Commentary for NetbookInstaller 1
Ever wondered what you were actually doing while following the NBI 1 guide? I've tried to compile a few notes about the process in this commentary. I know it doesn't describe every little detail, but that's not the goal. I just wanted to help people understand the process better. If you have a question about the process that isn't answered here, contact me!
On the Mac
What we are accomplishing here is two-fold. First, we are copying the contents of the Mac OS X Install DVD directly to a non-DVD storage device. There are many hidden files and awkward permissions that prevent a normal drag-and-drop copy process, so we must use Disk Utility as it is capable of storing and copying a file system, not just the files contained in the file system. It really is helpful that Mac OS X natively supports a bootable operating system (such as that on the Install DVD) being copied to a totally different device without dramatically affecting it's structure. As long as there is something to boot it first, it will do just fine.
That's were the second part comes in. On an Apple Mac, the EFI (firmware for system functions) can boot Mac OS X for us. Since the majority of PCs, including our netbooks, only have BIOS (a similar yet older and inferior system for booting computers) we must emulate an EFI system, as well as make that EFI system capable of booting Mac OS. This work has largely been done for us by the Chameleon developers with a few modifications by meklort. The NetbookBootMaker software installs the Chameleon bootloader to the USB drive as well as necessary kexts (kernel extensions, akin to Windows drivers) and a modification to the Utilites menu to allow NetbookInstaller to be run within the Mac OS X Installer.
On the Netbook
The Chameleon bootloader takes care of all the dirty work for us. As far as the Installer knows, it's running on an Apple Mac. Once we are booted into the Installer, we need to erase and format the HDD/SSD because it will not install to anything other than an HFS file system. It's also really picky about needing the GUID (GPT) partition scheme, even though it is well-known to work just fine on Master Boot Record (MBR) schemes. Since most people will be installing Mac OS X and nothing else, it is much easier to just conform to the requirements.
Once that is finished, we can proceed to customize what gets installed. Leopard and SNow Leopard are only slightly different. Printer drivers are mostly useless except for the ones you plan on using, as well as the languages. The Additional fonts are only useful for displaying foreign language characters. X11 is useful for some apps like Crossover and GIMP, but it isn't required for the OS to function with the majority of software.
After Mac OS X has been installed, an extra script runs the NetbookInstaller application. NBI will install the Chameleon bootloader to your HDD/SSD as well as model-specific kexts and generate a dsdt.aml file. (The dsdt.aml file allows for proper BIOS functions.)
Post-Install
Nothing really special here. This setup process is the same as that on an Apple Mac. If you decide to register, you might get an e-mail from Apple thanking you for registering your MacBook Air, this is because NBI makes OS X think that it's running on a MacBook Air. I haven't ever got one of those e-mails, but then again I don't register.
Installing the Combo Update
Under Leopard, the installing of updates via Software Update is not recommended, so instead we use the Combo Updates that are downloaded from Apple's website. Because these updates usually change some files, NetbookInstaller must be run again to fix the critical files. Safe Mode allows a temporary environment to run the software, since it has to be run after the update is finished.
Snow Leopard is similar for now, more information will come with the next guide update.
mechdrew Commentary for NBI 1 Version 3.16a