Initial commit: HPR Knowledge Base MCP Server
- MCP server with stdio transport for local use - Search episodes, transcripts, hosts, and series - 4,511 episodes with metadata and transcripts - Data loader with in-memory JSON storage 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Lee Hanken
236
hpr_transcripts/hpr1290.txt
Normal file
236
hpr_transcripts/hpr1290.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
|
||||
Episode: 1290
|
||||
Title: HPR1290: MultiSystem: The Bootable Thumb Drive Creator
|
||||
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr1290/hpr1290.mp3
|
||||
Transcribed: 2025-10-17 23:01:39
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Howdy folks, this is 5150 for Hacker Public Radio.
|
||||
I want to spend a little time today telling you about multi-system, which is a tool for
|
||||
creating a bootable USB thumb drive with the option of launching from multiple ISO images
|
||||
and a few other built-in diagnostic utilities.
|
||||
I believe it could be an invaluable tool for system repair techs.
|
||||
Not only are there many recovery and repair live CDs that are available to fix Linux, but
|
||||
most bootable repair and NFR utilities for Windows run from a Linux-based ISO these days.
|
||||
A tech could even create ISO images of Windows installation media and replace a stack of DVDs
|
||||
with a single thumb drive.
|
||||
Besides the installable package, there also appears to be a multi-system live CD located
|
||||
at HTTP, Cohen-slash-source-forge, .NET-slashproject-slash-multi-system.
|
||||
If I understand it correctly, you burn this ISO and then you can boot your system into
|
||||
a live CD that already has a multi-system installed.
|
||||
I also understand that not only, of course, could you bring in your own ISOs to install
|
||||
on the thumb drive, it already has a couple recommended ISO images already built into
|
||||
live CD, but fits on a CD so they must be pretty small.
|
||||
Okay, let me start out by explaining how to install multi-system.
|
||||
Multi-system is only supported on Ubuntu-based distros for reasons which I will presently
|
||||
explain.
|
||||
The project site is at http, Cohen-slash-liveusb.info-dot-clear, but be for warned, the site
|
||||
is in French.
|
||||
Your best bet at finding clear installation instructions is to visit either the web update or pin drive
|
||||
Linux pages devoted to multi-system installation and those links are in the show notes.
|
||||
Either way, they're going to instruct you to download HTTP, Cohen-slash-liveusb.info-dot-slash-multi-system-slash-installed-depo-multi-system-dot-sh-dot-tar-dot-bz2 on your
|
||||
Ubuntu-based system, extract a shell script that is named install-depo-multi-dot-sh and execute
|
||||
it from a terminal and the shell script will prompt you for your root password to complete
|
||||
the installation.
|
||||
Well, wait, hold it, what did you just say?
|
||||
Give my root password to a shell script, is he out of his mind?
|
||||
You're right, this is not the installation method I would have picked if I wanted people
|
||||
to be comfortable installing my software.
|
||||
I would certainly never run some strange script, if it had not been vetted by sources such
|
||||
as pin drive Linux, how-to-geek, web update, and Linux magazine.com.
|
||||
I did look at the script and I found nothing sinister, but I would welcome really another
|
||||
set of eyes looking at it, should you care to download it from the above link.
|
||||
Before we proceed, let me put your mind at ease by stepping through what it looks to
|
||||
me like the script is doing.
|
||||
Basically the script adds the live USB-multi-system repository to your app-sources.list and installs
|
||||
the package and shorts the PPA.
|
||||
If it still makes you nervous, and as well it might, I might recommend running the script
|
||||
in a Ubuntu virtual machine with a different set of credentials from your production machine.
|
||||
Let me step through what it looks like to me this script is doing.
|
||||
First off, a script makes several calls to app, and it assumes your user's privileges
|
||||
can be elevated via the SUDU command.
|
||||
That's why multi-system is only supported on Ubuntu-based distros.
|
||||
The first thing it does is check at C-slash SUDUers to see if there's any users with
|
||||
elevation privileges.
|
||||
Next if you have KDE, check if you have KDE, if so it enables community-maintained repositories
|
||||
universe and install ZINITY.
|
||||
Then a test if you have the packages SUDU, LSB, release, T, ZINITY, NOHOP, X-Term, D-Package,
|
||||
and if not generate an error.
|
||||
Looks like it generates an error if the current running account is not a member of SUDUers,
|
||||
makes a slash media from the directory, read, write, and executable for everyone, and presumably
|
||||
this will be so multi-system can write what it wants to your USB stick mounted under the
|
||||
USB directory, or I'm sorry, mounted under the media directory.
|
||||
Then check to see if multi-system is already installed, add current user to the disk group
|
||||
if they aren't already, and I'm going to jump to the conclusion the members of this
|
||||
group can write to media as what being a member of the disk group is.
