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View Full Version : Going form Knoppix to Debian



ishtvan22
10-19-2004, 05:49 AM
Currently I have a dual boot computer. I boot either Win 98 or Knoppix using LILO. I want to get rid of Knoppix and install Debian in the partiton Knoppix is in. What would be the best way to go about removing Knoppix without messing up LILO?

Thanks

mzilikazi
10-19-2004, 07:08 AM
Personally I would install Kanotix (http://kanotix.com/info/index.php), along with GRUB and enjoy. :P

certifieduser
10-19-2004, 02:25 PM
if you dont know that knoppix is debian you should stick with win98 and enjoy

change the knoppix wallpaper with one debian "e" one and you should be all set.

hope this helps.

Markus
10-19-2004, 04:05 PM
knoppix is debian Except for all the Knoppix packages.
I'm running Kanotix myself which gives you the same grade of hardware autodetection as Knoppix but is a lot easier to install than Debian, and closer to pure Debian than Knoppix.

mzilikazi
10-19-2004, 07:42 PM
if you dont know that knoppix is debian you should stick with win98 and enjoy

change the knoppix wallpaper with one debian "e" one and you should be all set.

hope this helps.

Hmmm.....well given the degree of difficulty in upgrading a Knoppix hdd installed system I'd have to disagree with you. Also it has proven to be no easy task to rebuild the Knoppix kernel. This I would say is not Debian because Debian IS easy to upgrade and it IS easy to recompile a kernel on Debian. I cannot speak for Klaus but it does not seem to me that he has any interest whatsoever in making Knoppix suitable for an hdd install.

Let me ask you this. If you put a Gentoo wallpaper on Mandrake do you have Gentoo?

champagnemojo
10-19-2004, 07:42 PM
Knoppix is based on Debian, but as Markus points out isn't exactly the same. I recently moved from Knoppix to Debian and am pleased with the change. From my perspective, there are really only two big advantages to switching to a pure debian install:

1) upgrades run smoothly...they're major pains with knoppix. Kanotix also fixes this issue though. I have Kanotix on my laptop and recently ran an upgrade with very little problem. I was very impressed.

2) you get to choose the software that goes onto your system. This is a big advantage to me, and one that Kanotix doesn't help on. Mind you, you can certainly try to go through a Knoppix or Kanotix install and remove the stuff you don't want/need, but it will take you forever. With Debian you get your base system installed and then can build it yourself.

I realize that for folks with a dial-up net account, the huge numbers of software on Knoppix and Kanotix could be a big advantage. But for me it's not. Beyond those two things you won't notice any big difference between Debian and Knoppix. I ran a Knoppix hd-install for a year and it certainly gives you a great system.

The disadvantage of the Debian install that people point to is the difficulty in the installation. I disagree about this though...I think this opinion likely dates back to previous installers. If you've used Knoppix and installed it a few times, you will have no trouble with the new Sarge installer. I find it to be very intuitive and simple to follow. So if you want to try switching to Debian, I say go for it. :D

As per your question, just let the Sarge installer re-install LILO to your MBR...that's probably the easiest way to go about it.

markb
10-20-2004, 02:08 AM
1) upgrades run smoothly...they're major pains with knoppix. Kanotix also fixes this issue though. I have Kanotix on my laptop and recently ran an upgrade with very little problem. I was very impressed.
FYI, I am running Mepis and do full updates all the time without problems. Plenty of people dist-upgrade and then update to unstable without issues either.

Balaji
10-20-2004, 09:23 AM
I would agree with what champagnemojo said but in my opinion the section where Debian lacks is obsolete packages . Though Debian ships with a wonderful tool apt-get which has the capability to fetch packages from the respective repositories and install them onto the hdd without any dependency problems,but when a person installs Debian for the first time. he has to spend more time in upgrading his system so that his system matches with the latest packages.Example : With a normal Debian Woody install all u get is 2.4 Kernel and an old KDE and Gnome Environments so if i were to get the latest updates . i need to spend more time in installing packages and the the upgradation that would happen to my system would be like from earth to moon because of the old packages that comes along with Debian . Or what i could do is just install the base system and then do a dist-upgrade which would fetch me the latest packages. All in all Debian would suit ppl who have got an internet connection with high bandwidth.

