We’ve written about more than one live CD here at MakeUseOf. I myself recently wrote a manual called 50 Uses for Live CDs. These amazing tools can accomplish a lot, from giving you access to a computer that’s otherwise completely busted to more advanced features like scanning a computer for viruses. Many bootable tools fill only one purpose, however, leaving many a techie’s desk littered with recently burned tools. Don’t be like that; use YUMI to combine all of your tools onto one USB disk.

We’ve written about tools that allow you to boot live environments from USB. UNetBootIn and LinuxLive are just two examples. These tools however cannot install multiple environments to one disk. For that, you’re going to need YUMI.

Using This Tool

To get started, you’ll first need to download YUMI. The program comes as a portable Windows program (I’ll write about a similar Linux tool soon). If you’ve used UNetBootIn before, the interface will feel familiar when you start YUMI up:

Scroll through the list to pick a live environment. If you have the ISO already, you can browse for it. Note that the file name will have to match exactly what YUMI states the file name should be in order for you to find it. Not every ISO file will show up in the browser.

If you don’t have the file, you can quickly find the download by clicking the “Download The ISO” link. This will open your browser to start the download and you’ll have to point YUMI to the downloaded file, once it’s done. At this point you can simply click install and the process of installing your live environment to USB will begin.

Once this process is done you’ll be asked if your want to repeat the process. You can keep adding more and more environments until you run out of space on your disk.

When you boot from this CD you’ll be presented with a menu:

Just browse to the environment you want, hit enter and you’ll be on your way.

Many Supported Tools

There are many supported distributions and environments for this disk. Some highlights include:

• Windows Vista/7 installation disks
• Ubuntu and it’s many versions.
• Fedora
• Clonezilla
• GParted

There’s a heck of a lot more. Check the YUMI download page for a complete list.

One thing to keep in mind though. Having Windows and Ubuntu on the same USB drive with this tool causes problems. Be sure to read the download page’s documentation carefully if you want to do this. There’s a tip on the page.

Conclusion

In many ways this is the Holy Grail of bootable tool creators. A collection of ISOs can become a single USB disk ready to boot just about everything. Combine this with a good sized thumb drive, or even an external hard drive, and you can make yourself a really powerful tools.

Thanks to Josh Peterson for pointing YUMI out to me! What tools did you add to your disk? Share in the comments below.

Kdenlive is a free and cross-platform video editor that will probably mean more to your average Linux user than Windows or Mac types. The shortage of stable, usable and powerful editing suites on the Linux platform is the main reason for this.

If you’re searching for a decent, all-in-one solution for editing video on your Linux system then Kdenlive might just be the program you’re looking for.

Workspace & Features

If you’ve ever edited video before then you’ll probably feel instantly at home with Kdenlive, which is a typical non-linear video editor. If you’re a newcomer to the world of video editing then the interface shouldn’t put you off either.

The editor supports capture from a variety of devices, including Video4Linux compatibles and Firewire cameras as well as screen capture from the desktop. You can check if your device is supported on this compatibility list.

All the favourites are there – the timeline, a monitor window (with tabs for switching between individual clips and the whole production), file browser, transition window and a menu full of options and features. Overall the workspace is clean, attractive and responsive; if a little limited at times.

The program has a fairly extensive range of features, including a very handy transcoder. Transcoding video is as simple as adding source files to your project with the Add Clip button, right clicking your selection in the file browser and choosing Transcode. Kdenlive can do transcode to the popular DNxHD editing codec in two clicks and completely removes the need to download additional converters or doing it manually via command line.

Cutting up your freshly transcoded video into clips for arrangement on the timeline isn’t difficult, especially if you use the handy keyboard shortcuts. By default “I” is your in-point, “O” is your out-point and “Ctrl+I” creates a clip from your chosen area. Then it’s just a simple case of dragging your newly made clip onto the timeline.

Kdenlive also includes stop-motion capture, which by default worked using my laptop’s webcam. If you have a video device that is configured for use with Linux then there’s little reason you wouldn’t be able to use it for stop-motion here too.

Transitions, Effects & Usability

There’s a decent array of transitions and effects included with Kdenlive, and once you’ve read the how-to, adding them to the timeline is a fairly easy affair. Some users might find the naming and function of some effects and transitions confusing, as they don’t really give much clue as to what the selection does. This makes Kdenlive feel a little less user friendly than it could be at times.

