BG-Rescue Linux is a very small Linux distribution (download-size < 20MB) which is intended mainly for rescue purposes.
The system runs entirely in ram and can be booted either from USB-stick or CD-ROM. It can be booted either on BIOS or UEFI hardware. Besides i386 it also includes a 64bit Linux kernel generating the possibility to chroot into a 64bit (amd64) userspace environment. The system can serve as a full rescue / backup / restore system for Linux or Windows based computers or to facilitate the installation of a recent Debian oder Ubuntu Linux via debootstrap.
All the relevant major filesystems and many network cards are supported as well as mounting samba (cifs) and nfs shares over network. A wide range of disk- and filesystem utilities as well as strong compression tools are integrated, including a 64bit version of lrzip. A graphical frontend (ytree) is also included.
Installing Debian Linux arm64 on a RaspberryPi Zero 2 W
Optionally including ARDOP and PAT to connect WINLINK 2000
Even though it would be possible to install a 64bit Debian Linux arm64 with a Debian kernel on the RaspberryPi Zero 2 W it nowadays (05/2024) still makes sense to include the specialized LINUX kernel from the RaspberryPi foundation. This way one will avoid problems with the usb host under heavy load (dwc2). The resulting image should be able to run on any ARMv8-RaspberryPi like all RaspberryPi's from RaspberryPi 3 onwards (including ZERO 2). On RaspberryPi 1, 2 and ZERO it is neccessary to use armhf.
HAM radio amateurs can use such a light system to connect the WINLINK 2000 system to send emails over short wave radio without internet connection. The web-based client is PAT and the data is exchanged over ARDOP. Time and position can optionally be configured with a usb GPS dongle.
Installing Debian (Raspbian) Linux armhf on a RaspberryPi
Optionally including ARDOP and PAT to connect WINLINK 2000
Even though it would be possible to use a predefined image to run a RaspberryPi it is still possible to create a custom installation with limited effort. The resulting image should be able to run on any RaspberryPi. On RaspberryPi 1, 2 and ZERO it is neccessary to use armhf, on all RaspberryPi's from RaspberryPi 3 onwards (including ZERO 2) you could also use arm64.
HAM radio amateurs can use such a light system to connect the WINLINK 2000 system to send emails over short wave radio without internet connection. The web-based client is PAT and the data is exchanged over ARDOP. Time and position can optionally be configured with a usb GPS dongle.
Installing Debian Linux arm64 on a RaspberryPi 3 Model B+
Installing Debian Linux arm64 on a RaspberryPi 3 Model B+ is a HOWTO which gives some additional information concerning this issue. The installation of a 64bit Debian Linux on a RaspberryPi 3 Model B+. Booting a system like this with u-boot is not straight forward but possible once the syntax is understood.
Installing Debian Linux armhf on a Bananapi Pro
Installing Debian Linux on a Bananapi Pro is a HOWTO which gives some additional information concerning this issue. The installation of a Debian Linux on a Bananapi Pro. Booting a system like this with u-boot is not straight forward but possible once the syntax is understood.
COMPILE_LINUX_KERNEL is a script to build a custom linux kernel and package it indipendently from the used distribution together with a BG-InitRamFS as initrd.
The main purpose is to be able to package and use a selfcompiled linux kernel without having to make use of distribution-dependent scripts or tools. The kernel, its headers and modules and the BG-InitRamFS will be packaged together in one tar archive which can easily be spread to different systems.
BG-InitRamFS is a simple initramfs to run LVM2, decode the root parameter and to finally mount root.
It supports LVM2, UUID, LABEL and LILO-style "root" parameters. It is compatible with i386 and amd64 systems and depends on devtmpfs. The primary use for this project is when you use your own kernel with everything for root-access compiled in but want to use a modern way of passing the root parameter or want to use LVM2.
Get-DEBIAN allows You to automatically create a local debian mirror of one specific release in one specific architecture, optionally with contrib and non-free.
Packages are downloaded from a Debian GNU/Linux server and of course You can freely choose release, arch and server.
BG-Tiny Linux Bootdisk is a Linux bootdisk that doesn't use a ramdisk, so it will run on computers with very little ram. It is basically a somewhat extended fork of Tiny Linux Bootdisk.
BG-Tiny Linux Bootdisk can be used to install either an old Windows version or a linux-2.4 Debian GNU/Linux version (eg Woody or Lenny) on an old 4MB-RAM computer which does not have or has an unsupported cdrom-drive using parallel-link network with a parallel Laplink-cable.
SkatOS is a bootable stand alone XSkat card playing system that fits on either one single floppy disk or one eltorito-boot cd.
It features full network client/server support so You can play Skat over LAN with Your friends. It includes DHCP client support to automagically configure Your network devices.
