KNOPPIX( was Re: [H-GEN] Resizing partitions)

[Tony Nugent]

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On Fri Jan 17 2003 at 17:49, Sandra Milne wrote:

> On Fri, 17 Jan 2003 08:38, Tony Nugent shared the following ideas:

(apologies for my delayed reply, I've been distracted by other
things... life gets like that sometimes :-)

> > BTW, someone recently mentioned using a bootable linux-on-a-cd
> > distro...
> >
> >   I recently came across KNOPPIX (which is based on mandrake/kde)
> >   and I was _very_ impressed with it.  I got it from a recent DVD
> >   edition of Linux Format (a UK-based mag) and it was fairly trivial

> I wanted this but the network speeds at the last meeting were such that I
> couldn't get it within the time the meeting was running. And Optusnet cable
> doesn't give me any free downloads so I can't get it off a mirror they host.

Sorry, I didn't get to last Sat's meeting...

> Could I perhaps swap you a blank cd for a burnt copy of it at tomorrow's
> meeting if you'll be there? I would like to play with it and perhaps suggest
> using it for recovery work at my place of employment.

Email me directly, or better still phone me (07 55268020) and I can
arrange to send you a copy by snail-mail (or personally if you are
close to the Gold Coast).

> Sounds similar to virtuallinux, but I heard that knoppix is built on debian
> (am I wrong here?) and this I very much like. (Being the debian elitist that
> I am)

I've got a copy of virtuallinux too, also from a dvd that came with
the same mag :)

  [I'm more geared towards redhat, but that's a trivial point... it's
  all linux and THAT is what really matters:]

Yes, knoppix is based on debian/kde, see http://www.knoppix.org (and
go to the English version)....

  "KNOPPIX is a bootable CD with a collection of GNU/Linux software,
  automatic hardware detection, and support for many graphics cards,
  sound cards, SCSI and USB devices and other peripherals. KNOPPIX
  can be used as a Linux demo, educational CD, rescue system, or
  adapted and used as a platform for commercial software product
  demos. It is not necessary to install anything on a hard disk. Due
  to on-the-fly decompression, the CD can have up to 2 GB of
  executable software installed on it."

It seems to need around 96Mb of ram to fully boot into the kde
environment, otherwise you get twm as the window manager.  I think
64Mb is the minimum requirement to get a workable X environment,
otherwise it boots into a text console and needs around 20Mb for
that (although by creating swap files on ext/fat partitions it is
possible to do more with it).  I have the 3.1 version, which is
still the lastest release.  By default it is setup for german, but
it is possible to change that at boot time.

> Sounds like it might be solid enough to run a router/server. Would you
> recommend it? As in, is it secure, or is there no root password (as with
> virtuallinux which is really supposed to be a demo linux). etc etc

No, I wouldn't use it as a router, it is more geared to desktop
use... 3d graphics and sound all work nicely by default, it even has
things like gimp and openoffice packed into it.  It has already been
useful for me as a rescue disk, but there is a lot more in it than
just that (eg, it has mkisofs and cdrecord available, which is why
it uses ide-scsi for any atapi cdroms).  As I said, impressive.

  Hey, my mother can now boot into linux without having to worry
  about actually installing it, even she finds it very useable...
  my kids were with me over xmas, they were using it regularly on my
  windows box as they soon found that the games very enjoyable :-)

There is no root password by default, but it is trivial to go to a
text console and set one.  (The default user that the desktop boots
into is "knoppix", I'm not sure how to change that).

If you want a bootable cdrom-based router distro, then I would
recommend something like smoothwall, designed exactly for that
purpose.  I also have a recent copy of that too (again, from a dvd
that came with Linux Format).  ClarkConnect is another one, also
from LF!! :)

  (LF is an excellent magazine, expensive but highly recommended.  I
  got my full copy of Debian Woody v30r0 from it too, along with
  mandrake and some others... one of the regular features on the dvd
  edition are iso images of all sorts of recent distributions).

Give me a call, I can send you copies of any/all of them.

> Sandra.

Cheers
Tony

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