Not sure how your ~ (home) is setup - but I noticed my.xsession-errors was upto 6.8Mb  !!
I don't have a ~/.xinitrc file - so I must be using a global one. [can't send you a normal user]
'
Linux devuan 3.16.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.16.43-2+deb8u3 (2017-08-15) x86_64 GNU/Linux
with a XFCE desktop, aaaand should be slim loginMgr  - 'which' doesn't report lightdm
'gz

I think the Dell is more popular, but I found the Toshiba to be stronger, at a close 2nd.

@golinux #10 comment  - I must be using the wrong command/information to check...
It shows up (now?) on apt-get and apt-cache

Helped me out also -- it(writer) kept disappearing when I tried to start it.
will try the java thing
'
I used to use Abiword on Mepis and AntiX -- is there another option??
'
again, thanks  - community helping others - Nice

Well, I don't intend to put it on USB, and this is my first run at Refracta

okay- i'll give it a shot  - how do you call it up?

I wanted a base image to start from, so I can experiment
I have a 500G drive with lots of 32G partitions !!!

Well - I didn't have any code  - just some terminal copy ,   semantics ??[
and a long configuration file.
They do look a little better doctored up - I will admit.

Another day --  lost an 8 port ethernet switch last night - there went 3 hours of troubleshooting software
'
the refractra iso snapshot fails to work from DVD - network can't seem to connect
I noticed it renamed the network device eth0 to enp2s5 ! -- wouldn't pick up an IP address
'
the 32bit Ascii/eudev  that the snapshot was created from works - I am using it now!!
it retains the :eth0 nomenclature
'
more troubleshooting  -- looks like eudev can be cleared of any foul play

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

EDIT:  thought I would post my refractasnapshot.conf file  - if anyone is following/troubleshooting this
***grz  are the changes I made 
***grz I left the uefi turned on although I don't need it - looks like it generated some errors in the _errors.log
'
# This file contains some configuration variables for Refracta Snapshot
# (version 10.0.1  2016 GUI and CLI versions). If you want to change
# the defaults, this is the place to do it.
#
# Put this file in /etc or edit the configfile variable found at the
# top of refractasnapshot to reflect its true location. If the
# script can't find this config file, it'll use the default values.
# Copyright 2011-2016 fsmithred@gmail.com

# Some laptops overheat when running rsync or mksquashfs. If limit_cpu
# is "yes", cpu activity will be limited on those two commands.
# limit is percentage of cpu allowed for command, up to 100% per core.

limit_cpu="no"
limit="50"

# Default location for error log is /var/log/refractasnashot_errors.log

error_log="/var/log/refractasnapshot_errors.log"

# You can change the location of $work_dir (location of system copy) and
# $snapshot_dir (location of final iso file) in case you don't have enough
# space on the system. (Defaults are "/home/work" and "/home/snapshot")
#
# Hints:
#   Be sure to use separate directories for these two variables. If you
# use the same location for both (e.g. /media/disk) and if $save_work
# is set to "no", your CD image will get deleted when the program
# finishes. Instead, use something like /media/disk/snapshot and
# /media/disk/work, or even /media/disk/snapshot/work.
#   These directories will be created by the script, and they are
# already set to be excluded from the rsync copy of the system (so you
# don't end up with an extra copy of your system or old snapshots in the
# final CD image.)
#   Any filesystems mounted in /mnt or /media will be excluded from the
# system copy. Filesystems mounted elsewhere will be included and will
# increase the size of the final CD image. To avoid that, you can either
# unmount those filesystems before running refractasnapshot, or you can
# add them to the excludes file. (See snapshot_excludes below.)

snapshot_dir="/home/snapshot"
work_dir="/home/work"
efi_work="${work_dir}/efi-files"

# Set to yes to create boot files for uefi.

make_efi="yes"

# Set to force xorriso to use $uefi_opt (for testing only)

force_efi="no"