SkatOSWM is a very small window manager which centers all new windows on the screen. This is the only supported feature. Perhaps it is very oversized to even name it a window manager...
Get-NonFree-NonUS allows You to automatically download non-free and/or non-US Packages from a Debian GNU/Linux server and generate an unofficial iso image which will be either a cdrom, dvd or blueray image depending on its size. You can freely choose release, arch and server.
| File | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| busybox-1.00-unzip.patch.gz | BusyBox 1.00 patch to include *working* unzip support | |
| fdimage.exe | Tool for writing floppy images to floppy (Dos/Windows 9x/ME/NT/2k/XP) | |
| gnupg_1.4.8-bg-1.diff.gz | Unofficial debian patch for GnuPG 1.4.8 adding the loop_aes patch | |
| gnupg-1.4.11-RSA_8192-idea-loop_aes.patch.gz | Patch for GnuPG 1.4.11 adding 8192bit RSA-keys, IDEA and the loop_aes patch | |
| gnupg-1.4.19-RSA_8192-loop_aes.patch.gz | Patch for GnuPG 1.4.19 adding 8192bit RSA-keys and the loop_aes patch | |
| grub-1.99-keep_quiet.patch.gz | Patch for GRUB 1.99 to deactivate routine boot messages (use with SPLASH to avoid TEXT) | |
| grub-2.02~beta2-keep_quiet.patch.gz | Patch for GRUB 2.02 to deactivate routine boot messages (use with SPLASH to avoid TEXT) | |
| grub-1.99-NO_probe_floppy.patch.gz | Patch for GRUB 1.99 to deactivate floppy probing (fd0 read error) | |
| grub-2.02~beta2-NO_probe_floppy.patch.gz | Patch for GRUB 2.02 to deactivate floppy probing (fd0 read error) | |
| gunzip.exe | TOOL for extracting ".gz" archives - runs under Dos/Windows | |
| host.def | My host.def for compiling KDrive TinyX 4.2.1 under uClibc 0.9.24 | |
| host-0.9.23.def | My host.def for compiling KDrive TinyX 4.2.1 under uClibc 0.9.23 | |
| initrd-simple.tar.gz | Simple Debian-style initrd structure | |
| intel-v92ham-453.tgz | Creatix HAM (Intel Ambient) driver for Linux 2.4 | |
| Intel-v92ham-453-modversions-2.patch | Patch for Creatix HAM 2.4 driver which enables modversions and optional devfs compatibility | |
| kqemu_1.4.0pre1_init_MUTEX_smplock.tar.bz2 | KQEMU - latest version patched to compile against 2.6.39 | |
| kqemu_1.4.0pre1_init_MUTEX_smplock_kmalloc.tar.bz2 | KQEMU - latest version patched to compile against 3.16.x | |
| kqemu_1.4.0pre1_init_MUTEX_smplock_kmalloc_vmalloc.tar.bz2 | KQEMU - latest version patched to compile against 4.3 | |
| kqemu_1.4.0pre1_init_MUTEX_smplock_kmalloc_vmalloc_getuserpages.tar.bz2 | KQEMU - latest version patched to compile against 4.6.2 | |
| linux-2.2.25-Os.patch | Patch for compiling LINUX-2.2.25 with -Os (smaller kernel) | |
| linux-2.2.25-ext3-0.0.7a.patch.bz2 | Patch for LINUX-2.2.25 which adds Ext3FS | |
| linux-2.2.26-devps-9_25_2000.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.2.26 which adds devps and devmtab (Use with BusyBox) | |
| linux-2.4.28-de-latin1-nodeadkeys.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.28 which adds support for german keyboard. | |
| linux-2.4.29-acpi-20040326.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.29 which adds support for ACPI | |
| linux-2.4.29-cpufreq-20050205.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.29 which adds support for cpufreq | |
| linux-2.4.31-bg.patch.bz2 | Patch for LINUX-2.4.31 which adds: cloop, loop-AES, ntfs, PocketBoy and shfs. | |
| linux-2.4.31-bgX2.patch.bz2 | Patch for LINUX-2.4.31 which adds: cloop, ide, loop-AES, low-latency, ntfs, PocketBoy, preempt and shfs. | |
| linux-2.4.31-bgX3.patch.bz2 | Patch for LINUX-2.4.31 which adds: cloop, ide, kconfig, loop-AES, low-latency, ntfs, PocketBoy, preempt and shfs. | |
| linux-2.4.31-bgX4.patch.bz2 | Patch for LINUX-2.4.31 which adds: cloop, hf3, ide, kconfig, loop-AES, ntfs, PocketBoy, and shfs. | |
| linux-2.4.31-hf3.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.31 which adds some hotfixes for 2.4 mainline kernels | |
| linux-2.4.31-low-latency.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.31 which adds support for low latency | |
| linux-2.4.31-preempt.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.31 which adds support for preemptive kernel | |
| linux-2.4.31-rescue-Os.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.31 which compiles with -Os and as "2.4.31-rescue" | |
| linux-2.4.34-bzip2-1.5a.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.34 which adds support for bzip2-compression of kernel and initrd | |
