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

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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
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