Another thing that makes the program seem slightly unintuitive are the effects, and their applications. Instead of being able to change the volume of a clip by default in your timeline, volume is instead an effect that needs to be selected and applied. Fortunately you can keyframe it, but it’s nowhere near as quick or straightforward as some of the more advanced (and admittedly costly) non-linear editors out there.

On the Ubuntu 10.10 system I’m currently using, Kdenlive was incredibly stable. I’ve not actually enjoyed this level of stability from a Linux video editor ever, and I’ve tried nearly all of them. Whilst editing together a 7 minute 720p video with effects, transitions, images, additional audio and a lot of source videos the program crashed once in the entire editing process (don’t hit Save whilst you’re previewing your creation).

The only “major” problem I had were my sub-clips (selections of video within other files) somehow hid themselves and there was no clear way of getting them back. Eventually I worked out that creating a new sub-clip from the same source video reveals them again, but it’s annoying all the same.

When it comes to rendering you’ve got plenty of pre-defined output options, so choose carefully before you commit. Rendering always takes a while, and the more grunt your PC has the less time you’ll have to wait.

There’s also a decent community sharing custom creations including render profiles and transitions, though these can be downloaded within Kdenlive from the drop-down Settings menu.

Download

If you like the look of Kdenlive then you can download the following versions:

• Linux – Packages available for Debian, Ubuntu, Slackware and more as well as source code and instructions on compiling.
• Mac – From Macports.
• Live CD – Burn Kdenlive to a CD, DVD or USB stick and boot as an OS (perfect for Windows users).
• VirtualBox & FreeBSD – Versions for virtual machines and the FreeBSD OS.

Conclusion

I really like Kdenlive, even though it doesn’t feel quite user-friendly enough for everyone. Whilst it does have its bugs, quirks and annoyances it is still the most stable video editor I’ve yet to use on the Linux platform. For this reason (and its decent array of features) I’d recommend Kdenlive as a very workable solution, though if you are thinking of undertaking a project then don’t forget the software’s limitations.

If you’re looking for alternative Linux video editors, Kdenlive was featured alongside 6 others in this article.

Have you tried Kdenlive? Did you like it? Any better editors out there? Anything nearly as stable around?

Image Credit: Shutterstock

There are two ways you can use this manual. The first, of course, is to read it from cover to cover. You’ll learn a lot about live CDs and what they can accomplish.

The other way to read this book is to explore the table of contents and look for any tips you might not know already. You’re bound to learn something new, regardless of how experienced you are. Either way, there’s a lot to find out here, so check it out.

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In this manual you’ll learn about:

• Using a computer with a busted operating system.
• Continuing to work on a seemingly broken computer.
• Recovering and editing your data.
• Finding Windows passwords.
• Cloning your entire hard drive.
• Bypassing snooping employees or parents.
• Editing your computer’s partitions.
• Setting up temporary servers.

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There are plenty of reasons the average Windows user may want to create a Linux live CD or USB stick before it’s too late. A USB-based distribution will be speedier (you’ll need Unetbootin) or you can simply burn a CD/DVD with something like ImgBurn.

If you’ve not got one yet and are interested in the potential benefits then read on.

Which One?

For the purpose of this article I’m going to keep it simple and stick to the most widely used Linux home desktop distribution ““ Ubuntu. This version of Linux includes a live CD from which you can use or install the operating system, as well as plenty of software to start you off.

There are hundreds of free Linux distributions available, so it can be quite tricky choosing the right one. Ubuntu is a simple, easy to use distribution with a straight-forward interface making it perfect for newcomers. Driver support is also excellent, and driver issues are the last thing you need when you’re trying to fix existing problems.

Scenario 1 ““ Windows Won’t Boot

Whilst you can often resolve issues with Windows via a Windows CD/DVD, not everyone has one. Luckily enough, you can also have a go at fixing your Windows partition with Linux. You’ll need a few tools, notably lilo and ntfs-3g which are readily available in the repositories if you’re using Ubuntu.

You can then have a crack at repairing a corrupted NTFS file system and fixing the Windows master boot record. You can find full instructions on how to do this here.

Scenario 2 ““ Windows Is Dead

So you’ve tried fixing what you can and nothing seems to have helped ““ looks like you need to re-install Windows. But oh no! You’ve (foolishly) left some vital documents on your Windows partition and you’re not formatting till you’ve got them back. Step in Linux!

Even if your Windows installation is butchered beyond repair, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to both access and backup any data you had on that partition with a live CD. Many distributions will detect your Windows filesystem, allowing you to mount the drive and recover your data via a nice friendly GUI.