|
||||
It adds a user to the ADM or admin group.
|
||||
If using NOME, then it adds community reprows, otherwise if you're using KDE adds the
|
||||
universe repos, so that seems redundant because it checked for KDE above.
|
||||
If you're running hardy, it installs a back port because of course you probably nobody's
|
||||
running hardy anymore, but as hardy seems to be the first Ubuntu spin that can run
|
||||
it, but only with a back port.
|
||||
It adds the multi-system repo to the appsources.list, it installs the authentication key, it updates the
|
||||
package list, and then installs multi-system, and from the root directory it makes the
|
||||
fuser mount folder executable, and it calls a script that launches multi-system, and that's
|
||||
it.
|
||||
I would say this package could sorely use some volunteer package maintainer so that
|
||||
this project could have standard packages for more than one family of distributions.
|
||||
It's installed, so we'll go on to creating your multi-boot USB key.
|
||||
Now under my system I found the multi-system launcher under accessories, your mileage may
|
||||
vary, and if you have anything on your target USB stick of course it's going to be overwritten.
|
||||
That is if it's not already a multi-system drive.
|
||||
One of the beautiful things about multi-system is that you can add and delete bootable
|
||||
ISOs at any time.
|
||||
Okay, after the splash screen you'll see a warning that the target drive will have
|
||||
Grub2 installed on the NBR. Select the target drive in the lower window and click
|
||||
Confirm button, and for the sake of simplicity, when using multi-system I only have one USB drive
|
||||
or USB device plugged in so that I don't accidentally overwrite my media player, so that's
|
||||
just a little safety, it should be able to tell which drive is which, but better safe than sorry,
|
||||
right?
|
||||
Okay, now the second screen you come to is Rove Tabs at the top, this is your main
|
||||
multi-boot interface or multi-system interface, actually multi-boot I believe is
|
||||
earlier version of the same software, and as Rove tabs the top MS for multi-system,
|
||||
second one's menus, third one's boot, fourth one's non-free, and the final one is about,
|
||||
about is self-explanatory, so I'd like to start with the second to last tab which is non-free.
|
||||
You will need to make a selection from non-free to download and install a boot manager to boot
|
||||
your USB stick from. If you're going to fill the stick with free software distros, click
|
||||
download Plop Boot Manager, which despite the tab name is free software, and this is the heart of
|
||||
the multi-boot system, the Plop Boot Manager is what it allows the USB key to boot from more than
|
||||
more than one bootable image, and of course if you look in the Plop it's capital P, capital L,
|
||||
lowercase O, capital P, you'll find online of course you can just use Plop to create your,
|
||||
to create a multi-boot USB key, it's just the multi-system makes it so much more simple,
|
||||
and if you if you when you click on the button the download Plop button you will see
|
||||
download running in a small terminal window. It's been also as I first set up I believe you're
|
||||
going to get a prompt at that point to enter your root password complete the install, and that's
|
||||
in the prompt there is inside that terminal window, so anytime that little terminal window pops
|
||||
up you need to watch what's going on inside it. The other two selections under known free are
|
||||
download fireadisk.IMA that's F-I-R-A-D-I-S-K dot I-M-A, and if you hover over that it shows a detail
|
||||
of use to start the ISO of Windows XP, and then the other selection is download Microsoft server,
|
||||
sorry Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP1, and you'll hover over it and it says used for
|
||||
Bart PE, and that a PE desk it uses the initial Windows installation CD is there there's
|
||||
installation environment of Windows that is like a mini version of Windows that a lot of people
|
||||
use to run different diagnostic utilities in that environment. Most people this is going to know
|
||||
what a Bart PE desk is, and you go their website of course and they'll tell you how start out with
|
||||
basic installation and then how to add diagnostic tools to the Bart PE live image. Well it's another
|
||||
Bart PE is a Windows program for generating a utility desk, so I think those two are both for
|
||||
Windows based environment or the Windows installation environment live CDs. I suspect I haven't
|
||||
tried it yet, say if you're to rip a Windows installation DVD you could probably boot into it
|
||||
with Ali there's those, I think they're just if you're trying to use something like Bart PE,
|
||||
and I think Highrends that I've got that down like haven't tried that yet it's along the same lines
|
||||
except a lot a lot of people I've heard have recommended that as a as a diagnostic and repair utility
|
||||
for Windows. Okay let's go next go to the next tab to the left boot and the top selection in there
|
||||
is create a CD to launch USB. You may find this more useful than you think. Earlier this week I was
|
||||
trying to boot from a Dell Dimension Pentium 4 directly from the USB and this appears late enough
|
||||
that to buy us up it knows how to boot from USB stick. When you when you hit the hot key to
|
||||
bring up the boot options menu there is a boot from USB selection just like there's boot from hard
|
||||
drive boot from the Apple Media etc but the Dell just couldn't recognize the multi boot USB
