  • This release was built in a Debian jessie system but using upstream 2.02 grub version (commit 8e5bc2f4d3767485e729ed96ea943570d1cb1e45).
  • Please check the new DEVELOPMENT file if you plan to build Super Grub2 Disk on your own very often.

If you want to translate into your language please check TRANSLATION file at source code to learn how to translate into your language.

Note: 2.02s2-beta1 means:

  • 2.02: Upstream Grub 2.02 version
  • s2 : Super Grub2 Disk scripts version (inside this Upstream Grub version)
  • beta1: Beta 1

Super Grub2 Disk 2.02s1 Beta 1 released

Download, News, Super Grub2 Disk, Super Grub2 Disk, Super Grub2 Disk Beta

Changelog

  • Based on Grub 2.02 (commit bac5d1a64ab4191058a8fd4c05f6b3b339e249e7 )
  • Added new option: “Enable all native disk drivers” so that you can try to load: SATA, PATA and USB hard disks (and their partitions) as native disk drives. This is experimental.
  • Removed no longer needed options: “Enable USB” and “Enable PATA”.
  • “Search floppy” and “Search cdrom” options were moved into “Extra GRUB2 functionality menu”. At the same time “Extra Search functionality” menu was removed.
  • Added new straight-forward option: “Enable GRUB2’s RAID and LVM support“.
  • “List devices/partitions” was renamed to “Print devices/partitions”.
  • “Everything” option was renamed to “Detect and show boot methods”.
  • “Everything +” option was removed to avoid confusions.
  • Other minor improvements in the source code.
  • Updated translation files. Now most translations are pending.
  • Updated INSTALL instructions.

Recommended download (Valid for i386, x86_64, and x86_64-efi):

 

Super Grub2 Disk 2.02s1 Beta 1 Main menu
Super Grub2 Disk 2.02s1 Beta 1 Main menu

About other downloads. As this is the first time I develop Super Grub2 Disk out of source code (well, probably not the first time, but the first time in ages) I have not been able to build these other downloads: standalone EFI x86_64, coreboot, i386-efi, i386-pc, ieee1275, x86_64-efi, standalone coreboot, standalone i386-efi, standalone ieee1275. Help is welcome on this subject.

How to test.

Try to boot your desired operating system with this version. If it does not boot try the 2.00s2 stable version. If you can boot with the stable version but not with this beta version please report it to the bug tracker.

This is a Super Grub2 Disk tutorial that it’s not based in this beta version but that can help you understand what you can do with Super Grub2 Disk.

Development miscelanea:

  • This release was built in a Debian jessie system but using upstream 2.02 grub version (commit bac5d1a64ab4191058a8fd4c05f6b3b339e249e7).
  • I want to thank Jordan Uggla to teach me about what were the Grub2 native disk drivers and what nativedisk command did actually. phcoder did try once to explain it but I wasn’t smart enough to understand it. Hopefully I can help with nativedisk help text inside Grub2.
  • This new “Enable all native disk drivers” option unloads the usually default biosdisk drivers which talks to the bios to access hard disks (Like did MS-DOS in the old days) and replaces it with native drivers (as a normal Operating System would do). It also manages to find somehow the old Super Grub2 Disk device and define the correct $prefix variable.
  • In my tests this new option: “Enable all native disk drivers” aborts Virtualbox. That means that we are also testing Grub2 or maybe Virtualbox. Please check my submitted bug.
  • We have renamed many menues so that their purpose is more clear.

If you want to translate into your language please check TRANSLATION file at source code to learn how to translate into your language.

Note: 2.02s1-beta1 means:

  • 2.02: Upstream Grub 2.02 version
  • s1 : Super Grub2 Disk scripts version (inside this Upstream Grub version)
  • beta1: Beta 1

Rescatux 0.32 beta 3 released

Download, News, Rescatux, Rescatux, Rescatux Beta

Rescatux 0.32 beta 3 has been released.

New Languages selection at Rescatux 0.32 beta 3 greeter
New Languages selection at Rescatux 0.32 beta 3 greeter

Downloads:

Rescatux 0.32b3 size is about 469 Megabytes.

LXDE start menu in Spanish thanks to Rescatux 0.32 beta 3 greeter
LXDE start menu in Spanish thanks to Rescatux 0.32 beta 3 greeter

Some thoughts:

This new beta release only has a new feature but it’s a long awaited feature. Now you will be able to select your own language, country and keyboard at boot so that, among other things, you can ask help in the integrated chat with your beloved keyboard layout.

