Install Packages in Linux without an internet connection (User Guide)

[Panha]

Yup, you read it right. It’s possible to install various packages in
Linux even when you don’t have an internet connection on the computer.

I had trashed my Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron LTS and installed a fresh
copy of 8.10 Intrepid Ibex over the same drive recently. But the
following option helped me get all my favorite applications in the new
system with just a few clicks. Applications can be installed from the
following sources:

1> From Live CDs.
This method requires the installation cds of any distro of linux (not
necessarily ubuntu). Click here for step by step procedure on how to
do so.

2> From other CDs that can be used to install packages. These can be
enabled as follows.
To enable Synaptic and other package managers to install software from
CDs which contain packages in

Ubuntu:

1.Press System → Administration → Software Sources.
2.Go to the Third Party Software tab and click on the Add CD-ROM
button.
3.Insert the CD.

The packages should then be listed. To have Synaptic only list
packages from the CD, click the Origin button on the lower left corner
of Synaptic Package Manager, then find the name of the CD on the list
in the upper left corner of Synaptic.

3> And now my favorite. From a computer already having these
applications installed (Works great if the version of linux on both
the PCs is the same).
Here you’ll need a package called APTonCD installed in this case (More
details here). It’s freely available here. It can be directly
installed from the terminal using the following command.

$ sudo apt-get install aptoncd

We’ll need a cd for the transfer of this program. But if you don’t
want to waste one or want to copy it on a usb drive or hard disk,
you’ll need a .iso image mounting program. I used GMount ISO (More
details here). It can be directly installed from the terminal using
the following command.

$ sudo apt-get install gmountiso

You’ll also need a .deb installer. For Ubuntu, GDebi Package Installer
is installed by default, so don’t worry if you have Ubuntu or Kubuntu.

Working:
APTonCD is a tool with a graphical interface which allows you to
create one or more CDs or DVDs with all of the packages you’ve
downloaded via APT-GET or APTITUDE (or even Synaptic), creating a
removable repository that you can use on other computers. APTonCD will
also allow you to automatically create media with all of your .deb
packages located in one especific repository.
From the source computer, open the APTonCD application (I’m using
version 0.1.98-0) and choose the option to Create an installation
disk. On the next menu, you’re asked to choose the various packages
you want to create a backup of. You can uncheck the packages that you
don’t want to transfer. It’s usually not recommended to deselect
library packages. Shared libraries are needed by some program or the
other. You can use the Add option to add other .deb packages or
folders. Save the .iso image to a desired location on your computer or
burnt (written) over the cd.

Great, how you are halfway. Go to the computer where you want the
program installed. We’ll now need the cd or the .iso image. We need to
mount the image using GMount ISO. Just mount the image in a free
folder. You’ll see that the virtual folder now contains another folder
named packages. Same is true with the cd. This folderpackages contains
the .deb files that are used to installed a program. Now just
doubleclick on the .deb file of the program that you want to install.
You may get errors regarding installation of dependencies. Don’t
worry, you’ll find all the dependencies as .deb files in the same
folder. Once the dependencies are all satisfied, you can install the
program.
Kewl! Isn’t it?

I actually copied all applications and games worth 2.8 Gb from a
friend of mine without downloading a single file from the net. And it
took me a fraction of the time it would have taken me had I downloaded
them (thanks to my pathetic download speed)!

Reference:
http://fasterthanlight.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/packgs-without-internet/

[Jean-Philippe Tropicalicecube Monteiro]

Thanks Panha!

[Don Robertson]

> 3> And now my favorite. From a computer already having these
> applications installed (Works great if the version of linux on both
> the PCs is the same).
> Here you’ll need a package called APTonCD installed in this case (More
> details here). It’s freely available here. It can be directly
> installed from the terminal using the following command.
>

I have used APTonCD before, and it worked really well.

Not sure if you need to weed out the old versions or not though.

There is also Aptcache (or something) that is good for networks. It acts
as a proxy server and cache for .deb packages. Any package installed is
then available to all the machines on the network.

A little bit trickier to set up but if you have a number of machines, it
saves a lot of time/downloads.

Post for Ubuntu
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=981085

*Should* work for and Debian based system :-)

[Frederic Muller]

aptcache is indeed very good for installfests: you basically need to set
up one machine as local server (before the D-Day) and then perform your
install and all the updates, upgrades and add extra applications you
think will be used by people on the installfest day.

Then the day of the install fest you just come with your server, set up
that machine IP as the local source for software and that's it, no
traffic jam on downloading packages for updates and more, and even no
need for internet eventually (a bit risky though).

30 or 50 machines doing updates at the same time can be a real burden on
the network and especially the internet connection.

Hope the trick can help your next installfest :D

Fred

Don Robertson wrote:
>> 3> And now my favorite. From a computer already having these
>> applications installed (Works great if the version of linux on both
>> the PCs is the same).

>> Here you�ll need a package called APTonCD installed in this case (More
>> details here). It�s freely available here. It can be directly