So comparing Debian and Knoppix in terms of the packages u get the latest packages in knoppix so u dont have to spend time in installing a lot of them.

champagnemojo
10-20-2004, 02:20 PM
FYI, I am running Mepis and do full updates all the time without problems. Plenty of people dist-upgrade and then update to unstable without issues either.

I don't really have any experience with Mepis, but I'm glad to hear that Mepis upgrades are smooth as well. :)

champagnemojo
10-20-2004, 02:24 PM
I would agree with what champagnemojo said but in my opinion the section where Debian lacks is obsolete packages . Though Debian ships with a wonderful tool apt-get which has the capability to fetch packages from the respective repositories and install them onto the hdd without any dependency problems,but when a person installs Debian for the first time. he has to spend more time in upgrading his system so that his system matches with the latest packages.Example : With a normal Debian Woody install all u get is 2.4 Kernel and an old KDE and Gnome Environments so if i were to get the latest updates . i need to spend more time in installing packages and the the upgradation that would happen to my system would be like from earth to moon because of the old packages that comes along with Debian . Or what i could do is just install the base system and then do a dist-upgrade which would fetch me the latest packages. All in all Debian would suit ppl who have got an internet connection with high bandwidth.

So comparing Debian and Knoppix in terms of the packages u get the latest packages in knoppix so u dont have to spend time in installing a lot of them.

Why install Woody if you want the latest packages though? If you use the latest Sarge installer it takes very little time to get your system up to date. And the kernels that come with it are 2.4.27 and 2.6.8. :wink:

Balaji
10-21-2004, 05:41 AM
Why install Woody if you want the latest packages though? If you use the latest Sarge installer it takes very little time to get your system up to date. And the kernels that come with it are 2.4.27 and 2.6.8. :wink:

i have heard about Sarge but have not tried out Sarge on my box so unfortunately didnt experience that :-) . sorry i was not aware of the latest packages in Sarge :(

Should try that out soon :)

olivers
10-21-2004, 08:42 AM
Currently I have a dual boot computer. I boot either Win 98 or Knoppix using LILO. I want to get rid of Knoppix and install Debian in the partiton Knoppix is in. What would be the best way to go about removing Knoppix without messing up LILO?

Thanks

Istavan, I haven't actually done this but here's my comments on your question. I'm assuming you want to install Debian from scratch.

In that case, at some point you will have to run LILO so that it can boot the new kernel you install. The important thing is to transfer the settings that enable you to boot win98 as well.

I'd do this:

1. copy the file /etc/lilo.conf to a floppy, or somewhere else you can reliably retrieve it from. You could even print it out :-)

2. install debian, overwritting your knoppix partition.

3. boot into your newly installed debian system.

4. edit your new lilo configuration file, as created by the debian installation (/etc/lilo.conf). Add in the bit that enables you to boot win98. This will be the lines that start with
other=/dev

A. Jorge Garcia
10-22-2004, 02:13 PM
When you guys intall Debian from scratch, do you mean that you're using mini.iso?

TIA,
AJG

mzilikazi
10-23-2004, 04:18 PM
I would agree with what champagnemojo said but in my opinion the section where Debian lacks is obsolete packages . Though Debian ships with a wonderful tool apt-get which has the capability to fetch packages from the respective repositories and install them onto the hdd without any dependency problems,but when a person installs Debian for the first time. he has to spend more time in upgrading his system so that his system matches with the latest packages.Example : With a normal Debian Woody install all u get is 2.4 Kernel and an old KDE and Gnome Environments so if i were to get the latest updates . i need to spend more time in installing packages and the the upgradation that would happen to my system would be like from earth to moon because of the old packages that comes along with Debian . Or what i could do is just install the base system and then do a dist-upgrade which would fetch me the latest packages. All in all Debian would suit ppl who have got an internet connection with high bandwidth.

So comparing Debian and Knoppix in terms of the packages u get the latest packages in knoppix so u dont have to spend time in installing a lot of them.

It is also possible to buy complete install discs of Debian. You can keep your .iso images up to date with jigdo which will only update to newer packages.

champagnemojo
10-24-2004, 01:59 AM
When you guys intall Debian from scratch, do you mean that you're using mini.iso?

TIA,
AJG

Get the netinst iso from the Debian-Installer (http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/) site. You can install without net access...that's what I have to do...but most likely it will autodetect your network card and you'll just go through the installer.