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MOA-kiosk mode-



video

whats that ...

 MOA is a LiveCD that specializes in running VMware -
Kiosk-mode is a special mode that hides the Livesystem itself and only presents a preconfigured virtual machine to the the user.
The VM can be encrypted - then the Livesystem only runs the VM with the correct password for the TrueCrypt-container.
Without the password the Livesystem will do nothing.

what is it good for ...

 portable Software-demonstrations , portable paranoid environments ...

how to create it ...

 run a standard MOA-2.4 setup - add Workstation or VMplayer and then use a special configuration

needs moa.exe version ...

 moa.exe 2.4.029 or higher

 

Features:-

 

Platform:

Workstation 6.0.*
Workstation 6.5.*
VMplayer version 2.0.* - recommended
VMplayer version 2.5.*
VirtualBox 1.6 or 2.1 (advanced)

Stick or disk format:

FAT32 requires split disk format , is slower and not so crash resistant as NTFS
NTFS is faster and more stable against crashs - if used on a stick it may wear out stick the earlier

VMDK format:

monolithicFlat - only on NTFS
monolithicSparse - only on NTFS - user may fill the stick/disk without noticeing it
split Flat - recommended
split Sparse - user may fill the stick/disk without noticeing it

VMDK-mode:

persistant: doesn't need much free space - user can mess up the VM
non-persistant: needs extra space for the temporary files - always starts with a clean VM

Kiosk-VM detection:

 tag-file: a tag-file is used to locate the disk that carries the Kiosk-VM
this disk will be mounted as Z: and then the VM can be specified via a moa.ini entry.
Example: start_KioskVMX=Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmx
kiosk.tc: a truecrypt-container named kiosk.tc is used to store the VM - can be on any local disk or USB-disk.
After checking the password for the truecrypt-container it will be mounted as Z: so that you can specify a VM easily in moa.ini
Example: start_KioskVMX=Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmx

Drivers:

it is recommended to use a full driverpack for nics and add no mass-storage drivers ( to speed up boot-time)

Cleaning the VM before launch ...

 it is recommended to clean up the VM-directory before launch
- you want to remove eventually existing lock-files or directories
- you may want to copy a clean vmx and vmdk-descriptor to overwrite any eventually dirty versions from last crashed usage

Limiting virtual hardware options ....

you can disable detection of USB globally - everything else can be done by
using a limited vmx-file and copy that one in place before launching the Kiosk

possible guest OS ...

reliable: Windows 2000 or XP with Volume License, Linux with generic kernels, FreeBSD with generic kernel
picky: guests that need much RAM like Vista or 2008, Linux with CPU-specific kernels, Win9x
very picky: 64bit guests or ESX as they need VT extensions which may not be present on every box

RAM requirements for MOA

220 MB is needed for the Livesystem to load into RAM
size of ramdisk can be set in moa.ini
optionally you can replace the ramdisk with a USB-disk - advanced

RAM requirements for Kiosk-VM

 either assign statically via a vmx-entry -
or optionally auto-assign as much as possible after checking the current host (advanced)
   
   

 

Caveats:-

 

VMX-file of Kiosk-VM

 make sure your vmx-file is really portable - if in doubt - ask first

Livesystem-kernel

 a SMP-kernel may perform better but may not boot on all machines

Clean-up routines

it is highly recommended to use a cleanup-batch to make sure the Kiosk-VM will start even if last use did not exit cleanly
if in doubt - ask first

 

Configuration:-

 

 

moa.exe

 

make sure you use moa.exe 2.4.029 or higher

moa.ini

 

[BOOT]
defaultCheatCode=lean
defaultRAMdriveSize=8
moahome_ramsize=16

start_debug=no
start_sshd=no
start_vmdks=no
start_vgasafe=no
start_hwpnp=

start_audiosrv=yes
start_eventlog=yes
start_vcr4moa=yes
start_msi=no
moa_timeout=1
start_vmware=yes
start_explorer=no
start_kiosk=yes
start_KioskVM=yes
start_KioskVMX=Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmx
start_KioskVM2=no
start_KioskVMX2=Q:\w2ksrven\2kas-en.vmx

start_earlybatch=no
start_latebatch=no
start_prenetworkbatch=yes

[NETWORK]
default_NetMode=

vmnet1_IP=192.168.52.1
vmnet1_name=VMware Network Adapter VMnet1
vmnet8_IP=192.168.132.1
vmnet8_name=VMware Network Adapter VMnet8
moa_hostname=moa
moa_workgroup=workgroup

[AUTOMOUNT]
mount_tdrive=no
mount_udrive=no
mount_vdrive=no

 

wim1_mount=early
wim1_path=x:\i386\ws602ripped.wim

In Kiosk-mode moa.exe only reads the moa.ini in system32\shell.

The important entries are marked in red.

You have two option to store the Kiosk-VM:


unencrypted:

1. copy the Kiosk-VM to any local disk, USB-disk or stick
2. put a tag-file "moa-runs-in-kiosk-mode.tag" in the root of the local disk, USB-disk or stick
3. write a moa.ini entry that points to Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmx
4. make sure there is no file named kiosk.tc on the same disk
5. optionally create a "kiosk-cleanup.cmd" and put it into X:\i386\system32\shell\kiosk-cleanup.cmd




encrypted:

1. create a truecrypt-container named kiosk.tc on any local disk, USB-disk or stick
2. mount it and format it with NTFS
3. copy the Kiosk-VM inside the container
4. write a moa.ini entry that points to Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmx
5. make sure there is no file named "moa-runs-in-kiosk-mode.tag"
6. optionally create a "kiosk-cleanup.cmd" and put it into X:\i386\system32\shell\kiosk-cleanup.cmd

prenetworkbatch.cmd - example

start moaprogress.exe
start splash.exe

 

Optional:
if enabled you can use a splash-screen named splash.jpg

kiosk-cleanup.cmd - example

echo %time% starting cleanup >> z:\kiosk\cleanup.txt
del /s /f /q z:\kiosk\*.lck >nul
del /s /f /q z:\kiosk\*.dmp >nul
del /s /f /q z:\kiosk\*.vmsd >nul

del /s /f /q Z:\kiosk\vmware-2.log >nul

rmdir /s /q Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmx.lck >nul
rmdir /s /q Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmdk.lck >nul
del /q /f Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmx >nul
del /q /f Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmdk >nul
del /q /f Z:\kiosk\*.nvram >nul

copy Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmxorg Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmx >nul
copy Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmdkorg Z:\kiosk\kiosk.vmdk >nul

echo %time% cleanup done >> z:\kiosk\cleanup.txt

 

Optional:
if you put a batch named kiosk-cleanup.cmd into X:\i386\system32\shell
it will be executed when
start_KioskVM=yes

It is highly recommended to make use of it.
The batch should delete un-needed files and replace the vmx and vmdk with clean fresh copies

vmx-file

write a portable vmx-file - if in doubt - ask first
add:

msg.noOk = "true"
hints.hideAll = "true"

 

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