# Change $save_work to "yes" if you want the temporary copy of your
# filesystem to be saved. This will make subsequent snapshot creation
# go faster.
# (Default is "no")   #grz

save_work="yes"

# rsync delete options (or any others you want to add)
# This is only for copy_filesystem() and only if $save_work is "yes"
# Use only one option per variable!
# Default options are --delete-before and --delete-excluded
# Full command in the script is:
# rsync -av / myfs/ ${rsync_option1} ${rsync_option12} ${rsync_option3} \
#    --exclude="$work_dir" --exclude="$snapshot_dir" --exclude-from="$snapshot_excludes"

rsync_option1="--delete-before"
rsync_option2=" --delete-excluded"
rsync_option3=""

# You can change the default rsync excludes file here if you know what
# you're doing. Be sure to use the full path to the file.
#
# It's also possible to edit the excludes file by choosing "Setup"
# during the execution of the script.
#
# Default is "/usr/lib/refractasnapshot/snapshot_exclude.list"

snapshot_excludes="/usr/lib/refractasnapshot/snapshot_exclude.list"

# Change this if you want the live system to use other than the default
# kernel and initrd. You may need to edit the isolinux boot menu to
# match the filenames. (Also see custom boot menu section below.)
# Example: for kernel_image="/boot/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64" then the kernel
# line in the boot menu would contain:
#     kernel /live/vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-amd64
#
# (Defaults are /vmlinuz and /initrd.img)

kernel_image="/vmlinuz"
initrd_image="/initrd.img"

# Multiple snapshots (iso files) are named with the date and time of
# creation. If you prefer to have them numbered sequentially, comment
# out the next line. Default is to keep the line uncommented.

stamp="datetime"

# The name of the snapshot file will be snapshot-{date or number}.iso.
# If you'd like to replace "snapshot" with something more memorable,
# change it here. (example: snapshot_basename="refracta-nox-wheezy")
#grz

snapshot_basename="Ascii-32"

# Change to "no" if you don't want the sha256sum file created with the iso.
# (Default is "yes")

make_sha256sum="yes"

# Change to "no" if you want a plain iso image instead of isohybrid.
# (Default is "yes")   #grz

make_isohybrid="no"

# Uncomment one of the lines below to use xz compression for smaller iso.

# small and slow   #grz
mksq_opt="-comp xz"

# smaller and slower:
#mksq_opt="-comp xz -Xbcj x86"

####################################
# Turn stuff on and off section

# Allow users to mount all fixed drives with pmount for live iso.
# Refractainstaller removes this upon installation.
# (Default is "yes")

pmount_fixed="yes"

# update the mlocate database before copying filesystem.

update_mlocate="yes"

# Clear list of recently used files in geany for primary user.
# Default is "yes"

clear_geany="yes"

# Allow password login to ssh for users (not root).
# If ssh_pass="yes", then PasswordAuthentication will be set to "yes"
# If ssh_pass="no", then PasswordAuthentication will be set to "no"
# In either of the above cases, if PermitRootLogin was set to "yes",
# it will be changed to "without-password" (meaning with auth keys only)
# If ssh_pass is null or set to anything other than "yes" or "no", then
# /etc/ssh/sshd_config will not be altered.

ssh_pass="yes"

########################################################
# Custom boot menu and help files section.

# If you're running refractasnapshot on some linux distribution other
# than Refracta, You might also want to edit or remove some of the help
# files in the isolinux directory. (f1.txt, f2.txt...)
# If you want those changes to persist between runs, you should create
# a custom iso/isolinux directory, and set iso_dir (below) to point
# to that directory.

# If the primary user's name is not "user", then live-boot needs to see
# the user's name in the boot command. In that case, the script will
# automatically add the correct option. If you set a user name here, it
# will override that process. Use this if you want to log into the live
# media as someone other than the primary user (i.e. any user whose
# uid:gid are not 1000:1000.)
# Under most circumstances, leave this blank or commented out.

