How to create a ScummVM LiveCD/BootCD/USBBoot?

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marzipan
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How to create a ScummVM LiveCD/BootCD/USBBoot?

Post by marzipan »

Although I am an XP user, I fondly remember experimenting with the ScummLinux project from several years ago. Sadly it's outdated as heck and obviously isn't maintained anymore.

I was wondering, though, how easy or difficult it would be to create a similar/identical thing but with a more up-to-date build? Considering however that I'm mainly a Windows user and have barely dabbled in any Linux wizardry, I'm not rating my chances highly.
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bobdevis
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Post by bobdevis »

Should not be hard at all.
What you need is any of the very small Linux distros (like Puppy Linux) and VirtualBox to safely set up and experiment while your XP is running concurrently.

This whole thing will become pretty clear to you once you figure out how to use VirtualBox effectively.
Good Luck.
marzipan
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Post by marzipan »

Thanks. Are there any written guides on doing stuff like this by any chance?
fingolfin
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Post by fingolfin »

I don't think so. It's not such a frequent / common thing to do, after all. I mean... most users would just install ScummVM, instead of creating their own personal Linux distro, just to play a few games... :)

Anyway, a very easy way to roll a "custom" Linux distro for an appliance / specific tool is SUSE Studio, I am told, though I never used it myself.
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Red_Breast
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Post by Red_Breast »

I'm not sure if you're thinking of a separate 'ScummVM Box' or you want to run it on your Windows PC.

Some time ago whilst experimenting I made a separate device using old parts.
What fingolfin said is ultimately correct though. I can run ScummVM on many things and I'd used a certain piece of hardware in the build which I wanted for something else.

HOWEVER
I think it would make a good project if you're artistically inclined - which I'm not. I ended up with a 'ScummVM Box' which looked like an old (beige) PC. But if you use ScummVM and you're artistic then I think it would make a good project especially if you can use a bunch of old parts. I actually remember thinking once I had it running how cool it would be if it wasn't beige but used the ScummVM theme colours and the logo on the side.

I got a bunch of old PC parts and used a compact flash (CF) card as a hard drive. The modern tech for connecting internal hard drives is SATA. Previously (7 years about?) it was IDE (PATA) and IDE uses the same connections as a CF card. You just need an adaptor because of the different physical sizes. The same method is used in the (Classic) Amiga community sometimes.
I tried a few Linux distros. All I can say is be aware of the distros support. So many seem to come and go very quickly. I haven't tried SUSE Studio but given that it's SUSE then at least you know it won't disappear.
One thing I will say is that I don't think Puppy would be the best distro to use for such a project especially as you're new to Linux. A part of learning Linux is the way the packaging systems work and when learning surely it's best to start with the main ones like deb and rpm.

The problem with a project like this is if you're a Linux newbie then you're jumping in at the deep end.
I'll explain.
When you start with Linux you won't know much about how it works and how it does things different to Windows. So you need to start with something like Ubuntu or Linux Mint which is a distro which has a lot of followers here in the UK.
But it will start the same as buying a Windows PC. You'll get to know what apps you use and start to get rid of the pre-installed stuff you don't use.
Then after say a couple of years when you get to understand Linux you might start to do what I and many others do. Not only do you get to understand exactly what you need and what you don't in terms of apps but also you get to understand exactly what you need and what you don't to make the whole thing run.
At that point you can get something like the Debian NetInstall CD image which instead of the 'Live CD' type which many distros use and about 700MB (with a lot of compression) is only about 180MB. Once booted the installer asks what components you want (Desktop, File server, Web server etc.) You can refuse them all and then when you boot you'll have a terminal. Because, as I said earlier, you have some Linux experience by now then you'll know exactly what to input into the terminal.
When I made my short-lived ScummVM Box I believe I used the Ubuntu Minimal CD Image which is a similar thing to the Debian NetInstall although I don't think it even asks you if you want any additional components like Desktop. I should of pointed this out earlier but I had a vague memory that it wasn't official. I just checked though and it's still made and is official.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Insta ... /MinimalCD
You may or may not know that Linux is basically a kernel (the heart of the operating system) and not an OS in the sense that Windows is. Your average user will use a 'desktop' and with Linux there are many choices. Gnome is the name of the one that comes with Ubuntu's Live CD and along with KDE are probably the 2 most popular. You can get Ubuntu using the KDE desktop as a Live CD called Kubuntu. There are a number of other desktops and generally they are all less resource-intensive. I installed one of these 'light-weight' desktops on my ScummVM Box just to help with navigating and file-management as I also used it for DOSBox and for both of these programs I would compile my own builds.

If I didn't have a couple of hours spare I would never of typed all this but that's the story of my short-lived ScummVM Box.
Mau1wurf1977
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Re: How to create a ScummVM LiveCD/BootCD/USBBoot?

Post by Mau1wurf1977 »

marzipan wrote:
I was wondering, though, how easy or difficult it would be to create a similar/identical thing but with a more up-to-date build? Considering however that I'm mainly a Windows user and have barely dabbled in any Linux wizardry, I'm not rating my chances highly.
Be sure to check out BartPE, which allows you to make a XP live CD and load your own applications.

Can you run ScummVM simply from the folder (without installing it?) If so then it will work in PartPE!

You can put all your games and whatnot onto that CD as well of course...
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Who'sThere
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Post by Who'sThere »

BartPE isn't a good alternative to a Linux disc, for two reasons.

1. The sound can't be enabled, unless you have the skills to create a custom driver. There are a few pre-made plugins out there, but they are specific to the motherboard's chipset audio.

2. Not redistributable. 'Live discs' created from XP/Vista/7 are only legal if used by the creator, assuming they have a valid license to build one.

For a Linux solution, you might want to PM, or e-mail the Puppy Arcade maintainer over at these forums.

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... eb67f1d0ad

The latest version of PA (#9) has ScummVM 1.0.0. included.
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