Hello,
another user in this forum asked me how do I run pdaxrom and the chrooted debian avaiable on pocketworkstation.org.
I'm starting a new thread to describe how it can be done (it's pretty simple, anyway).
If you're wondering why to run both enviroments: I use pdaXrom as a sort of desktop replacement, pim, divx and mp3 player, etc. The debian enviroment is useful for its many packages and I use it for some kind of server use (I'm a web application programmer and sysadmin).
Now, back to the real issue.
You can find instruction on how to run chrooted debian on the above mentioned
http://pocketworkstation.org , so I'll describe here only what's needed/changes from a standard setup.
Also, you must already have created the debian chrooted enviroment, and have some files in place (/etc/debroot.conf, /etc/rc.d/init.d/zdebian, /usr/local/bin/Crd).
The setup described on pocketworkstation uses a VNC X server with a Framebuffer client, and although this has some advantages, you have to run it from console (othervise you'll waste some memory for pdaXrom X server AND VNC X server, not to mention the fact that I don't know if the Fbvnc client can run inside of X without messing things up... sorry I haven't tried).
I prefer to run debian programs directly from pdaXrom, without the need to switch between one another.
You just need to:
1) Edit /etc/debroot.conf to suit your tastes. You must set DEBROOT as appropriate (as usual) but you can disable (put a comment before it) some stuff like DEB_RUN_VNCSERVER, DEB_RUN_FBVNC, DEB_RUN_ZAPM_PROXY, DEB_RUN_ZAPMD. It's also useful to add a "DEB_DISPLAY" variable like: DEB_DISPLAY=127.0.0.1:0 (more on this later).
2) Remove the "-nolisten tcp" from /usr/X11R6/bin/startx (better, copy the line, comment the old one and change the copy)
3) Edit /usr/local/bin/Crd and add somewhere in the last line (where the command is launched and some variables are set) the string DISPLAY=$DEB_DISPLAY
4) If you're already running the pdaXrom X interface, quit it and restart it (no need to reboot).
5) Copy pdaXrom .Xauthority to your home directory in the debian chrooted enviroment.
6) Start the debian enviroment with /etc/rc.d/init.d/zdebian start (to mount stuff like /proc, mainly)
7) Try to run something in the chroot with Crd, like "Crd xterm"
If it works, congratulations, you've done it...
You can run a shell from a pdaXrom aterm with "Crd bash", of course.
Stuff to fix:
1) It would be nice to use unix socket instead of tcp socket to avoid removing the option "-nolisten tcp", but I haven't got any idea on how to do it. So, remember to set up a firewall with iptables to avoid security problems.
2) I've noticed a problem with groups in the chrooted enviroment (the gid are inherited from pdaXrom), I'll investigate on this in these days. Anyway, it shouldn't be a problem if you run pdaXrom and the debian chrooted enviroment as root (the default).
I've surely forgotten something... and in some parts I wasn't very clear, I suspect... just ask me if you need some clarifications...
Ciao,
Andrea
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