We’ve covered mounting and accessing a Windows partition through Linux here.

Scenario 3 ““ Isolating Hardware Issues

Another handy use for a live CD is the ability to check whether or not your PC is suffering from a hardware or software fault. If Windows won’t play ball, and Linux loads fine then chances are you’re looking at a software fault (at which point you could try and fix and recover).

Of course if Linux doesn’t work either then you may have identified a hardware issue. Some live distributions come with diagnostics tools on the disc, such as Ubuntu‘s inclusion of Memtest86+. Even if you can’t isolate the exact piece of hardware giving you grief, your live CD has saved you some time so you can take the next necessary steps.

Scenario 4 ““ I Badly Need The Web!

So you’ve accepted that Windows is dead and gone, got your data back but now you’ve realised your boss has been waiting for an email for 2 hours, and you’ve got no functioning OS on your PC. Insert your live CD, connect to a network and use your live CD’s built-in web browser to send that email ““ tragedy averted.

Wireless internet might be an issue for some users as additional drivers are often required. If you find yourself in this boat then a direct connection via Ethernet should provide network and internet access.

Scenario 5 ““ My C:\ Drive is Full of Fail

If you’ve got a nasty case of malware poisoning and the idea of booting Windows only to watch it eat all your data doesn’t appeal, Linux might help you out.

Linux is a very secure operating system, with some distributions being more secure than others. Generally speaking viruses do not affect Linux, so most Linux antivirus applications are designed to stop the spread of malware between Windows machines.

It’s no lie that most malware and viruses are geared towards the Windows operating system, and being able to scan your Windows drive within Linux is very useful. Justin has written an article regarding the validity of a Linux antivirus and the best tools for the job.

Conclusion

When it comes to PC security, maintenance and recovery it really does pay to be one step ahead of the game. If you’ve got a spare USB stick you’re willing to sacrifice (2GB or more) then you’ll find loading speeds and boot-up time to be faster than a CD counterpart.

You won’t know how useful that live CD can be until you really need it!

Have you got a spare live CD in the drawer? Do you use a USB stick? Which distribution? Has it ever saved your bacon? Let us know in the comments below.

Some viruses are better than others. Particularly evil ones will prevent you from installing software to remove them. When that happens it’s time to turn to a live CD, which runs in spite of the operating system you may be using. This is good, because if your default operating system (typically Windows) is compromised completely you need to attack the virus from outside it.

Let’s take a look at the Kaspersky rescue disk and how it’s used.

Getting Started

First things first: you need to download and burn a copy of the disk. You’ll find the ISO file over at Kasperky’s official download page for the rescue disk. You’ll also find a tool for making a bootable USB disk here.

It’s best, however, to burn the ISO from a disk and then boot your computer from it. You probably have software on your computer capable of burning an ISO image, but if not check out the best free alternatives to Nero Burner to find a program right for you.

Once you’ve burned the file, you need to boot from it. Doing this varies from computer to computer, but most the time it’s as simple as inserting your disk and rebooting the computer. If not, watch carefully when your computer first turns on for instructions regarding the “boot menu”. On most Dells, for example, you’re going to need to press “F8″ before Windows starts. If you see a bootscreen of options congratulations: you’ve started the CD. Select the GUI and let’s get started!

Using the Scanner

Eventually you’ll see a GUI, which will begin operations by mounting your hard drive(s). This might take a while, so don’t worry. When the disk boots you’ll be presented with a familar virus scanning interface:

Don’t get ahead of yourself. You could scan your computer right now, but odds are if you’re infected badly enough to need this disk your malware is fairly recent. For this reason, you should click the “update” tab before you start your scan:

Go ahead and click the “Get Updates” button to get started, and you’ll see the uploads take place. This may take a while, depending on your Internet connection, but it’s well worth it. Once you’ve updated everything you might want to take a look at the settings:

There’s not too much to configure here; just the level of security and whether malware is to be removed automatically or at your discretion. Configure to your taste and you’re not ready to scan. The scan shouldn’t last too long, depending on the amount of data on your hard drive, so don’t be surprised if it finished quickly.

What You Get

The main aspect of this CD, obviously, is the malware scanning capabilities. As you can see above, this tool can remove a variety of malware from your computer.

But there’s a bit more here. There’s a terminal, if you want command-line access to your computer. There’s also a Mozilla-based browser; useful if you want to research a particular virus or file before removing it. Finally you’ll find the XFE File Browser, for those who want a GUI way to browse their files.