#username=""

# Change to "yes" if you want to be able to view or edit the boot menu
# or any other config files before the final image is made.
# Note2: For SolusOS and possibly others, boot entries should contain
# "union=unionfs" in place of "union=aufs".
# Note3: For anything later than jessie, union=aufs should be removed
# or possibly replaced with union=overlay

edit_boot_menu="no"

# EDITOR SETTINGS
# This gets used if you set edit_boot_menu="yes" or if you run setup
# and choose to edit the config file or the excludes file.
# Use an absolute path here.
# (example: text_editor="/usr/bin/nano)"

# Command-line editor (for refractasnapshot) 
text_editor="$(type -p nano)"

# Graphical editor (for refractasnapshot-gui)
# Program tests for geany, gedit, kate, kwrite, leafpad, medit, mousepad
# You can specify an editor here if needed.
# other_editor_option is used to force a new instance of the editor.

other_editor=""
other_editor_option=""

# You can change iso_dir if you want to use customized files for the
# boot menu and boot help pages on the live-cd.
# Note:
# If you're using custom versions (different from what's installed
# on your system) of isolinux.bin and vesamenu.c32, you'll need to edit
# or comment out the rsync commands in the script that copy these two
# files from your system to the work directory. To find the lines, see
# /usr/bin/refractasnapshot or /usr/bin/refractsnapshot-gui for the
# copy_isolinux function, around line 520 or 630, respectively.
# (Default is "/usr/lib/refractasnapshot/iso")
# DO NOT USE A TRAILING SLASH HERE!!!"

iso_dir="/usr/lib/refractasnapshot/iso"

# Change this if you're using customized boot menu files, AND your
# menu file is other than the default, live.cfg, AND you set
# $edit_boot_menu to "yes".

boot_menu="live.cfg"

# grub_template gets used for uefi live boot menu.

grub_template="/usr/lib/refractasnapshot/grub.cfg.template"

# Uncomment this to add boot help files specific to the Refracta distribution.
# Otherwise, generic help files, mostly empty, will be used. If you want
# to use your own customized files, see iso_dir settings above.

#refracta_boot_help="yes"

# Prepare the initrd to support encrypted volumes. Uncomment this
# if you plan to use the snapshot on a live usb with an encrypted
# persistent volume.

#initrd_crypt="yes"

# Uncomment to include your network configuration in the snapshot.
# This will preserve your /etc/network/interfaces and any saved wireless
# configurations. This works for NetworkManager, simple-netaid/netman
# and wicd. 
# It will also add "ip=frommedia" to the boot command, so that the saved
# configuration will be used.
# Default is commented; interfaces file in $work_dir/myfs gets replaced
# and only contains the loopback interface.
#
# NOTE!!! If you're using some other network manager, and you don't want
# your configs to be copied, you need to add the appropriate files to
# the excludes list. (Tell me what those files are, and I'll fix
# refractasnapshot to handle it.)

#netconfig_opt="ip=frommedia"

# DEPRECATED:
# This patch is no longer needed. Instead, the script will create some
# files in /dev to help with booting. If you leave this variable set
# to "yes" the script will check for previous application of the patch
# and give you the chance to edit the file manually. If you don't remove
# the lines that were added by the patch, nothing bad will happen.
#
#
# Debian Jessie systems without systemd and with util-linux-2.25 will
# create an unbootable iso. The workaround is to add a few lines to
# /usr/share/initramfs-tools/init and then rebuild the initrd.
# If this option is set to "yes" then the script will check for systemd
# and for the version of util-linux. If needed, the script will apply
# the patch and rebuild the initrd.
#
# Warning: If you also need to run the nocrypt.sh script because you're
# creating a snapshot from a system INSTALLED ON AN ENCRYPTED PARTITION,
# you need to run nocrypt.sh after letting this patch run. (Hint: you
# can abort the snapshot run at the Disk Space Report, run nocrypt,
# then make your snapshot.)
#
# Default is "yes"

patch_init_nosystemd="yes"

* * * * * * * * * * ****************************  refractasnapshot_errors.log 
                                                                      only the first part  was relevant
root@ascii32:/var/log# cat refractasnapshot_errors.log