| linux-2.4.34-ide.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.34 which adds some Debian ide patches | |
| linux-2.4.34-kconfig.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.34 which adds /proc/config.gz | |
| linux-2.4.34-loop-AES-v3.1e.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.34 which adds support for encrypted loop devices | |
| linux-2.4.34-lufs-0.9.7.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.34 which adds support for Linux Userland File System | |
| linux-2.4.34-lzma_initrd.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.34 which adds support for LZMA compressed initrd | |
| linux-2.4.34-lzma_vmlinuz.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.34 which adds support for LZMA compressed kernel | |
| linux-2.4.34-lzma+inittar.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.34 which adds support for LZMA compressed initrd, kernel, inittar and automatic inittar loading from floppy (change_floppy) | |
| linux-2.4.34-shfs-0.35.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.34 which adds support for SHFS 0.35 (Filesystem over ssh) | |
| linux-2.4.36-cloop-2.01.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.36 which adds support for compressed loop devices | |
| linux-2.4.36-dvdrw.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.36 which adds support for direct writing of DVD+RW | |
| linux-2.4.36-fuse-2.5.3.patch.bz2 | Patch for LINUX-2.4.36 which adds support for Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) | |
| linux-2.4.36-lzma+inittar.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.36 which adds support for LZMA compressed initrd, kernel, inittar and automatic inittar loading from floppy (change_floppy) | |
| linux-2.4.36-ntfs-2.1.6b.patch.bz2 | Patch for LINUX-2.4.36 which adds support for the *NEW* NTFS 2.1.6b driver | |
| linux-2.4.36-pocketboy.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.36 which adds support for Pearl Pocket Boy USB-to-IDE Adaptor | |
| linux-2.4.36-sc92031.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.36 which adds support for the SC92031 / RTL8139D ethernet adaptor | |
| linux-2.4.37.11-cloop-2.01.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.37.11 which adds support for compressed loop devices | |
| linux-2.4.37.11-devmapper-ioctl-VFS-lock.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.37.11 which adds support for DeviceMapper and therefore LVM2 | |
| linux-2.4.37.11-dvdrw.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.37.11 which adds support for direct writing of DVD+RW | |
| linux-2.4.37.11-fuse-2.5.3.patch.bz2 | Patch for LINUX-2.4.37.11 which adds support for Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE) | |
| linux-2.4.37.11-lzma+inittar.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.37.11 which adds support for LZMA compressed initrd/kernel/inittar and automatic inittar loading from floppy (change_floppy) | |
| linux-2.4.37.11-pocketboy.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.37.11 which adds support for Pearl Pocket Boy USB-to-IDE Adaptor | |
| linux-2.4.37.11-sc92031.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.4.37.11 which adds support for the SC92031 / RTL8139D ethernet adaptor | |
| linux-2.6.22.1-cherry.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.6.22.1 which adds support for Cherry Cymotion Master keyboards | |
| linux-2.6.23-ma620.patch.gz | Patch for LINUX-2.6.23 which adds highspeed support for the MA-620 infraded adaptor | |
| linld.com | LinLD 0.97 - Tool for staring LINUX from Dos | |
| linuxrc-1.2.2.c | Simple Linuxrc program for Loop Root | |
| linuxrc-2.0.0.c | Simple Linuxrc program for Loop Root | |
| loadlin-1.6f.exe | Loadlin 1.6f - Tool for staring LINUX from Dos | |
| r-333-5-creatix_ham_kernel-2.2-1.0.tgz | Creatix HAM (Intel Ambient) driver for Linux 2.2 | |
| rawrite2.exe | Tool for writing floppy images to floppy (Dos) | |
| rawwrtxp.exe | GRAPHICAL TOOL for writing image files to floppy discs - runs under Windows 9x/ME/NT/2k/XP | |
| RedAlert_3.03p_EXTENDED_PATCH.zip | Patch for Command & Conquer RedAlert 1: Upgrade to version 3.03p with some extras | |
| woody-bmp.tar.bz2 | LILO-Bootlogo for Debian 3.0 Woody | |
| vgacp625.zip | VGA-Copy/486 6.25 FREEWARE (Dos/Windows) | |
| sha1sums.txt | SHA1SUMs |