Similar Tools

Kaspersky isn’t the only rescue CD on the block: the BitDefender Rescue CD is another tool for cleaning your computer when all else fails. Keep both of these disks in your toolkit and you’ll be able to save your friends from just about any infection!

Neither of these tools are an alternative to a real-time scanner, so I highly recommend you check out the top ten free antivirus programs and find the program right for you. Use the Kaspersky rescue disk only as a last resort!

Does a tool like this seem useful to you? Are you excited to have free access to Kaspersky’s respected anti-malware technology? Share in the comments below!

We’ve previously covered the Android SDK, a handy tool that allows you to emulate the Android environment on your desktop. It is also possible to turn your PC into a huge virtual smartphone with the Android Live CD, which provides a bootable-version of the mobile OS for use on any computer.

For developers, emulating the Android environment will allow new software to be tested without parting with any hard-earned money for the latest and greatest cellular device. For the consumer, the ability to “try before you buy” is enticing to any cautious buyer. Provided you have a CD burner and the ability to boot from a CD then you can take Google’s latest offering for a test-drive.

Download & Burn The Android Live CD

Android’s home on Google Code features several methods of acquiring the latest build. On the downloads page there is a torrent link for downloading the .ISO image, or if you’d prefer to download via the web then you’ll need to grab two files: liveandroidv0.3.iso.001 and liveandroidv0.3.iso.002.

Note that if you grab the weblinks, you’ll need to join the files once they’ve both completed downloading. Google recommends using a small freeware application called HJSplit, which you can download here. Simply download it, choose Join and select your two files. Those of you who download Android via the torrent will find a ready-to-burn .ISO file waiting for you.

Using your favourite image-burning software, write the .ISO file to a CD. As I’m a Windows user I’d recommend ImgBurn, as it’s completely free and gets the job done without any hassle. Linux users will have to use Wine in order to get ImgBurn working, whereas Mac users will be able to burn the image using the OS X Disk Utility.

If you do find that burning a CD is causing you hassle, then you can always write the image to a USB drive using an application called Universal Netboot Installer. It’s available for both Windows and Linux and is designed to provide users with bootable versions of their favourite Linux distributions on USB.

Launch the program once it’s downloaded, select Disk Image and locate your Android Live CD .ISO before choosing the USB device and clicking OK. Your image will be written to USB, and you will be prompted to restart once completed.

I managed to get version 0.3 of the Android Live CD to boot via USB, although Google do not explicitly state that this version is compatible with USB booting. If you do have issues with booting from USB, head back to the downloads page and grab yourself liveandroidv0.2usb.iso.001 and liveandroidv0.2usb.iso.002. This will provide you with version 0.2 of Android Live, and you’ll need to merge these with HJSplit before writing them to USB with the Universal Netboot Installer.

Once you’ve prepared your CD or USB stick ““ you’re ready to go!

Booting Into Android Live

With your newly burned CD or USB stick still in the drive, restart your computer. You’re going to need to set your primary boot device as the CD drive or Removable Device (depending on what you’re using), so that your computer looks for Android before it looks for your primary OS on the hard drive.

Enter setup as your PC boots, usually by pressing F2 or Del (but you’ll see it flash up, “Press x to Enter Setup”) and re-arrange your boot devices so that your chosen drive takes precedence. Save and exit (usually F10) so that your PC restarts again, and wait.

If all goes to plan, your PC will detect the Android operating system and you will be prompted to choose either 800×600 or 1024×768 as your screen resolution. If you are unable to load the Android operating system then it is possible that your PC isn’t compatible, so don’t forget the Android SDK if you’re experiencing this problem!

You’ll now be able to play around, test software and decide whether Google’s “iPhone killer” really packs the punch you’re after before you drop the cash on a new contract.

Have you tried the Android Live CD? Did you burn a CD or use a spare USB stick? Did it help you decide on your next smartphone? Let us know in the comments!

Linux gives you access to millions of open source programs that can’t always be found elsewhere. Many of these free applications are amazingly useful, even for die-hard Windows users. GParted is an excellent example of amazing Linux free partitioning software every Windows user should be familiar with.

Why? Because it’s a complete partitioning tool, in many ways a better alternative to Partition Magic. It supports both NTFS and FAT32 (and much more), meaning it can do everything a Windows user would want to do (and much more!) Finally, because you can run it from a Live CD, you can even edit the partition your primary OS runs on–useful when you want that partition to be larger or smaller.

