SlimCD "Remaster"

[Robin Bowes]

squiffy said the following on 05/01/2006 15:53:
> Robin Bowes Wrote:
>
>>It didn't work for me - the command-line options to cdparanoia are
>>wrong, and there's a regex that doesn't work as intended.
>>
>>I'll post a patch when I've sorted it out.
>>
>>But, great concept.
>>
>>R.
>>
>
>
> Robin,
>
> You are way ahead of me on this one...I would not have recognized the
> command line options being wrong, anyway. However, it worked for me
> right out of the box on Kubuntu 5.10 from the command line...I mean
> zero issues.
>
> I have noticed a couple of things in the perl script that document
> reminders to the original author to 'fixme'. If you can post a patch,
> dandy neat-o for all.
>
> Lastly, I forgot to mention that there is a handle in the AutoRip perl
> script to call 'mp3gain'. If you add mp3gain (apt-get'able for all you
> Debian variant types), it will normalize your collection during the fly
> to prevent any screaming surprises on playback...hey, one less thing to
> worry about.
>
> Query Robin: what flavour of Linux are you running and what version of
> perl?

This was on Fedora Core 4 with:
cdparanoia-alpha9.8-25 (rpm)
perl-5.8.6-22 (rpm)

With the original code, autorip just exists with the message "Error
accessing CD:"

I made the following changes to make it work:

--- autorip.orig 2006-01-04 20:38:34.000000000 +0000
+++ autorip 2006-01-05 02:03:30.000000000 +0000
@@ -363,9 +363,9 @@
print "Waiting for next disk...\n";
{
while (1) {
- my $error = `$cdparanoia -qQ 2>&1`;
+ my $error = `$cdparanoia -vsQ 2>&1`;
last if (($? >> 8) == 0);
- unless ($error =~ m/^004: /) {
+ unless ($error =~ m/^004: /xms) {
print "Error accessing CD: $error\n";
exit(1);
}

I can't see how using -q in the cdparanoia options can ever have worked
as the following code depends on checking the output of the command
which is supressed by the -q option.

This is the output from cdparanoia if there is no disc in the drive:

cdparanoia III release 9.8 (March 23, 2001)
(C) 2001 Monty <monty (AT) xiph (DOT) org> and Xiphophorus

Report bugs to paranoia (AT) xiph (DOT) org
http://www.xiph.org/paranoia/

Checking /dev/cdrom for cdrom...
DMA scatter/gather table entries: 1
table entry size: 131072 bytes
maximum theoretical transfer: 55 sectors
Setting default read size to 24 sectors (56448 bytes).


CDROM model sensed sensed: SONY DVD RW DRU-500A 1.0g

Checking for SCSI emulation...
Drive is ATAPI (using SCSI host adaptor emulation)

Checking for MMC style command set...
Drive is MMC style

Error reading command:
43 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 0c 00
004: Unable to read table of contents header

Unable to open disc. Is there an audio CD in the drive?

Autorip is simply checking for the "004: " string at the start of a
line. Or rather is wasn't because the regex didn't work as the author
expected. Again, I don't see how this can ever have worked!

I too will probably modify the script to produce different file names,
use flac, etc. etc.

It will be great for all CDs that are in FreeDB + cddb. But most of mine
aren't so I'll still have to rip manually.

I will be interesting to compare rips on EAC with cdparanoia. I wonder
if cdparanoia uses the drive offest?

R.
--
http://robinbowes.com

If a man speaks in a forest,
and his wife's not there,
is he still wrong?

[mherger]

> I had looked through the directory trees on SlimCD and tried building
> my own from scratch, with success for x86, PPC and Xbox. Since I was

PPC? You'd have to replace all the binaries. Quite a task...

> running a dedicated server though, I removed the Java runtime since I
> didn't need SoftSqueeze and I go on runlevel 2 only.

This must have reduced the images' size by 50%

> However, my scripting skills are zero (self training in progress though
> :-), so reproducing your remaster via automated copying and removal is
> not an option for me without some tips from someone like you (including
> any links for self-training).

Well, these scripts are _very_ basic scripting. I have two folders
(source.mh, newcd.mh - you'll recognize those names, I guess) where I put
everything I want to copy. They represent the build's folders structure
like eg. source.mh/etc/skel. I then copy the original files to source and
newcd, remove everything I don't want, copy everything from my sourc.mh
and newcd.mh folders over the original folder and finally start the cd
build. Look at this (stripped down and simplified):

-------------------------------
#!/bin/sh
# make build directories
mkdir source newcd newcd/KNOPPIX

# copy the source files from the original CD
cp -Rp /cdrom/boot /cdrom/lost+found /cdrom/index.html newcd
cp -Rp /KNOPPIX/* /KNOPPIX/.bash_profile source

# remove unwanted stuff: basically add a "rm -f ..." for any item you
don't need
rm -rf source/usr/bin/xmms source/usr/bin/wmxmms source/usr/lib/xmms
....

