manual-build.md

creating the asm usb manually

• grab a copy of alpine-extended.iso (recommended) or alpine-standard.iso from https://alpinelinux.org/downloads/

• write it onto a usb flashdrive using your favorite tool

  • on windows: rufus probably
  • on linux: cat alpine.iso >/dev/sdi && sync

• boot into alpine

• apply setup-bootable.patch by hand, it's tiny enough

• insert a second usb flashdrive and partition it:

  apk add util-linux
  fdisk /dev/sdb
  

  • press o to create a new MBR partition table,
  • n to create a new partition (then hammer enter for a bit),
  • t to change type to c,
  • then a to set bootable,
  • and finally w to confirm/write

• then copy the iso contents to the flashdrive:

  mdev -s
  mkfs.vfat -n ASM /dev/sdb1
  setup-bootable -v /media/cdrom/ /dev/sdb1
  

at this point the asm usb is just another copy of the Alpine ISO, so reboot into your favorite OS and then insert the flashdrive -- let's make some changes

adding the apkovl and bootscript

if you are using msys2 or mingw on windows, first ensure you have gnutar:

• pacman -S --needed tar
• hash -r

and now,

• make the apkovl: tar -czvf the.apkovl.tar.gz --mode=755 etc
• copy the apkovl and the sm folder to the root of the flashdrive

optional steps

reduce boot time by disabling the modloop verification:

for f in /mnt/boot/*/{syslinux,grub}.cfg;
  do sed -ri 's/( quiet) *$/\1 modloop_verify=no /' $f; done