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I have recently done some work on my SAM.Zombie
project. It is much improved, and I am eager to share it with
you.
SAM.Zombie's install can install
to an internal or external drive. I have installed an instance of
Zombie Slackware®—made by tweaking Slackware®
15.0—to a flash drive. It can boot from whatever compatible
PC hardware I can get my hands on. That includes several PCs and
a few laptops.
You can do this too. Click here to learn how to use the
SAM.Zombie library to install Zombie
Slackware® to your own ZombieDrive
I call this modification of Slackware® "Zombie
Slackware®", as it is neither dead (traditional) nor live.
A ZombieDrive uses a minimum of three
partitions:
A Drive partition containing an
rsynced–and–tweaked copy of a reference Slackware
installation. (I call this reference installation a
Basis. I update my
Basis periodically, but do not otherwise use
it—you should do the same with yours.) The
rsyncing and tweaking is done by the SAM.Zombie
library's install script.
You may, optionally, add Alien Bob's LiveSlak
ISO to the root of the Drive partition in
a directory called LiveSlak. A Keep partition containing files needed for
implementing Zombie Slackware® and providing
persistence. I will provide an example that you may copy or
copy and modify, but you must populate this partition
yourself. You will find this example keep directory in the
SAM.Zombie library.
Or optionally these files can be used to tweak
LiveSlak on–the–fly thus giving
it persistence. (And more! You can even add packages or
customize the KDE settings. Did you notice what I did
here? The SAM.Zombie's
install command treats either a traditional
Slackware instance or a RAM-resident
LiveSlak instance! I must add, however, that
you may find using Zombie Slackware® in this second
way to be cumbersome. The truth is that it was a "proof of
principle", a helpful step in the development of
SAM.Zombie. Still, it may serve as a useful
backup system in a pinch.) A Swap partition—just in
case.
To install ZombieSlack to a
ZombieDrive you need to:
Install SAM and the
SAM.Zombie library to any convenient device.
I keep SAM and its libraries on a regular (not
bootable) flash drive.
Or you may allow the install command, in the
SAM.Zombie library, to help you to make and use the
optional Ring partition, giving you a place for SAM
on the ZombieDrive itself. On a PC or laptop, download and boot the Slackware ISO image
then install Slackware to an internal drive (following the recipe)
to make a ZombieSlack Basis Alternately, if you like, you may allow the
install command to help you to make and use the
optional Pinkie partition, giving you a place for
the Slackware ISO image on the ZombieDrive
itself. You may then choose to boot this image when booting
the ZombieDrive.
Then proceed to update the Basis. If you like, you may use the tool, up_basis, to
assist with the above. It is included in the library.
You first boot the Basis, then use this tool.
It downloads and installs the slackpkg key if needed, then runs
slackpkg: update, install-new, upgrade-all and
clean-system.
If this update changes your kernel you will likely need to make a
new initrd.gz. The mkmkinitrd command in
SAM.Zombie can do this for you.
Start SAM and run the library's
install command. You will need to specify the
device names for the Basis and the target of the
install. Midway through the install you will be prompted to
populate or revise the Keep partition.
This will make a Grub bootable ZombieDrive which
has these five boot options:
ZombieSlack Boot Slackware 15.0 Install Slackware64 15.0 Basis--huge, no initrd Slackware64 15.0 Basis--generic LiveSlak64 15.0 Be sure to put a physical label your
ZombieDrive.
To update your ZombieDrive, repeat the third and
fourth steps above which update the Basis and run the
install command.
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