first off i want to apologize if posting this in the correct section, i already posted it in another category and it needs to be deleted. so i dunno if this is in the correct category or not, but i have used pclinuxos before looking into opensuse. i have not installed suse yet because i am trying to download it as we speak (dvd version). however, teo questions that come to mind before i do this is
on pclinuxos, i remember a way to recreate (i think) a newer installation disk with everything on it that i had installed on the system. i.e. updates, games, etc. can this be done pretty easily on suse. i ask because my mom wants to go to linux (she likes the cute games on it and just watches movies with her latop) and i would just make a replica of my install to put on hers.
second question is, can i go ahead and download the broadcom drivers ahead of time and use them after install? i have the dell inspirion 1525 and only linux mint has ever picked it up and worked from the get go. i need to know this because i only have dial up access at home and i have never got the conexant modem to ever work with linux (maybe just me…). i get on local hotspots in town for majority of my internet and dont have a place to go for a hard line.
My computer has froze up on me twice while writing how to do this. I’m really not sure why. The first time most of the post was preserved upon reboot but the last time everything was wiped…
Anyways I’ve found a way to do this and I’ll post once I get it written up.
Alright, there is a way to do what you want to do.
You’ll need to have either a large usb-harddrive or a large usb-flash drive (an 8GB flash drive will do fine.) You must also be connected to the Internet for when the installer refreshes the repositories.
First you must install yast2-live-installer.
Then plug in your usb device and run the live-installer.
For the username and password setup this is just a live-usb so it doesn’t have to be high end security. It could be something as simple as
username:linux
password:livecd
After you’ve chosen these click next and if it says something about a weak password just click yes twice.
Also, to then install that root installation to another computer it would be like installing from a live-cd. Just install Yast2-live-usb while booted into the live-usb and then, when you come to the installation summary, choose booting and choose Propose New Configuration and then choose the Boot Loader Installation. Select to boot from MBR. Then install.
With this method, anything installed on your computer gets installed onto the liveusb. Everything on the liveusb then gets installed on any other computer you use the liveusb to install to.
So if you have the drivers installed on your computer they’ll already be installed on the liveusb. Then when you install with the liveusb they’ll be installed on the computer you’re installing to.
I had been looking for something like this for a long time as well and I had just discovered this (there’s probably some how-to on doing this but I just didn’t find it). Anyways, the live-usb disk that you make will have persistent storage so when you boot up into the live-usb, if you install more packages they’ll stay installed on the disk. This means you can update the disk and then if your installation gets messed up you can reinstall with an up to date system.