This would not have been possible without the work from Tails project on tails-greeter. My tails-greeter fork is a quick and dirty modification so that it fits into Rescatux. However what I want to achieve is a default greeter in Debian Live so that one can choose its keyboard layout (and other settings) from Xorg.

I’m subscribed to tails-dev mailing list and I will soon ask them about how to modify tails-greeter so that we can share a common codebase between tails-greeter and live-greeter?.

I’m not convinced about them being based on gtk, and even worse, based on gdm3 which pulls quite many dependencies which I never thought were needed for a dm. Yes, I’m tempted to rewrite it into QT but maybe it’s not worth the effort.

I will probably try to modify tails-greeter so that it’s based on lightdm instead of gdm3. This task seems more feasible for me.

Finally on the translation side don’t expect Rescapp to be translated, even in Spanish, because translation subsystem is not implemented and nobody has offered to do so. I think I’m also dropping the Spanish documentation (No one has offered himself to translate it) because this way I won’t have to update it. One less task to do for the release.

What I mean is that while choosing your language, country and keyboard will affect the rest of the distribution do not expect Rescapp to be affected by the language and country settings. It will be only affected by the keyboard setting.

Roadmap for Rescatux 0.32 stable release:

You can check the complete changelog with link to each one of the issues at: Rescatux 0.32-freeze roadmap.

  • [#1323] GPT support
  • [#1364] Review Copyright notice
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2188] install-mbr : Windows 7 seems not to be fixed with it
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2190] debian-live. Include cpu detection and loopback cfg patches
  • (Fixed in 0.32b3) [#2191] Change Keyboard layout
  • [#2192] UEFI boot support
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2193] bootinfoscript: Use it as a package
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2199] Btrfs support
  • [#2205] Handle different default sh script
  • [#2216] Verify separated /usr support
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2217] chown root root on sudoers
  • [#2220] Make sure all the source code is available
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2221] Detect SAM file algorithm fails with directories which have spaces on them
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2227] Use chntpw 1.0-1 from Jessie
  • [#2231] SElinux support on chroot options
  • [#2233] Disable USB automount
  • [#2236] chntpw based options need to be rewritten for reusing code
  • [#2239]https://www.supergrubdisk.org/wizard-step-put-rescatux-into-a-media/suppose that the image is based on Super Grub2 Disk version and not Isolinux.The step about extracting iso inside an iso would not be longer needed.”>Update doc: Put Rescatux into a media for Isolinux based cd
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2259] Update bootinfoscript to the latest GIT version
  • [#2264] chntpw – Save prior registry files
  • [#2234] New option: Easy Grub fix
  • [#2235] New option: Easy Windows Admin

Other fixed bugs (0.32b2):

  • Rescatux logo is not shown at boot
  • Boot entries are named “Live xxxx” instead of “Rescatux xxxx”

Fixed bugs (0.32b1):

  • Networking detection improved (fallback to network-manager-gnome)
  • Bottom bar does not have a shorcut to a file manager as it’s a common practice in modern desktops. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.
  • Double-clicking on directories on desktop opens Iceweasel (Firefox fork) instead of a file manager. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.

Improvements (0.32b1):

  • Super Grub2 Disk is no longer included. That makes easier to put the ISO to USB devices thanks to standard multiboot tools which support Debian Live cds.
  • Rescapp UI has been redesigned
    • Every option is at hand at the first screen.
    • Rescapp options can be scrolled. That makes it easier to add new options without bothering on final design.
    • Run option screen buttons have been rearranged to make it easier to read.
  • RazorQT has been replaced by LXDE which seems more mature. LXQT will have to wait.
  • WICD has been replaced by network-manager-gnome. That makes easier to connect to wired and wireless networks.
  • It is no longer based on Debian Unstable (sid) branch.

Distro facts:

Feedback welcome:

Did you ever complain because of not being able to write in your own keyboard layout when asking for help in the integrated chat? Don’t miss your chance on testing if it works ok for your language and report us feedback !!!

Don’t forget that you can use:

Help Rescatux project:

I think we can expect two months maximum till the new stable Rescatux is ready, probably half of it because I manage to fix bugs very quick lately. Helping on these tasks is appreciated:

  • Making a youtube video for the new options.
  • Make sure documentation for the new options is right.
  • Make snapshots for new options documentation so that they don’t lack images.

If you want to help please contact us here:

Thank you and happy download!

Rescatux 0.32 beta 2 released

Download, News, Rescatux, Rescatux, Rescatux Beta, , , ,

Rescatux 0.32 beta 2 has been released.

