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fsmithred

- fsmithred
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## Re: Snapshot description

Thu Feb 07, 2013 2:42 pm

Refracta is a rescue and repair live-CD disguised as a typical desktop system.
(The blurb at the ibiblio page will eventually say something like that.)
golinux

- golinux
- Posts: 663
- Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 1:23 am

## Re: Snapshot description

Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:08 pm

> ukbrian wrote:

> > is there any reason that you'd go through that process instead of just adding items under an existing panel application?

> If you do a fresh install you'll have to recreate all those launchers . . .

I'm rather new to xfce but surely there is a way to save those panel configuration files to transfer into a new install. Used to be very easy to do with Gnome.

> ukbrian wrote:

> > I tried to take a screen shot but it doesn't work when those menus are expanded.

> I use shutter for that with a 5 second delay, it comes with a bit of baggage but it does the job.

Very clever. Here's a composite of two of my custom 'stacks'. Once stable arrives, things will get more complicated.
golinux

- golinux
- Posts: 663
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## Re: Snapshot description

Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:18 pm

> fsmithred wrote:Refracta is a rescue and repair live-CD disguised as a typical desktop system.
> (The blurb at the ibiblio page will eventually say something like that.)

That's an interesting way to look at it and definitely defines a niche for it. But don't underestimate the desktop! I see refracta as a minimalist desktop system that saves me having to build things up from a base install. I will delete/switch a few apps but all in all a very good base to start from. (salineos drives me nuts will all the cruft in the panel by dafault!) Many of the apps included in refracta are ones that I would have to go fetch even with a standard desktop install. My desktop for the next several years will be built on wheezy stable refracta. As I've said before, I like a stable system that requires minimal attention between new releases. If there are any caveats that make that a bad idea, speak now!
fsmithred

- fsmithred
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## Re: Snapshot description

Thu Feb 07, 2013 5:22 pm

I had trouble deciding whether to say "typical desktop system" or "complete desktop system."

> drives me nuts [with] all the cruft in the panel by dafault

LOL! I'm pretty sure Dean says the same thing about my xfce desktop in refracta.
I don't see a problem with using refracta as a base install for a debian system, and that is one of its main purposes. Refracta IS Debian; it's just not an official debian release. To "change" refracta to debian, you'd edit the name in etc/issue and etc/default/grub, and then delete etc/refracta-version if it exists.
fsmithred

- fsmithred
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## Re: Snapshot description

Thu Feb 07, 2013 5:37 pm

My reasons for Refracta -
A base system to install on multiple machines with the apps I want and the configurations I want, so I only have to do the setup once.
A bootable live media that I can carry in my pocket and temporarily turn any borrowed computer into my own in the amount of time it takes to boot.
A diagnostic/rescue/repair tool that I can use to fix a problem on one of my computers or a friend's computer.
nadir

- nadir
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- Location: here

## Re: Snapshot description

Thu Feb 07, 2013 11:32 pm

> fsmithred wrote:My reasons for Refracta -
> A base system to install on multiple machines with the apps I want and the configurations I want, so I only have to do the setup once.
> A bootable live media that I can carry in my pocket and temporarily turn any borrowed computer into my own in the amount of time it takes to boot.
> A diagnostic/rescue/repair tool that I can use to fix a problem on one of my computers or a friend's computer.

I think one can add that it is easy on resources.
As far it is me i mainly enjoy refractasnapshot. I can use refracta to install, skip the whole part of installing xfce and some other utils, remove what i don't need, add what i need and run "refractasnapshot" and be done with it in a short time.
If i troubleshoot i usually pick any live-CD i got on my table (which is usually either refracta or antix. Both boot on a reasonable amount of machines -aka on all i got or run into).
ukbrian

- ukbrian
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- Location: Cheltenham, UK

## Re: Snapshot description

Fri Feb 08, 2013 7:58 pm

I haven't managed to do a video but I took a snapshot of all the screens but I do intend to do a video with feedback on how refracta might be improved for novices.
Very little to learn off Remastersys, it desperately needs a link to a manual/help file from the the first screen also it lacks the wildcard in excludes.
http://lin.me.uk/refracta/refracta-remastersys/remastersys-snapshot.zip
http://lin.me.uk/refracta/refracta-remastersys/refracta-snapshot.zip
I'll do the installs next

> I'm rather new to xfce but surely there is a way to save those panel configuration files to transfer into a new install. Used to be very easy to do with Gnome.

