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View Full Version : knoppix linux live cd distro gets the thumbs up



Razgo
10-29-2003, 02:39 AM
well so far anyway.

i got the cd off pc user magazine and changed my bios to boot from cd rom and pop the cd in and bingo! here i am on a linux system typing this message. it's really hard to believe that you can run an entirely different OS system off the cd rom but my how times have changed. this is of course gives the user the oppertunity to see how it all works and if happy you can then install the system to the hard drive.

i haven't worked out what the install procedure invilves though.

anyhow the knoppix website is here: http://www.knoppix.net

well that's my balb for today :D

RossRoy
10-29-2003, 07:51 AM
Knoppix is really great. I've been using it for a couple months already, mostly to get access to a computer's data when Windows decides to act crazy and won't boot or refuses to access the writer. Knoppix works flawlessly so far, I've been able to burn critical data to CD-R when Windows itself wouldn't even SEE the CD drive as even a reader.

Also, Knoppix makes a great OS (OK you techies, I know Knoppix is just a distribution of Linux) all by itself, now if only I could get my Audigy working in it (and before you start telling me it's easy, I'm guessing it is, I just never tried yet :) )

Razgo
10-29-2003, 05:02 PM
i can't use it all the time yet unless i switch off my cable modem for periods of time. i don't know how to make a secure fiirewall for it yet.

the results retururned from http://grc.com/default.htm wass not good. just run sheilds up and you will know what i mean.

RossRoy
10-29-2003, 06:21 PM
Full stealth here! Well, that's when I'm not running my FTP and WEB servers ;) Oh and when my Xbox is off too.

I'm on a Linsys router, that helps :D

Razgo
11-04-2003, 08:32 PM
yes i still have a lot to learn yet as far as making a firewall with linux yet.

i just read a booklet put out by "next handbooks" Australia call "Australian Linux Journal". it is the first of 4 booklets in a series on starting out new on linux. and so far i am very impressed with it. even though it is authored by an australian i would recomend this for anyone new or intermediate useres of linux. i found it extremly helpfull.

i am so impressed with the way they wrote and talked us through linux i am thinking of buying a new pc machine and running a complete linux system. of course the next task will be to port dmc/dap into linux. i may not know how to do it yet but it's only a matter of time :D

since most of the things i do now on the pc is php/mysql related it would only make sense for me to taske the next step. and the distro's for linux these days are getting more and more user freindly each day.

Razgo
11-26-2003, 08:33 AM
well i finally worked out how to install knoppix on the hard drive. but do you think i can get the thing to boot off the floppy!

argh! i have searched knoppix.net but found no solution. well i found solutions but still won't work.

i prefer no dual booting off the system

i created a boot floppy for knoppix fine but it always hangs at vmlinux........ and then says change floppy disk. like it's bad or something.

is there a command i can put in for it to search the hardrive for my install at the booted promt?

RossRoy
11-26-2003, 10:09 AM
I think you can boot from the CD, and when you get the boot: prompt, you can pass the command to boot from the hard drive. Press F2, you will have a list of commands, it should be there.

Razgo
11-26-2003, 06:34 PM
already tried that. myconfig=scan

it says it can't find find it when i do that command. so i probably need to get the path right to point it to it.

Razgo
11-26-2003, 09:32 PM
ell bugger me! i decided to reinstall it and install lilo for the dal boot option at start up. and well it works now :D

still lots to figure out but i am pleased i got this far anyway. but dammed if i can find how to set the desktop resolution. it was in a menu before but now i don't see it.

anyhow i now need to see if i can still boot into windows :rolleyes:

RossRoy
11-26-2003, 10:14 PM
I will probably get flamed for what I'm about to say but eh...

I always found Linux to be more of a hassle than anything else. I've installed it on my computers, numerous times, but each and every time, I would boot into Linux, and be like "now what do I do?" and ended up scraping it all and reinstalling Windows..

Razgo
11-26-2003, 10:39 PM
the thing is you are correct. i tried installing linux years ago and that was a nightmare back then. it was less of a nightmare this time around because it found all my hardware without any intervention from me.

but yes linux is still not for the faint hearted yet. but it is getting closer with all these live cd distro's coming out it is making things a lot more user friendly.

the issue will always be the fact it is an entirely new operating system. and that means learning a whole heap of new things.

i started with dos when windows was side show option if you wanted to start it up and have a look. but dos was still better at that stage. and it was a nightmare to figure out how windows worked back then too.

so i simply look at it as another learning curve to use linux as a home os system.

but is one OS better than the other? i don't think that can ever be answered generally speaking.

if you are a full on games person i think windows will triumph everytime. i think there is a use for different OS systems to suit different purposes is what it boils down too.

for me it will eventually mean i can upgrade databases locally using mysql and php, instead of remotely. and i do like the interface kde desktop. but will i find a great email app like the bat! email client? there is a few i can check out to see how they are. as email and internet is my primary use. games second. so for me i will probably end up using linux a lot. but always use windows for games and audio. well until dap is ported to linux anyway :D

RossRoy
11-26-2003, 10:57 PM
Well you know, it's not so much that Linux is too hard. Let's just say I had a full year class in college on Linux network administration and usage. I just really never found any incentive to really use Linux because everything I do with Linux, I can do equally well in Windows, sometimes even better. And, seeing as music, movies and internet are now the only things I use my computer for, I don't even play games anymore, well Windows does the job really well in those areas.

Also, I'm basically from the school of thought that says "Ok, Linux is open source and all, seems to have less security failures than Windows, BUT, let's see how Linux fares when it's on 90%+ of every PC on earth". Just take MAC, sure, there aren't that many viruses, but heck what's the point in trying to hack MAC, or Linux for that matter, there's not enough users.

Unregistered
12-05-2003, 02:40 AM
well i finally worked out how to install knoppix on the hard drive. but do you think i can get the thing to boot off the floppy!

argh! i have searched knoppix.net but found no solution. well i found solutions but still won't work.

i prefer no dual booting off the system

i created a boot floppy for knoppix fine but it always hangs at vmlinux........ and then says change floppy disk. like it's bad or something.

is there a command i can put in for it to search the hardrive for my install at the booted promt?

There's a file on the CD called mkfloppy.bat. It worked for me.
The command is:

rawrite2 -f boot.img -d A

I had to use it for a couple of PC's w/ drive overlays or old BIOS