Difference between revisions of "Category:Hard drive Installation"


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If all you want to do is free up your CD drive, save data, make configuration and customisations, install new software packages, and have all these changes available from session to session, consider these [[Live CD Tips]] before resorting to a hard disk install.
 
If all you want to do is free up your CD drive, save data, make configuration and customisations, install new software packages, and have all these changes available from session to session, consider these [[Live CD Tips]] before resorting to a hard disk install.
  
[[Category:FAQ Page]]
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[[Category : FAQ Page]]

Revision as of 21:29, 28 February 2012

The main strength of Knoppix is its ability to be run from memory as a Live Linux CD. The advantage to this is that you can take the CD/DVD with you. However, it is possible to install Knoppix on a harddrive.

HD Installation

Boot with Knoppix CD/DVD and select 'Preferences/ KNOPPIX HD installation' in a free partiton you chose. You will get a Debian-like installation in your free partiton with GRUB legacy as bootmanager.

Flash disk Installation

Boot with Knoppix CD/DVD and select 'Preferences/ Install KNOPPIX to flash disk'. You will get an installation of the compressed filesystem image on the flash device. This installation uses Syslinx to boot. While booting this installation you have the chance to create persistent memory.

Poor man installation

Nowadays the flash disk installation is also called poor man installation.

Poor man harddrive Installation

Some people select 'Preferences/ Install KNOPPIX to flash disk' and do the installation not on an flash device but on a partiton of a harddrive and call it "poor man harddrive installation". This installation uses Syslinx to boot with compressed KNOPPIX and uses persistent memory to preserve any changes.

Basic Poor man Installation

  • You can boot with the Knoppix-CD/DVD using the cheatcode:
knoppix tohd=<path to some hard disk>

(for example: knoppix tohd=/dev/sda2). Knoppix will create a folder called "KNOPPIX" in the partition you chose and you will be asked to create persistent memory. The disk partition used can be a Linux format such as ext3 but can also be fat32, but not ntfs. See also Cheat Codes.

To boot this basic poor man installation you need again a Knoppix CDDVD or a boot-only Knoppix-CD; at boot prompt type:

knoppix fromhd=<path to the disk you used>.

Persistent memory

This is one of the most useful features in Knoppix, and together with unionfs, makes Knoppix very versatile indeed. The entire unionfs can be saved, so that configuration changes, settings, user data, packages which have been downloaded and installed etc can all be saved and will be available at subsequent sessions.

With "Flash disk Installation", "Poor man harddrive Installation" or "Basic Poor man Installation" you will be asked to create persistent memory. A image file '/KNOPPIX/knoppix-data.img' will be created respectively '/KNOPPIX/knoppix-data.aes' in case of encryption. At the next boot, Knoppix will scan for any image file named knoppix-data.img or knoppix-data.aes.

UNIONFS

One of the limitations of a Live CD is that most of the system area is read-only – in particular, /usr where most executable programs are kept. Some programs can run from /home, which is writable, but many programs need to change and access components into standard locations like /lib or /usr/lib are read-only. Fortunately there are solutions.

Unionfs is another important development introduced into Knoppix from Version 3.8 onwards. Unionfs is a virtual filesystem. It creates a writable system file area in ram with all the system directories such as /etc /usr and so on. This is then seamlessly merged with the read-only system files on the CD. A very readable description of unionfs can be found here: Kyle Rankin on unionfs

With unionfs, it becomes possible to "write" to the system area. Knoppix can then be treated almost like it is installed on a writable media. You can do install programs with apt-get or synaptic, download and install .deb packages, compile and install new drivers, edit config files in /etc and so on.

Of course, you may still download an incompatible package which upsets Knoppix's delicate balance and break Knoppix, just like in a hard disk install. But this is a Live CD! The problems go away at the next reboot.

On the other hand, if you installed something which works well, you will not have to do it again. You can save it and it can be made available at the next session – see below.



If you decide to do a HD installation of Knoppix, please read HD_Install_Warning_not_to_do_it first.



If all you want to do is free up your CD drive, save data, make configuration and customisations, install new software packages, and have all these changes available from session to session, consider these Live CD Tips before resorting to a hard disk install.

Pages in category "Hard drive Installation"

The following 3 pages are in this category, out of 3 total.