I couldn't even add a second menu in gnome LO

> Refracta is a rescue and repair live-CD disguised as a typical desktop system.

Anthony(SalineOS) mentioned last year he was thinking of using two partitions for a SalineOS install the extra one being a recovery system but when I asked him a month back about it he'd scrubbed the idea for lack of time, he's a working man but the idea appealed to me.
It's getting a bit hectic at the moment so sorry for being slow to reply
golinux

- golinux
- Posts: 663
- Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 1:23 am

## Re: Snapshot description

Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:48 pm

> ukbrian wrote:I haven't managed to do a video but I took a snapshot of all the screens but I do intend to do a video with feedback on how refracta might be improved for novices.

The first remastersys screenie has many options for customizations that are missing in refracta AFAIK. Not that they are needed in a GUI format. They might be in the various config files which I'm not that familiar with yet. Assuming you backed up the exact same user data, how did the creation times compare?

> ukbrian wrote:

> > I'm rather new to xfce but surely there is a way to save those panel configuration files to transfer into a new install. Used to be very easy to do with Gnome.

> I couldn't even add a second menu in gnome LO

Not quite sure what you mean by second menu. But with gnome on squeeze, I also have stacks of launchers from the panel like I do in XFCE
ukbrian

- ukbrian
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- Location: Cheltenham, UK

## Re: Snapshot description

Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:59 am

> The first remastersys screenie has many options for customizations that are missing in refracta AFAIK. Not that they are needed in a GUI format.

That screen is a nightmare, too many options, no information, I've seen a lot of talk on the remastersys forum about the dist option, I only have ever done a full backup. I never have a home partition, I use a data partition so there's never any data in my user folder just the application config files but all my OS's on my machine can all access the NTFS data partition. I keep my menus there and also my Firefox ESR and Thunderbird ESR are unzipped there so all my OS's use the same installs and profiles instead of having duplicate profiles to maintain.
I don't think there's anything to learn there, I would ignore it, I use refracta because it's by far the best simplest tool to use.

> Assuming you backed up the exact same user data, how did the creation times compare?

I always use the xz compression and my OS's, about 3.5 to 4 GB take less than 10 minutes, I've never timed them.
On the first screen in snapshot it might be an idea to have a checkbox for fastest or max compression

> Not quite sure what you mean by second menu.

I'm sh*t with words that's why I got into videos, I thought I had already posted these, they're only short but showing is easier for me.
I don't know anybody else who has gone this way but I showed Ikey them a couple of days ago and he's going to build them into his gnome 3 fork Consort. I expect when a coder writes it it will be far more elegantly done but I've found a light weight python menu editor that will display my menus but not edit them yet, there's a parameter hard wired in.
Video of constructing a custom menu http://lin.me.uk/menus/custom/sr1-menu.mp4.zip
Menu constructed http://lin.me.uk/menus/custom/menu.zip
How long does it take you with a fresh install to put all your launchers in place?
With a fresh install I've just got to create a symbolic link from the menu folder on my data partition to /home/ and then just add menus to the panel. You'll see what I mean in the video even though I put the menu folder in the user's folder because I was creating an ISO with no data partition, the menu folder goes in a data partition really.
ukbrian

- ukbrian
- Posts: 109
- Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:22 am
- Location: Cheltenham, UK

## Re: Snapshot description

Sat Feb 09, 2013 9:44 am

Video of Refracta snapshot http://lin.me.uk/refracta/vids/snapshot-installer/refracta-snapshot.mp4.zip
Installer coming up
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