Rescatux 0.32 Beta 1 Extended menu
Rescatux 0.32 Beta 1 Extended menu

Downloads:

Rescatux 0.32b2 size is about 444 Megabytes.

Rescatux 0.32b2 updated options : Restore Windows MBR, Blank Windows password, Promote Windows user to Admin and Unlock Windows user.
Rescatux 0.32b2 updated options : Restore Windows MBR, Blank Windows password, Promote Windows user to Admin and Unlock Windows user.

Some thoughts:

Update as 25th October 2014. I had mistakenly thought that install-mbr was a program from syslinux package. So, so sorry syslinux guys. Actually it is from the mbr package and the bug about turning a Windows 7 partition unbootable is already reported at: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=725417 . Now that I know what a disk id is I might write a tool on fixing these kind of problems, specially if you think that current stable Rescatux generates these errors.

I have had a hard work trying to make the winunlock command (for unlocking windows passwords from command line) because original winpasswd command was not working ok! I have sent an email to upstream chntpw so that it fixes it. Hopefully there is a new upstream release and we can enjoy it both fixes in Debian soon. Here there is my fork: chntpw-ng .

As you might imagine the biggest improvement in this release is that resetting windows password, promoting a windows user to Administrador and unlocking a windows user uses the latest version of chntpw which makes easier and more safe to add users to the admin group. It also fixes a bug that prevented a promoted admin user to be demoted from windows.

The other big improvement is that lilo is being used instead of mbr package syslinux so that you can finally solve this:

grub rescue>

( grub rescue > ) problems when you remove GNU/Linux partition from Windows itself. Unfortunately that only works if Windows boot partition is in the first hard disk. This is the Restore Windows MBR option which it’s going to be still BETA till many of you report me that it works ok. The difference is that the old version did break working Windows seven (and probably others) boot when used. So that it’s fixed.

There is not Super Grub2 Disk available from boot menu but, as you can see per, the pending bugs there will be one.

Finally you can boot Rescatux from Super Grub2 Disk thanks to its loopback.cfg file which I hope will be accepted upstream in Debian Live soon although they seem to be busy with Jessie freeze.

In the development arena I have removed old scripts and add new build folders so that everything is easier to understand when developing Rescatux.

This release is very needed so that we can all test this new 140201 chntpw version before I release the stable version in probably less than three months. So please report any bug if you find them. So, contrary to other versions I encourage to download it so that we can debug it.

I almost forgot that we have a new background for you to enjoy!

This is the first time that I recycle older changelog so that you can see the full changes as a whole (well, actually only from Rescatux 0.32b1).

There has been other improvements in this release so I encourage you to click on the Rescatux 0.32-freeze roadmap link so that you get more detailed information about them.

Roadmap for Rescatux 0.32 stable release:

You can check the complete changelog with link to each one of the issues at: Rescatux 0.32-freeze roadmap.

  • [#1323]    GPT support
  • [#1364]    Review Copyright notice
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2188]    install-mbr : Windows 7 seems not to be fixed with it
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2190]    debian-live. Include cpu detection and loopback cfg patches
  • [#2191]    Change Keyboard layout
  • [#2192]    UEFI boot support
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2193]    bootinfoscript: Use it as a package
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2199]    Btrfs support
  • [#2205]    Handle different default sh script
  • [#2216]    Verify separated /usr support
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2217]    chown root root on sudoers
  • [#2220]    Make sure all the source code is available
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2221]    Detect SAM file algorithm fails with directories which have spaces on them
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2227]    Use chntpw 1.0-1 from Jessie
  • [#2231]    SElinux support on chroot options
  • [#2233]    Disable USB automount
  • [#2236]    chntpw based options need to be rewritten for reusing code
  • [#2239]https://www.supergrubdisk.org/wizard-step-put-rescatux-into-a-media/suppose that the image is based on Super Grub2 Disk version and not Isolinux.The step about extracting iso inside an iso would not be longer needed.”>Update doc: Put Rescatux into a media for Isolinux based cd
  • (Fixed in: 0.32b2) [#2259]    Update bootinfoscript to the latest GIT version
  • [#2264]    chntpw – Save prior registry files
  • [#2234]    New option: Easy Grub fix
  • [#2235]    New option: Easy Windows Admin

Other fixed bugs (0.32b2):

  • Rescatux logo is not shown at boot
  • Boot entries are named “Live xxxx” instead of “Rescatux xxxx”

Fixed bugs (0.32b1):

  • Networking detection improved (fallback to network-manager-gnome)
  • Bottom bar does not have a shorcut to a file manager as it’s a common practice in modern desktops. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.
  • Double-clicking on directories on desktop opens Iceweasel (Firefox fork) instead of a file manager. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.