# copy my own files over the build folders
cp -Rp source.mh/* source
cp -Rp newcd.mh/* newcd

# start the well known image build process
mkisofs -R source | create_compressed_fs - 65536 > newcd/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX
mkisofs -no-pad ... -o slimcd.iso newcd
-------------------------------

That's all the scripting magic there is :-).

> I see directories in SlimCD related to your stuff (/opt/SlimCD and
> /opt/slimserver), but I also see a bunch of stuff in /usr/local/bin AND
> /usr/bin.

Yeah, that's due to my lazyness: I had built the perl version I'm using on
SlimCD for another box, where I did not want to touch the existing perl
installation (http://www.herger.net/slim/detail.php?nr=612). It therefore
was built for use in /usr/local/bin. But there are some scripts on DSL
which expect perl to be in /usr/bin. I therefore created links from one
place to the other. But the files only exist once.

> I am looking to go in the direction of a LiveCD that acts as an install
> CD for DSL/X-DSL and SlimServer in a package that will format a drive,
> install the OS and slimserver with all the goodies needed (including
> Samba, etc.).

Samba's binaries are already included with SlimCD. I thought about
building a minimalistic smb.conf and a menu entry to start it for the next
release.

> Any guidance you can offer on this thread or PM would be appreciated.

I'll give some more details about my build scripts when I'm back home.

--

Michael

-----------------------------------------------------------
Help translate SlimServer by using the
SlimString Translation Helper (http://www.herger.net/slim/)

[squiffy]

>

> running a dedicated server though, I removed the Java runtime since I didn't need SoftSqueeze and I go on runlevel 2 only.

This must have reduced the images' size by 50%

I can't say I remember now how much it reduced, but I remember it being around 65 MB when I was done with an ISO and the KNOPPIX file was finished about 33% faster compressing than with Java.

> Any guidance you can offer on this thread or PM would be appreciated.

I'll give some more details about my build scripts when I'm back home.

--

Michael

---------------------------------

Michael,

Your help is much appreciated. The reason I focused on the Xbox was the cost to get one (ZERO in my case) since a friend gave me a dead one to 'fix'.

Second, the cost of electricity in Toronto has skyrocketed and the Xbox consumes less than 60W in constant operation (based on average power draw), so that's less than 1/4 of what a PC would consume at provides good performance compared to the Network Attached storage slugs (733 MHz Celeron compared to a 266 MHz Intel xScale processor in most cases)

Third, it was educational to do the conversion to a Linux PC, allowing replacement of the hard drive and DVD-ROM to something better/bigger

Last, the box is quiet compared to a PC (like laptop quiet), so you can place it anywhere, and still connect a television and USB peripherals (with a home made adapter) such as a keyboard and mouse. But since SSH is part of DSL/X-DSL, I can log in remotely and do system management, have no television and only use the Xbox controller.

I look forward to hearing from you when you are back.

Cheers,

Squiff

[Milhouse]

Squiffy - is your XBox a standard unit running SlimCD or did you have to "modify" (ie. chip) the XBOX? If unmodified it would certainly be an interesting option for relatively quiet & cheap hardware. If modifications are required, any ideas on what is necesaary and how you go about it?

The original XBox seems to be going for about £100 in the UK. I wonder how much longer the original XBox will continue to be sold before it is discontinued in favour of the 360?

[Milhouse]

I found this rather useful Wiki which explains the two methods (software and hardware) for running Linux on an XBox, with only the hardware method allowing the replacement of the hard drive which will most likely be necessary for increased music storage. However if you know of another way...

http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/FAQ

[Robin Bowes]

Milhouse said the following on 06/01/2006 20:44:
> I found this rather useful Wiki which explains the two methods (software
> and hardware) for running Linux on an XBox, with only the hardware
> method allowing the replacement of the hard drive which will most
> likely be necessary for increased music storage. However if you know of
> another way...
>
> http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/FAQ

Would it not be possible to host the music on an external USB disc? Of
course, this is no longer a single box solution, but it saves replacing
the XBox HDD.

R.
--
http://robinbowes.com

If a man speaks in a forest,
and his wife's not there,
is he still wrong?

[Milhouse]

Would it not be possible to host the music on an external USB disc? Of course, this is no longer a single box solution, but it saves replacing the XBox HDD.

I guess that has two downsides - 1) additional cost and 2) additional noise (ie. the second, external disk drive).

My aim would be to build a cheap and quiet solution... there seem to be several old XBoxen on ebay which is another source of cheap (and even pre-modded) units.

[squiffy]

As a follow up to the recent posts above...

As regards using USB: in theory possible, but IMHO not a great solution. Why? You've got to build a patch cable or buy (lik-sang sells them) one; AND, the USB ports are version 1.1 _not_ 2.0 AFAIK from the searching I've done. So, you get into a bandwidth issue with an external drive.

