MX-18.3 Bare Server Edition respin

[m_pav]

In addition to the above, I remembered that somewhere along the line, the complete live demo configs were all copied to /etc/skel. This should never happen because it can copy a massive bunch of stuff that should never be redistributed.
Populating the skeleton folder needs to done in a very precise and very selective way so as to avoid introducing errors and unwanted/unwarranted and potentially dangerous configs to other users.

In /etc/skel/.config/ the startup folder has entries for apps that simply don't exist on this build and a complete profile for qupzilla is in there too. I would suggest copying the contents from a clean /etc/skel directly from a standard 18.3 iso, strip everything out that is no longer needed and replace the /etc/skel on your live-iso so as to avoid redistributing a skeleton file with dirty configs because the contents of /etc/skel are copied to every user account created in the installed system, excluding root.

Also do the same with the /root/ folder, esp the .config and /local where I found some dirty configs too, including a particularly troubling one, the presence of past keyrings in both the /root account profile folder and the skeleton file placed in /etc/skel ( yeowch! )

This info comes from the A1 iso, I don't have the A3, but I've not seen any indication in the dialogue in this thread, so I am assuming they will still be there.

I have just taken some cleaned up copies of the folders for you, should you wish to use them, they are on my Google drive at the following link. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ScqP3 ... NR21G_l9QL

[JayM]

Thanks, Mike. It's because I don't really know what I'm doing regarding respins and there aren't any step-by-step instructions that I've found, so I'm just learning as I go. BSE A1 was the very first one I ever attempted.

A1 was taken from an installed system and the snapshot was made as a personal one. A3 is based on a remastered live USB with persistence and IIRC its snapshot is a general one for distribution to others. If you have time, maybe you could have a look at A3 and see if I messed it up too?

Also a question: when making a respin, how do you ensure that new user accounts' default desktops look the way you intend for them to look? I've just been setting up demo the way I want then copying all files from /home/demo to /etc/skel except for things like log files, lock files and caches, telling it to overwrite all files when I paste.

Thanks again.

[m_pav]

I don't want to rock the boat here because some great work has been accomplished with this build. If it were me, I'd carefully examine and document the entire process, starting from manyroads strip-down process to achieve a minimalist build, then adding to it what you've done. From there, I would assemble a plan to achieve the best possible home server build using best practices for repackaging and redistribution using a virtualised environment with only the necessary elements typical of a barebones server as the build environment.

If there was one more thing I would also investigate, it would be replacing the kernel with one that has a clock speed of 400hz. Desktop kernels typically have a much higher clock speed like 800-1000hz so they can run multimedia and while they can be used on a server, they're not ideal.

[m_pav]

Sorry, I forgot to answer your question about the user configs. I tried to give you the basis for that in my earlier post, examining the contents of /etc/skel for clues as to what you can safely include, which is why I placed a link to download the compressed files from my drive account. I have trimmed a handful of items in there. Compare those contained in my compressed archive on Google Drive folder by folder with the one shipped in MX-18 to get an idea of where to start. Another folder tree to examine is /etc/xdg/

Generally, you only need to add, edit or remove single files to achieve your desired result. I have family pulling me every which way right now so I can't give a concise answer because I have to attend to them for the day.

[JayM]

I've removed the alpha versions, hopefully addressed the issues in /etc/skel, remastered and created a new snpshot which I'm calling the beta 1 version. I've also changed the category on the Sourceforge page from alpha to beta:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/mx-linux-bse-respin/

[Jerry3904]

Is this listed here?: viewtopic.php?p=486469#p486469

[JayM]

Is this listed here?: viewtopic.php?p=486469#p486469

Yes, at the top of the list.

[Jerry3904]

Thanks. It's a great resource and has been linked in social media, so I just try to make sure it is being kept up to date.

[JayM]

Rasat links the forum topics for each respin in his list, not their download links or anything, so all one has to do is post a reply to his or her own topic regarding updated versions or changes in downloading sites.