|
||||
key I'd created and strangely I'd also try to install a ISO or install distribution from a DVD
|
||||
sized ISO on the Dell with the Dell had a DVD drive and it wouldn't boot from that either somewhere
|
||||
you know somewhere in the in the Pentium 4 series a lot of the earlier Pentium 4s they won't boot
|
||||
from anything but a CD they'll have a lot of them boot from USB and then later on this this is
|
||||
fairly recent P4 it should have booted from DVD or USB but so besides be great diagnostic utility
|
||||
creating one of one of these multi system boot USBs would be a solution say you have an older system
|
||||
you want to you want to install a DVD sized ISO but the system doesn't recognize a boot from DVD
|
||||
option well you could you could use this launching CD plus the multi system USB key to get to get that
|
||||
system to boot into that big ISO and what happens when you when you click on the create CD button
|
||||
it copies the image CD dash boot dash live USB dot ISO to your home folder and of course you
|
||||
you couldn't go ahead and burn it to a CD from there and when you when I run it it when you
|
||||
boot from that CD briefly what you see is the unit booting interface and then immediately
|
||||
this assuming the presence of the multi boot USB key it goes right right into the interface
|
||||
multi boot USB okay the rest of the selections in the boot tab are less immediate but let's
|
||||
exhaust them now we will have to come back to them you have options to boot from XP Vista or Mac
|
||||
Intel instead of Grub 2 I would strongly suggest you avoid such foolishness you also have options
|
||||
for testing your bootable USB stick that you're creating in virtual box or QEMU okay next tab to
|
||||
the left working back from from the right is the menus tab and I want to talk you about one
|
||||
function on this page now but we're going to go back to it later down towards the bottom you will
|
||||
see format your USB key this should be done before you start working on your key and copying ISOs to
|
||||
it will be formatted to fat 32 so I hope none of your ISOs are over four gigabytes okay finally we're
|
||||
ready to assign some ISOs to our multi boot USB key multi system USB key now at this point I want to
|
||||
caution you to mind your free space on the USB drive an older version multi system I once added
|
||||
one too many ISOs and wound up with completely unreadable thumb drive it didn't show up when I
|
||||
plugged it in I couldn't do anything with it because none of my systems would mount and it was
|
||||
just dead all right to select it I said to add click the down arrow in the green circle in the field
|
||||
at the bottom of the MS window okay I see above that I never told you we're we're now on the MS
|
||||
the MS tab navigate to the folder with the ISOs you want to add and double click on the file that
|
||||
will make it appear on the window to the left in in the add ISO window you can continue to select
|
||||
ISOs just remember my warning about overfilling the thumb drive once you once you click on go you
|
||||
you'll be able to see the files being extracted to your thumb drive in that same small terminal
|
||||
I talked about before and with every every bootable image you will need to confirm the install by
|
||||
typing in your root password into that terminal now we'll return once that's done your turn the MS
|
||||
return the MS tab where you should now see your selected ISOs and a list in the middle of the
|
||||
window they may not be labeled as you you would expect i.e. Ubuntu spin like subuntu may be labeled
|
||||
as the base distro may just say Ubuntu or an antivirus CD may show up as the Linux distro
|
||||
the company used for base let's go over the rest of the buttons on the MS page most are duplicates
|
||||
of functions they're available in other screens starting on the right there buttons to test the key
|
||||
and virtual box or QEMU once again now on the right side of that first column on the right side of
|
||||
the ISO list is our buttons to change the order in which your selected ISOs are going to appear
|
||||
in the menu of the final multi-system boot usb key and on the bottom of that column there is a
|
||||
button to remove a selected ISO like i said at any time you can stick your USB key back in run
|
||||
multi-system delete an ISO add an ISO long as you don't go too big and mess up the key next
|
||||
column over has buttons to show or hide files or folders and i don't know why you would need that
|
||||
but it's there and then you could add boot options to the selected ISO in other words you can
|
||||
change the grub entries for for that ISO the next one down is important add persistent mode allows
|
||||
you to designate space to store files and configuration changes while running the selected ISO
|
||||
as a live CD so you can make at least some of your bootable CDs persistent it doesn't work for all
|
||||
Linux images i found out only the ones multi-system seems to know how to handle the next button down
|
||||
is another one to create the CD to launch usb just like on the other tab below that is
|
||||
internationalization which i have not explored the next column has buttons for grub updates and
|
||||
settings the top right button is download live CDs and if you click on that you present with this
|
||||
really awesome list of rescue and utility CDs as well as several Linux distros now i did try to
|
||||
click on one of those and it didn't launch a download so that's okay if you but this can
|
||||