Best of all, Gparted is free partitioning software that’s already included on the Ubuntu Live CD – a tool I recently argued every Windows user should have anyway.

What Is Partitioning?

In essence, partitioning means splitting your hard drive into different sections. To Windows, each of these “sections” will be seen as separate drives – this despite being physically on the same volume.

What’s the point? Well, if your data is on a different partition than your operating system you can replace your operating system without losing your data. Partitioning is also necessary if you want to run more than one operating system on a single computer – for example, Windows and Ubuntu.

A partitioning tool allows you to shrink/extend existing partitions, as well as create new ones. GParted is just such a partitioning tool.

Another such tool is Partition Manager, a program we’ve featured in the past. While decent, Partition Manager cannot be run from a live CD and as such cannot edit your primary partition.

What Gparted Can Do

Fire up GParted and you’ll see your primary drive, ready to be altered. You can delete a partition if you like, or just resize it. To do something all you need to do is right-click the drive or partition you want to edit. The menu that comes up even features sliders you can drag if entering numbers isn’t quite your style.

Don’t see what you want to edit? Know that, in the top-right corner of the window, is a drop-down menu that allows you to select which drive you want to configure.

It’s also worth noting that GParted won’t do anything until you click the “Apply” button in the toolbar. So if you want to see what kind of configurations will work and won’t work go ahead; nothing is altered until you click okay.

Finally, it’s worth noting that partitioning is not without risks. If, for example, you experience a power outage while partitioning the result might be a system that will no longer boot and data that’s hard to recover. Protect yourself from this by using a battery backup, or by ensuring your power source will be consistent.

It’s also a good idea for Windows-types to defragment their hard drive before partitioning. This will greatly increase the effectiveness of your partitioning.

Getting GParted

If you already use Linux, congratulations: you have easy access to GParted. Check your distro’s repositories to install.

If you have an Ubuntu live CD kicking around, congratulations: you have easy access to GParted. Just boot from the disk and find GParted under “System” followed by “Administration.”

If you don’t have a Ubuntu CD, they’re easy to find. Go ahead and download an ISO or have a CD mailed to you free of charge.

If all you want is GParted, consider downloading the GParted Live CD instead. Download it and burn the ISO to disk using your burning application of choice.

Potential Uses

• The Windows installer, particularly the XP one, tends to take forever creating partitions. Use Gparted instead to make installation faster.
• Shrink your XP partition to make room for another OS, like Ubuntu
• Need extra space? Remove the “Recovery” partition that came with your computer and extend your OS partition to take advantage of that extra space (but be warned, only do this if you have an OS CD on hand for re-installation.)
• If you recently bought a bigger hard drive, you can use Clonezilla to copy your filesystem to it and then Gparted to extend your partition to the entire drive.

Conclusion

Gparted isn’t just free partitioning software; it’s the free partitioning software. If you need to rearrange your hard drive this is what you’re looking for, and it’s completely free.

Did you know about this amazing tool before, or are you happy to discover it? Can you think of any more uses for it, or do you have any stories to tell of how you’ve used it in the past?  Feel free to discuss all this and more in the comments below.

For this reason, I suggest every Windows user keeps a copy of Ubuntu on hand, even if they never intend to switch from Windows. Happily, Ubuntu is completely free to aquire. You can download Ubuntu and burn it yourself, but if that sounds like too much work you can request Ubuntu send you a Ubuntu Live CD for free.

That’s right: you’ll get a CD in the mail, completely free of charge. There’s seriously no reason to not look into this, so let’s see some of the uses Ubuntu has for those who never intend to install it.

Recover Data From Unbootable System

When your Windows system won’t start – not even in safe mode – it’s easy to feel helpless. If you’ve got an Ubuntu CD handy you don’t need to feel that way. Just boot from your CD and you can access every file on your hard drive. This can give you a chance to get some work done, if you want, or just to back up all of your files before re-installing Windows or attempting to repair the Windows installation.

If you want more information on this particular use for an Ubuntu Live CD, including information on how to burn one, check out Varun’s excellent article How To Back Up Data On Your Computer That Won’t Boot. There’s a lot of great information there!

Run Memtest

If your computer crashes from time to time it’s easy to suspect your problem is software related. It might not be – frequently the cause of such bugginess is a problem with your RAM chip. If you suspect this might be the case with your system, and you’ve got an Ubuntu CD on hand, you’re in luck: the Ubuntu CD comes with a memtest!