Improvements (0.32b1):

  • Super Grub2 Disk is no longer included. That makes easier to put the ISO to USB devices thanks to standard multiboot tools which support Debian Live cds.
  • Rescapp UI has been redesigned
    • Every option is at hand at the first screen.
    • Rescapp options can be scrolled. That makes it easier to add new options without bothering on final design.
    • Run option screen buttons have been rearranged to make it easier to read.
  • RazorQT has been replaced by LXDE which seems more mature. LXQT will have to wait.
  • WICD has been replaced by network-manager-gnome. That makes easier to connect to wired and wireless networks.
  • It is no longer based on Debian Unstable (sid) branch.

Distro facts:

Feedback welcome:
I’ve tried myself the distro in my dev environment for the new options, not the old ones and they seem to start ok. Another thing is doing a full test about their complete functionality. Please test the ISO and report back if something that worked on previous stable versions no longer works in this beta version.

Don’t forget that you can use:

Help Rescatux project if you cannot wait:

I think we can expect three  months maximum till the new stable Rescatux is ready, probably half of it because I manage to fix bugs very quick lately. These are some of the funny tasks that anyone can easily contribute to:

  • Making a youtube video for the new options.
  • Make sure documentation for the new options is right.
  • Translate the documentation of new options to Spanish.
  • Make snapshots for new options documentation so that they don’t lack images.

If you want to help please contact us here:

Thank you and happy download!

Rescatux 0.32 beta 1 released

Download, News, Rescatux, Rescatux, Rescatux Beta

Rescatux 0.32 beta 1 has been released.

Rescatux 0.32 Beta 1 Extended menu
Rescatux 0.32 Beta 1 Extended menu

Downloads:

Rescatux 0.32b1 size is about 406 Megabytes.

Rescatux 0.32 beta 1 Regenerate Sudoers file. Not the support buttons rearrangement so that Run button is visible.
Rescatux 0.32 beta 1 Regenerate Sudoers file. Note the support buttons rearrangement so that Run button is visible.

Some thoughts:

Trendynick, from the irc, sent me a nice mockup of how he thought Rescapp should be designed. The final result is 100% as he expected but most of it.

Now we can add new options without bothering about design because we have got an scroll bar for seeing all the options.

The best thing about the new design is that you can see all the available options in one glance.  That makes easier for new comers to discover the truly Rescatux potential. It also makes easier to run options because the Run option screen which shows the html help, as always,  has had some of its buttons rearranged.

As I was not able to use RazorQT from unstable or testing Debian, and as LXQT was even more difficult I had to drop RazorQT and fallback to LXDE (which it’s currently based on GTK2). The long waited dream of an almost  QT based rescue cd has been paused. That’s the reason why I had to change 0.31 to 0.32.

The other reason for 0.31 to 0.32 change is because I am dropping Super Grub2 Disk integration. I have been thinking about a Rescatux Plus edition that would include it but I’m not very sure of it. I would rather prefer to have only one Rescatux download and then, if you want to, you can build your USB with both Super Grub2 Disk and Rescatux in it.

If you wanted an ISO for the your CDROM with both Super Grub2 Disk and  Rescatux, well, you will have to burn two cds. If you don’t agree with this decision please comment below so that we can gather actual feedback on how many people think the Super Grub2 Disk is something useful for them or not.

As you can see one drawback from using isolinux instead Grub2 from Super Grub2 Disk is that the logo and boot entries are the Live ones (Rescatux is based on Debian Live project) instead of Rescatux ones. As this is a beta and I don’t want to mess in a long time with Rescatux code I have decided not to worry about that.

Unless you think you are going to have problems with network connections (which it’s not actually needed for Rescatux to work, only for asking for support) if you have Rescatux 0.31 beta 5 there’s no need for you to download this version.

Of course, you are welcome to download it so that you can give us feedback so that we can improve it.

Fixed bugs:

  • Networking detection improved (fallback to network-manager-gnome)
  • Bottom bar does not have a shorcut to a file manager as it’s a common practice in modern desktops. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.
  • Double-clicking on directories on desktop opens Iceweasel (Firefox fork) instead of a file manager. Fixed when falling back to LXDE.