(yad:10780): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_source_remove: assertion 'tag > 0' failed
sed: can't read /home/work/myfs/home/devuan/.config/geany/geany.conf: No such file or directory
sed: can't read /home/work/myfs/etc/ssh/sshd_config: No such file or directory
sed: can't read /home/work/myfs/etc/ssh/sshd_config: No such file or directory
sed: can't read /home/work/myfs/etc/ssh/sshd_config: No such file or directory
ls: cannot access '/usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi': No such file or directory
grub-mkimage: error: cannot open `/usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi/moddep.lst': No such file or directory.
1440+0 records in
1440+0 records out
1474560 bytes (1.5 MB, 1.4 MiB) copied, 0.0114792 s, 128 MB/s
cp: cannot stat '/usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi/*': No such file or directory
rm: cannot remove '/home/work/iso/pkglist*': No such file or directory
xorriso 1.4.6 : RockRidge filesystem manipulator, libburnia project.

Drive current: -outdev 'stdio:/home/snapshot/Ascii-32-20170822_1613.iso'
Media current: stdio file, overwriteable
Media status : is blank
Media summary: 0 sessions, 0 data blocks, 0 data, 20.3g free
xorriso : WARNING : -volid text does not comply to ISO 9660 / ECMA 119 rules
Added to ISO image: directory '/'='/home/work/iso'
xorriso : UPDATE : 42 files added in 1 seconds
xorriso : UPDATE : 42 files added in 1 seconds
xorriso : UPDATE :  0.17% done
xorriso : UPDATE :  4.01% done

well today I am working on a 32bit ascii iso - syslog-ng & eudev installed
got 'experimental' loaded in sources.list
and tried ::  [notice I didn't do apt-get -t experimental  packagename
**
devuan@ascii32:~$ sudo apt-get install refractasnapshot refractainstaller
[sudo] password for devuan:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Package refractainstaller is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
However the following packages replace it:
refractainstaller-gui refractainstaller-base

Package refractasnapshot is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
However the following packages replace it:
  refractasnapshot-base refractasnapshot-gui

E: Package 'refractasnapshot' has no installation candidate
E: Package 'refractainstaller' has no installation candidate
devuan@ascii32:~$

I too am on the 'Linux learning curve"
but AFAIK Devuan Jessie 1.0.0 uses the 3.16.4 kernel
Devuan ASCII (a testing version) uses the 4.9  kernel
'
I don't believe any of these are linux-libre kernel,
just Debian in the process of removing systemd as PID=1 and such

hth

Interesting - I got ceres loaded from the Jessie install CD [dist-upgrade, syslog-ng, dist-upgrade],
and only selected the Devuan DE (not the XFCE option) and system-utilities.
'
as sudo did an apt-get for synaptic, from the menu panel tried to run Synaptic :-
only got a blink on the display.   'which' doesn't show 'synpatic'
went into /usr/bin (iirc) and found the synaptic-pkexec script and sudo ran it from terminal
IT asked for the root password and then ran.   
'
So - straight ceres doesn't prompt for a password OR start as a normal user.
have to sudo the bin/sh from a terminal

when it does the upgrade - I watch the terminal output and it
pops up sometime --  use can use 'telinit 5" to set the level
but doesn't seem to make a difference.  I think Debian uses 3-5 for gui
and 2 for single user- ??text?

@gnath & @Ogis1975  you both are using debian-security  sources. {it appears to me}
I think this is the 'mixed repos' that @golinux was refering to;
and that is why there is a difference in the version numbers
'
I do believe Devuan Jessie is the Debian-oldstable (has some systemd-stuff)
Devuan ASCII is our next release that won't have systemd-stuff -
  ( I don't think there is a direct cross from Debian series)
AFAIK Devuan relies on Debian packages/etc  UNLESS they have some systemd-stuff
'
Devuan modified packages come first then filled in with Debian
'
HTH - GaryZ