Regal Tails Mac OS

usb_bootable_disk_image

Corresponding ticket:

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  • Specific problems
    • Growing system partition during boot
    • Installing
      • from Windows
      • from macOS

A number of theproblems we've identified with the installation processwill be fixed by generating, distributing and installing Tails asa disk image that, once copied bit-by-bit to a USB stick, producesa final Tails (GPT, UEFI-bootable, ready to get a persistentvolume).

The list of tasks is being worked on in fundraising.git.It should be converted into subtasks of atsome point.

Generating

live-build can generate hdd images. Alternatively, we canpost-process our ISO image to create a USB-bootable disk image.

Open questions:

  • What size should the system partition be? Do we grow the systempartition on first boot (from the initramfs) e.g.with cloud-init or the Rasbian tools(https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/noobs/,https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/raspbian/)?
  • What about DVD support? Can we stop distributing an ISO imagesome day?

Growing system partition during boot

Corresponding ticket:

Regal Tails Mac Os X

The plan is to do this in a partitioning script in the initramfs. There are different stages in the initramfs, which are explained in the (pretty useful) man page for initramfs-tools.

The initramfs in Tails is customized by live-boot, which is poorly documented.

Some notes about the initramfs/live-boot process

This is how the scripts in /scripts/live-realpremount are executed:

This is how /dev/sda1 is mounted:

/dev/sda1 is mounted before the scripts in /scripts/live-realpremount are executed.

The last stage executed before /dev/sda1 is mounted is init-premount.

Debugging

Useful kernel command-line parameters:

  • debug: Prints every command executed during initramfs to /run/initramfs/initramfs.debug
  • break=premount: Drops into a shell before executing the init-premount stage

Distributing

XXX: impact on mirrors' storage space?

Installing

Common bits

  • Self-installable executable download:
    • We need to investigate if we can Cross-compile a 3rd party dd GUItool such as Etcher and distribute it from our website.
    • Ask Etcher about self installable bundle.

from Windows

Etcher

See below 'from macOS'.

Rufus

Regal tails mac os 11
  • CLI mode: in progress but not on priority list of the developer
  • Complicated UX
    • too many options
    • need to download supplementary files for syslinux version
    • not clear which partition scheme to use even though it selects oneautomatically
    • user has to manually choose to install our ISOhybrided image either usingISO or DD mode.
  • License: GnuGPL
  • : Boots (tested in legacy mode)
    • When burnt in 'DD' mode, the checksums match!
Tails

Win32 Disk Imager

  • Homepage: https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/
  • License: GPL
  • Tested version: 1.0 from 2017-03-07
  • Work on: Windows 7+
  • UI is quite simple.
  • Requires proper installing, clicking on the .exe is not enough (unlikeUUI).
  • Doesn't have a filter for ISO images in its file chooser (but I couldchoose to see all files and select an ISO image).
  • Takes 30 minutes to do the copy.
  • Checksum of the resulting USB stick matches the checksum of the ISO image.

from macOS

Etcher

  • Tested version: 1.3.1 from 2018-01-23
  • Windows, macOS, Linux (deb & rpm)
  • no official Debian images
  • CLI mode: Etcher CLI is experimental, it's adifferent executable than the GUI one, so we can suppose that it can't be runto launch the GUI with the right options.
  • License: Apache
  • : images created with Etcher boot (in legacy mode at least) and checksums match
  • Requires macOS 10.9 (Mavericks) or newer(which means a Mac from ~2007-2009 or newer)
  • Takes 5 minutes to do the copy.
  • Has both a portable and installable version for Windows

macOS Disk Utility

  • Tested version: Mac OS X Lion
  • I get an error ('invalid source') when I try to either:
    • Copy a Tails 3.5 ISO image onto a USB stick.
    • Restore the disk image of a full USB stick installed using @dd@.
    • Restart the disk image of the system partition of a USB stick installed using @dd@.

from Linux

Regal Tails Mac Os Download

  • GNOME Disks has a Restore Disk Image feature that basically doesdd with a nice progress bar.
  • Investigate if we can get Etcher into Debian, which would allow allusers to follow the same process.

Regal Tails Mac Os 11

Upgrading

This approach does not make full, manual upgrades any simpler. For theideas we have to fix that other problem, see .