This howto deals with creating a customized DVD based on an Opensuse 10.2 Installation DVD. You'll get this one right here. The easiest way to remaster Opensuse is to use the tools shipped with this distribution ;-). This means: makeSUSEdvd and createpackagedescr.

1. Step: Creating Working Directory

Okay after you've downloaded the Opensuse 10.2, move it into the folder you want to work in. If you want to add new packages to your custom DVD make use of the -a switch of makeSUSEdvd. (And don't forget the -i switch in order to prevent makeSUSEdvd from creating a new iso and deleting the working directory.

$workdir="/path/to/your/workdir"
$savedir="/path/to/your/saveddir"
mkSUSEdvd -a /path/to/your/own/rpms -d . -i

After this you'll have an dir called DVD1 here. Since makeSUSEdvd is a bit stupid, you'll have to save this working directory, because every time you create a iso image this dir get's deleted. (Or you fix this behaviour in the makeSUSEdvd script (it isn't that hard, it's written in bash ;-))

cp -r $workdir  $savedir

Okay, this dir is now writeable and we can start to customise it At first please have a look into ./suse/x8664/descr/ there will be a file called makeSUSEdvd-10.2-145-x8664.pat (if the dvd is a x86_64 one). This pattern includes all packages you've added manually with the -a switch to the dvd. We'll use this one later.

if you have a look into ./suse you'll see that there are directly your rpms. Since this is not very nice, move the noarch ones into the noarch-folder and the arch specific ones into the x86_64 folder.

2. Step: Creating Autoyast Profile

In order to create a nice and working autoyast profile you'll have either to know much about xml and the correct syntax of this file, or you'll install once a pure Opensuse 10.2 and install then the autoyast module. Autoyast has the very nice feature that you can create a autoyast profile for the running system. Please do so and use this one then to modify later. This is the easiest way to get a nice and working autoinst.xml file. But please note: Don't try to modify the package list which is going to be installed on the new system with the graphical tool. It really doesn't work for me (If I selected 50 packages, saved and then switch again into the package selection dialog all my older changes (the 50 packages) are lost and I must manually add them again.) Furthermore you should ensure that the settings which are autogenerated are really correct. Please use a text editor to do so and not autoyast itself. There are many good howtos around how to create a autoyast profile, so I won't go in detail here more. If you are not able to search with google try this. This is the official (and very good) howto and explanation about autoyast.

If you are fine with the setitngs save this settings as "autoinst.xml". Please do not disturb on the error msg after saving this file about validating errors.. There are no errors, somehow this check is broken.

3. Step: Boot the DVD & using autoyast

Change into the working direcotry and at first modify the isolinux configuration. To do so have a look into boot/x86_64/loader/isolinux.cfg. Append here to the kernel options this line:

install="dvd:///" autoyast=default

Then save your generated autoinst.xml in the top dir of the DVD. Then go back one step out of the DVD1 dir and call

makeSUSEdvd  -C

The -C switch means: continue. Now this script will generate a iso image for you. Now have fun with your generated iso image