Improvements:

  • Super Grub2 Disk is no longer included. That makes easier to put the ISO to USB devices thanks to standard multiboot tools which support Debian Live cds.
  • Rescapp UI has been redesigned
    • Every option is at hand at the first screen.
    • Rescapp options can be scrolled. That makes it easier to add new options without bothering on final design.
    • Run option screen buttons have been rearranged to make it easier to read.
  • RazorQT has been replaced by LXDE which seems more mature. LXQT will have to wait.
  • WICD has been replaced by network-manager-gnome. That makes easier to connect to wired and wireless networks.
  • It is no longer based on Debian Unstable (sid) branch.

Known bugs:

  • Handling of directories with spaces when detecting Windows SAM files is not optimal
  • Rescatux logo is not shown at boot
  • Boot entries are named “Live xxxx” instead of “Rescatux xxxx”

Pending features or bugfixes for 0.32 stable release:

  • Select keyboard from Grub2 boot or Isolinux boot so that you can type your correct password when resetting Gnu/Linux password. (Or type password without masking it).
  • New option: Easy Grub fix: Runs both Restore Grub and Update Grub options
  • New option: Easy Windows Admin that runs: unlock user, promote user to admin and blank admin user password so that you can straight-forward as a windows admin user.
  • Rewriting of Windows chntpw based options so that source code is not repeated
  • Use of new 140201 chntpw version

Distro facts:

Feedback welcome:
I’ve tried myself the distro in my dev environment for the new options, not the old ones and they seem to start ok. Another thing is doing a full test about their complete functionality. Please test the ISO and report back if something that worked on previous stable versions no longer works in this beta version.

Don’t forget that you can use:

Help Rescatux project if you cannot wait:

I am very busy right now at work. So you should expect two, three or four months of Rescatux development stalling. These are some of the funny tasks that anyone can easily contribute to:

  • Making a youtube video for the new options.
  • Make sure documentation for the new options is right.
  • Translate the documentation of new options to Spanish.
  • Make snapshots for new options documentation so that they don’t lack images.

If you want to help please contact us here:

Thank you and happy download!

Super Grub2 Disk 2.00s2 downloads

Download, Super Grub2 Disk, Super Grub2 Disk Stable

Recommended download (Floppy, CD & USB in one) (Valid for i386, x86_64, and x86_64-efi):

Super Grub2 Disk 2.01 rc2 Main Menu
Super Grub2 Disk 2.01 rc2 Main Menu

EFI x86_64 standalone version:

Floppy, CD & USB in one downloads:

Standalone versions:

Source code:

Everything (All binary releases and source code):

Hashes

In order to check the former downloads you can either download:

or you can check their contents right here.

MD5SUMS

8063a27f804c72c334ae168e6080d6d6  super_grub2_disk_coreboot_2.00s2.iso
4e7a64ceed96a072b6ccef3ea05aff00  super_grub2_disk_hybrid_2.00s2.iso
3642c487cda17d8a43aca699fd0a6f20  super_grub2_disk_i386_efi_2.00s2.iso
e8d9d4efe4f29a90883f5c2ed6b45620  super_grub2_disk_i386_pc_2.00s2.iso
86a029507e5e6d24d0381515d065f634  super_grub2_disk_ieee1275_2.00s2.iso
dde7dc3ce33b98af6d9721a0d9d3943d  super_grub2_disk_standalone_i386_coreboot_2.00s2.img
79acccf2a79ffe35a5cc538e3e61203c  super_grub2_disk_standalone_i386_efi_2.00s2.EFI
b73f02be50f04cc9a97c739946890fec  super_grub2_disk_standalone_i386_ieee1275_2.00s2.img
b2a1fb232e0b30e4a8eeecdf33e1dbe9  super_grub2_disk_standalone_x86_64_efi_2.00s2.EFI
ff122ad1f0e2fa269a3e5238bcd617cc  super_grub2_disk_x86_64_efi_2.00s2.iso
7edd784638d4b46a08fa26318208c7a0  super_grub2_disk_2.00s2_source_code.tar.gz

