Salut Ovidiule,
Thank you for your reply. I believe the JoomlaStart script that I am using is version Joomla.Start-V1.5.zip. Even though the zip says v1.5, once I extract the archive the script is titled with v1.3. I am not sure where to access the "Restore by using server utilities" option. I also tried archiving my custom joomla to a TAR type without success. To my understanding the issue is caused by the size of my customized joomla. Initially my package was much larger, but I cut out everything I could to reduce its size. Currently, I have Virtuemart installed on my custom Joomla and the smallest archive I can make and still maintain my components is approximately 10MB.
On my remote server PHP has safe_mode off; in your script I set: ini_set('memory_limit','60M'

;ini_set('error_reporting', '2'

; @set_time_limit(0) to try to allow the script to run longer;
When I run the script on my MAMP local server everything runs smoothly. However on a remote server, I was only able to transfer the package and extract it; at this point the browser stops running the script and the option "Launch Joomla Installer" never appears. If I point out in the URL manually to the installation folder Joomla's web installer kicks in. In my customized Joomla Installation folder I changed the index.html to include instructions and notes to my users. Is there any part in the JoomlaStart script where I could assign the next task after archive extraction to run index.html in the install folder, as oppose to the index.php of the same folder?
If you can help me in anyway I would be more than happy to make a contribution for your time. Thank you kindly for your help.
Radu