if you're a tech and you want to know what's available out there as far as rescue CDs is just
|
||||
seem like a really awesome list and the button below that updates the multi-system software itself
|
||||
on the bottom of the ms wintab window on either side of the ISO selection field is one a button to
|
||||
save the current thumb drives image so if you say you misslay the thumb drive and you want to make
|
||||
a duplicate of it if you if you've made the duplicate you could just restore it and go on from
|
||||
there and on the other side is a button next program now remember we didn't finish the menus tab
|
||||
so we'll go we'll go back to we're going to find out most of the functions are duplicates of
|
||||
the ones we just talked about on the ms tab burg is apparently a theme or for grub and is there
|
||||
to dress up the boot interface on your multi-system key drive and apparently the burg also will do
|
||||
the same thing for your if you're installed Linux if you if you think you need theme for grub like
|
||||
I guess burgs the problem here's the program you want to go with you'll see another button to
|
||||
backup and restore your thumb drive image as well as a button to make live CDs persistent which
|
||||
we already discussed and on on this screen there's one to resize the persistent storage space for
|
||||
live CD everything else on that page is self-explanatory or functions that we've already covered
|
||||
okay so we we're done we're we're ready to exit multi-system and we're ready to eject thumb
|
||||
drive and boot another computer from it so I want to go what you're going to see when you boot
|
||||
a boot your computer from multi-system thumb drive and I should have to tell you that most modern
|
||||
systems have a hotkey that allows you select boot media during posts so in other words you don't
|
||||
have to go in and change the boot order in your BIOS there's usually key depress and you just
|
||||
select but if you don't have that option you may need to enter your BIOS setup and reorder the
|
||||
boot priority so the system will look for either bootable a bootable USB drive or that special
|
||||
boot CD that sends everything over to the USB drive before booting from the hard disk and if
|
||||
you are booting from that boot CD as I said you'll see the UDET boot and menus and automatically
|
||||
and quickly give way to the multi-system boot interface which you recognize it has sort of a
|
||||
multi-color stained glass background and the this time using for sqc is 64 gigs so I've already
|
||||
got a dozen digital images on it or rescue disk images and room to install more my only problem
|
||||
with it's Kingston usually they're pretty good quality but it it seems very ticklish you got to
|
||||
line it for it to be recognized you need to line it up just perfectly and exactly in the slot
|
||||
and that that's okay if you're if you're running in a live system you can you can see what it's
|
||||
recognized usually but if you're if you're trying to boot from it that can be a little bit of a hassle
|
||||
but Roy that's that's not here there for that for for this purposes of today's discussion
|
||||
and the first thing you're going to see of course at the top is a menu of all the distros that you
|
||||
selected or installation disks I should say because could it could include windows or other
|
||||
operating system installation DVDs but below that there are a few entries automatically generated
|
||||
by multi-system now most of them seem to be options to manually enter grub commands in the words
|
||||
edit the grub of the multi-system to enter special boot options for one of your startup ISOs
|
||||
or it seems to be a way to edit the multi-system menus on the fly and they seem to be somewhat redundant
|
||||
there are other four options seem a little more useful for diagnostics BKO looks for a pixie
|
||||
boot instance on the network so if you want to pixie boot the system you can use that
|
||||
VBE info lists the proper resolutions refresh rates detected from your video hardware
|
||||
and LSPCI of course reports on other hardware on the system and MemTest 86 plus is one of the
|
||||
most popular open source tools for testing memory finally it looks like you can preset the video
|
||||
mode by selecting one of the resolutions under GFX pay you load okay that's that's about all I
|
||||
can tell you about multi-system for right now if you have any questions or comments you're
|
||||
certainly welcome to put the inner into the comments form for this episode under hacker public
|
||||
radio dot org if you need to contact me 51 50 then you should be able to find all my
|
||||
contact information app the big red switch dot drupal gardens dot com
|
||||
you have been listening to hacker public radio or hacker public radio does our
|
||||
we are a community podcast network the release of shows every week day Monday through Friday
|
||||
today show like all our shows was contributed by a hbr listener by yourself if you ever consider
|
||||
recording a podcast then visit our website to find out how easy it really is hacker public radio
|
||||
is founded by the digital dog pound and the economic and computer club hbr is funded by the binary
|
||||
revolution at binref dot com all binref projects are proudly sponsored by linear pages
|
||||
from shared hosting to custom private clouds go to lunar pages that come for all your hosting needs
|
||||
unless otherwise stasis today's show is released under a creative comments attribution share
|
||||
you
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user