In reference to the modchip stuff: The modchip is definitely the way to go IF you've got the money. You get the best of all worlds...you can throw in a bigger HDD, you keep Xbox gaming and Xbox Live in play and you can boot the thing into Linux using pure Cromwell, all selectable from the modchip dashboard.

However, I wanted to have a dedicated unit, so I went the hardware mod route and flashed the Xbox TSOP with Cromwell BIOS/bootloader. I'm full on Linux (X-DSL) for a bunch of reasons unrelated to the SlimServer piece (not related to this thread or site though -- PM me if you're interested).

Lastly, in relation to running as a Live CD a la SlimCD...be very careful here. A search of Michael Hergers posts and his site (www.herger.net) all warn about hardware minimums. A stock Xbox has only 64 MB of ram and the Xbox Linux project runs Xwindows over a framebuffer like a laptop. The video system in an Xbox reserves 4 MB of system RAM for itself and plays with the remaining 60.

So, running SlimCD at runlevel 5, the Xbox hardware will be running really hard. If someone wants to take on the task of making some minor mods to SlimCD by remastering X-DSL with the Slim goodies on it BUT default to runlevel 2, could be a working solution.

I wanted a native X-DSL install, since I get a SlimServer (I call a XlimXerver), with my music collection, SaMBa services (for file transfer), SSH for sysadmin and a large hard drive partition for music storage, podcasts, etc.

Since I inherited the Xbox (dead on arrival), had the MechAssault game, USB bits to make the adapter, conductive pen, CF card for the savegames needed, and a 40 GB Maxtor lying around, my cost was $0. That's a nice price for a dedicated MP3 server.

Just a project to keep me off the streets and swimming in soldering fumes.

All up, do your research....the guys who have also worked on the NAS slugs and LinkStations also provide excellent solutions at minimal expense. Someone else also used a thin client system and a USB hard drive to get his Slim in play.

Maybe those following this thread could enlighten me...why would you _not_ want to have the Xbox XlimXerver up 24/7. If it's Xbox gaming that you're after, would it be better to keep it an Xbox and use a PC/Mac, since the installation and work is a lot easier?

Why reinvent the wheel when the Slim developers have done such an excellent job up front with the Windoze install binary.

[squiffy]

After considering some of the posts above concerning SlimCD,
external drives, SoftModded Xboxes, etc. I have a few thoughts:

1) In reference to the Xbox-linux folks "steering" you to the
hardware mod, I really think that just them showcasing Cromwell
BIOS and avoid much of the legal wrangling surrounding the "grey"
nature of chipping your Xbox. Certainly, the softmod could work
well if you only want a part time SlimServer. This is really a
discussion best left to their forum...not really here.

2) For the ModChip fans...yes, you can only get ALL the
advantages of a large drive, Xbox Live! and alternative BIOS's
with a ModChip.

3) For the fellow wondering about sources of used Xboxes...the
vintage of hardware is actually important as pre-November 2003
boxes are the easiest to modify with the Hardware and Software
preparations and they will be the cheapest because they are
older.

4) As regards the software mod, I believe it would be possible to
remaster Michael Herger's excellent SlimCD product to lay over
top X-DSL Linux and run as a LiveCD at runlevel 2. However, you
would have to either transfer music via FTP or a hard drive
transplant with all your music, or pre-configure the remastered
LiveCD with SaMBa and SSH ready to go AND reset passwords for
security reasons. Then you'd have a solution that is also power
failure resistant since the OS is read-only. I might take that on
as a later project for giggles and education.

5) Last...there was someone wondering about a USB drive for
music. Again, some remastering would require creating a mount
point in the SlimCD LiveCD to allow a seamless use of the disc
without SSH'ing into the unit, since it should really be runlevel
2. After some thought into this, the 11 MBps speed limit of a USB
drive shouldn't be a big issue as long as the number of streams
is limited on your network.

All up, I am _very_ happy with my runlevel 2 XlimXerver unit.
It's quiet, just sits in the corner happily playing away. The
next addition will be a small FM transmitter kit that will take a
constant random stream and let me tune in anywhere within about
100 meter (330 feet).

Cheers to all.

Squiff

[Craig, James (IT)]

OK one more question then, why the emphasis on SlimCD and running from a
CD?
Wouldn't one just install x-dsl on the hard drive and boot from there?

I am considering using the xbox running Linux to back up all my data
regularly (including music) and to run SlimServer 24x7 from.
This would allow me to use my main Squeezebox with wires. I think that
using it as a music server for iTunes on my desktop (with somewhat
unreliable wireless connection) seems a bit ambitious so I figure I'll
keep my primary copy of all the music on my PC.

When I get bored of playing games on it that is...

James
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