SHA1SUMS

10d89d06ae327432b847fc2e8f95eaedb5466c63  super_grub2_disk_coreboot_2.00s2.iso
8093d72934e4c7764a30790505151fabedccb337  super_grub2_disk_hybrid_2.00s2.iso
a61f21a4829dd347d8688783c4d8e8b5c41aabe1  super_grub2_disk_i386_efi_2.00s2.iso
fab1116b71ebafeb18aa82a5113f3b17b951a922  super_grub2_disk_i386_pc_2.00s2.iso
ed8ecfb82e9543a71d0ddc22691a954d65216376  super_grub2_disk_ieee1275_2.00s2.iso
cadcd107de4ea15de34ed9ea6aa754cb3ee9df5e  super_grub2_disk_standalone_i386_coreboot_2.00s2.img
8849b47da51006b8ed6afc86bf78729506ab0db2  super_grub2_disk_standalone_i386_efi_2.00s2.EFI
e1fd93f4959b8a1e35ef9b44f3362ec87ba68b40  super_grub2_disk_standalone_i386_ieee1275_2.00s2.img
8a371d464974e275723c427e17834d9b24fad69b  super_grub2_disk_standalone_x86_64_efi_2.00s2.EFI
f973460399de09f7b96dffed89257e0de738e501  super_grub2_disk_x86_64_efi_2.00s2.iso
2f3c2e93ee5e6ea3d1fd6d33682db8f3c0286850  super_grub2_disk_2.00s2_source_code.tar.gz

SHA256SUMS

c96dadd25928f64fc51627737c36546fe439279c4fb7e05d73794b4d77a39413  super_grub2_disk_coreboot_2.00s2.iso
99f729d083fb4aaa2dff357d100f460a7120313c93cfbfa619ef83e52061b7d9  super_grub2_disk_hybrid_2.00s2.iso
3cbdd672f27b441c7296ca360ca52373a6c90b2c1b34f1ad939ee86450e7acba  super_grub2_disk_i386_efi_2.00s2.iso
c2a60b8cdd332c45218e3eadee88debbbfe4a6597a47ef5bb98a1221363dddff  super_grub2_disk_i386_pc_2.00s2.iso
23f3259cf9156eac11c6f1d26ffdbf587ab988ae3f0496f57e333e94e9367cb9  super_grub2_disk_ieee1275_2.00s2.iso
725987d2ad3abbd8ce7e25768d2b751428525cb718a8cde2a4fd29f5149eb62d  super_grub2_disk_standalone_i386_coreboot_2.00s2.img
88d56819eaad29a4b618d42d00f9625e9cd2d3cb6baf3991cbf56fb0b7478047  super_grub2_disk_standalone_i386_efi_2.00s2.EFI
ad9bcb42f3971e99fbbe739ea9ca69dfd43106da5e63bcbe7843d83909273758  super_grub2_disk_standalone_i386_ieee1275_2.00s2.img
333c520a6206e050fd151b577a2e17a921e3412909ef9ed8776cc7584172dd7d  super_grub2_disk_standalone_x86_64_efi_2.00s2.EFI
52ba8c5d3c576188c800a5522c785c758f46fb67e4fa3b1e28cc94c77320c0af  super_grub2_disk_x86_64_efi_2.00s2.iso
4fd9326f7c224e7f06fca038f305ae9658d2c19bfe8f728b1026acc8338a6495  super_grub2_disk_2.00s2_source_code.tar.gz

Super Grub2 Disk 2.00s2 Release Candidate 5 released

Download, News, Super Grub2 Disk, Super Grub2 Disk, Super Grub2 Disk Beta

Please spread the word.

We need people to hard test this release so that we can release as an stable one !!! Hopefully in one month time.

Note: Previous release was 2.01rc3, that’s right. We have changed versioning back to previous method. 2.00s2rc4 means:

  • 2.00: Upstream Grub 2.00 version
  • s2 : Super Grub2 Disk scripts version (inside this Upstream Grub version)
  • rc4: Release Candidate 4

sorry for the confusion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTR7Pkrd-1g

This is a release candidate release so please comment any issue you find at the bug tracker.

Recommended download (Valid for i386, x86_64, and x86_64-efi):

Super Grub2 Disk 2.00s2 rc4 Mac OS X entries
Super Grub2 Disk 2.00s2 rc4 Mac OS X entries (Image credit to: Smx)
Super Grub2 Disk 2.01 rc2 Main Menu
Super Grub2 Disk 2.01 rc2 Main Menu

EFI x86_64 standalone version:

Floppy, CD & USB in one downloads:

Standalone versions:

Changelog

  • Fix OS X Boot thanks to Smx.
  • Add extra boot parametres for OS X kernels. Thanks to Smx which inspired the code from his own repo.
  • Quote menuentries or functions parametres to avoid problems with variables with spaces on them.

If you want to translate into your language please check TRANSLATION file at source code to learn how to translate into your language.

Development miscelanea:

  • This release was built in a Debian testing system using 2.00-22 grub version.