extracting from an .iso

[ThunderRd]

If I have a live cd or .iso of my install, how can I use it to extract a single directory?

For example, I've lost some files somehow in my /home directory, but I know they are in the .iso that I created with remastersys for restore purposes. I want to extract them from the .iso and copy them back to my install. Where/how do I find them and recover them without a full blown restore?

[Gizmo]

Just mount the CD? A lot of systems will mount it in /mnt/cd automatically when you insert it. For those that don't usually:

mount -t iso9660 /dev/sr0 /mnt/cd

will suffice. Note that you have to be root to use the mount command.

I <THINK> you can to the same thing with an iso image, just use the name of the iso image instead of the name of the device.

[ccperf721p]

I have always used loop. I make a directory lets say ~/iso and then

mount -o loop /path/to/***.iso ~/iso

Most of the time it will auto pickup the filesystem if it does not add -t iso9660 after loop.

[ThunderRd]

As always, you guys have given me the right answer to my question, but this time I didn't ask the right question...

I'm not at that box right now, but from memory-
I can mount the cd .iso in terminal, and/or can see the directory structure in Thunar. My problem is, it's a bootable cd and the data are arranged in casper, ISOLINUX, initrd.gz, etc.

Where do I actually go to find the /home directory that I know is somewhere on the CD, and then extract only it, so I can copy the files I need? Will what you have told me to do, do that?

[ccperf721p]

Originally Posted by ThunderRd

As always, you guys have given me the right answer to my question, but this time I didn't ask the right question...

I'm not at that box right now, but from memory-
I can mount the cd .iso in terminal, and/or can see the directory structure in Thunar. My problem is, it's a bootable cd and the data are arranged in casper, ISOLINUX, initrd.gz, etc.

Where do I actually go to find the /home directory that I know is somewhere on the CD, and then extract only it, so I can copy the files I need? Will what you have told me to do, do that?

The directory structure should still be there, if it is a bootable backup type cd the directories are probably compressed so you may need to extract them.

[ThunderRd]

My problem is I've tried to get into /casper/filesystem.squashfs and none of the syntax I have tried seems to work. I wonder if I need to recompile the kernel.

[Áedán]

You'd need to mount the squashfs file through the loop device too then, assuming that your kernel has the squashfs drivers.

Something like:

mount -t squashfs -o loop /casper/filesystem.squashfs /mnt/tmp

If your kernel doesn't have the squashfs drivers, you should be able to use your existing kernel source to enable and compile the squashfs module without having to recompile the whole kernel.

[ThunderRd]

Originally Posted by Áedán

If your kernel doesn't have the squashfs drivers, you should be able to use your existing kernel source to enable and compile the squashfs module without having to recompile the whole kernel.

I think that's what I need to do. I probably deselected an option in the filesystems section when I built this kernel.

Will check tomorrow.

[ThunderRd]

In my recent mucking about with kernels I must have deselected squashfs. I've booted to a generic kernel, got the files I needed, then compiled the module for my current default kernel. All is OK now.

Thanks for the help.