Base DMG

[johnemac]

I was wondering if anybody is reusing the base install from the DVD before applying any updates? Perhaps making a copy and then dropping the copy into the Base OS folder and commenting out a few of the DVD install lines?

I was also wondering if there is a way to run software update against an image? Maybe a preference that changes the target?

Best,
— jmca

[Patrick Gallagher]

You wouldn’t be able to run softwareupdate on it. It’s not just a matter of redirecting the installs, but redirecting the source it is check for updates on. Software Update is going to check /Library/Receipts of your startup volume to check for available updates.

[Patrick Fergus]

I’d [i]like[/i] to reuse a plain 10.5.0 install, but when I check over the logs the ASR scans take 75% of the InstaDMG runtime, so I’ve never dug into it. Is the OS installation taking an inordinately long time?

Regarding running software update against a non-startup disk, patgmac covered that one. SU isn’t really meant to update non-startup disks.

– Patrick

[johnemac]

The install process doesn’t take that long but it’s the one thing in my workflow that is stable. I don’t usually change my install media or install options. After the OS install is done there is a perfectly good r/w disk image. It makes sense to save a copy and then reuse it.

The thing that changes the most are the Apple updates. I was hoping to run Software Update on the disk image just to get a list of what needs to be upgraded. I tried mounting a .dmg of 10.5.1 and linking it’s /Library/Receipts folder to the booted volumes /Library/Receipts but that doesn’t work. I also tried copying the whole Receipts folder over but that didn’t work either. Currently I am restoring the image, booting it and then running Software Update. If software update finds something I download it and re-image. It would be nice to get the name of the update without having to run ASR.

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