Just start the CD, being sure to hit “Enter” when you see the keyboard icon on the screen. Then select “memtest” from the list of options to begin testing your RAM. If there’s something physically wrong with your RAM you’ll find out and know that it’s time to shop for a replacement!

Find out more about Memtest courtesy of our good friend Varun, and his excellent article about Memtest,

Find Out About Your Hard Drive

Another reason for an occasionally crashing or sometimes slow Windows computer is a failing hard drive, or one that is too slow. Ubuntu comes with a couple of really good tools for accessing the health of your hard drive.

The first is Disk Utility, which you’ll find under “System,” then “Administration.” This app will tell you if any disk connected to your system has physical damage, as well as giving you access to SMART DATA and a couple of other key statistics that can inform you about the life of your drive.

Another nifty tool is Disk Usage Analyzer, which you’ll find under “Applications” followed by “Accessories.” This tool can scan any hard drive and graphically display what’s taking up space on your drive. You’d be amazed how many times I’ve discovered people have filled their drive by accidently copying and pasting their entire music folder. Use this tool to find where any such superfluous files may be and then use the File Manager to delete them!

Edit Partitions

The Ubuntu CD comes with Gparted, which is a pretty amazing drive partitioning program. If you’re looking to re-size your Windows partition, or turn some empty space into a secondary partition, this is the tool you’re looking for. That Ubuntu runs as a Live CD is particularly useful here, because you cannot edit your primary partition from within Windows.

Find Gparted under “System” followed by “Administration.” If you’re familar with Partition Magic or similar software you should feel right at home; if not, I’ll be writing all about Gparted in the weeks to come!

Conclusion

Do you need the Ubuntu CD to do these things? No; I’m certain our commenters will point out a wide variety of alternatives. My only point is that if you have an Ubuntu Live CD on hand you can quickly do all these things. Seeing as Ubuntu is completely free I figure it’s good to have the option.

What do you think? Is it handy to have a Ubuntu CD around even if you never intend to install it? Do you have any stories of data saved or computer diagnosed because of the tools that come with Ubuntu? Have a seat, grab yourself a drink and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Reconstructor lets you customize and create your own CD or a disk image with ease. You can add various packages and customize the look and feel of the desktop, tweak some settings and customize a whole lot more using this awesome web application. The best part is the fact that you don’t have to run a single command.

You need to create an account with Reconstructor before you can proceed. The account is free and requires just about 5 fields of information from your side. Next log into the site. Start by creating a new project. Give your project a nice name, description and version. You can then choose the distro you want to base your project on.

Reconstructor only supports Debian and Ubuntu (including Lucid Lynx). You also have the choice to build for your 64-bit computer if you choose to. Specify the type of project, environment and click Create.

Your newly created project is listed in the sidebar. Click on it to activate and begin customizing. You can add packages, modules, members, tags and files. Let’s have a brief look on what each of these means.

Packages as you might be aware with your prior experience with Debian/Ubuntu refer to packaged software products. To add packages you click on the ‘+’ icon next to packages and you are presented with a dialog where you can choose what additional packages you want to include on your build. Keep in mind that the packages you add here will be added in addition to the packages that Debian/Ubuntu include by default.

Modules are the most interesting part of Reconstructor, allowing you to tweak certain aspects of the operating system. You add modules, just like you would added packages above (via the ‘+’ icon next to modules). Unlike packages however, each module involves some configuration that will be applied to your build.

For example, if you want to add additional software sources to your build, you can do this by using the APT repository module. Once added, click on the module, to bring up the configuration dialog box, where you will be able to provide the repository path and other details required to configure a software source in Debian/Ubuntu.

There are other modules that you can choose to change the wallpaper for example. Others to change the splash screen or the theme, or to create new icons on the desktop and so on.

You can also add custom files to be included in the finished build, tag your project and even invite other people to collaborate on the project. Once you are done customizing the build you should click on the Build Project icon.

Reconstructor, being a web application, doesn’t immediately build your project, instead a new job is created in your job queue. You are sent an email as soon as the job is completed (a few hours at least) and your build is ready for download. You can then download the customized build and burn it.

On the whole Reconstructor is a fantastic toolkit that you can use to create custom Ubuntu or Debian CDs/DVD’s for yourself. You can include your wallpapers, include the extra packages that you might need and you don’t need to run a single command. You can even prioritize jobs submitted by you by buying priority services.

Have you customized a CD/DVD to suit your needs? What software did you use?