Knoppix persistent image absolutely will not retain settings

[jiffypop]

Hello All,

First post here, thanks for having me. I posted this problem to linuxquestions.org the best way I knew how and got one reply where the individual offered me no help but did offer me some sympathy for being harsh in his reply. Unfortunately, I type the way I talk. Can't help that, i've never been cold and clinical and wouldn't know how to start.
:-/


Here's my post and my problem:

As the subject states, I can't manage for the life of me to keep my settings with knoppix when I create a persistent image. I'm running the 5.3.1 version of the Live DVD. I have 2 fat32 formatted partitions and I have the dvd copied to 1 partition and the persistent image on the other.
I'm not the swiftest with linux but am somewhat comfortable with knoppix.
This is the wife's 'puter and unfortunately, i've got so much stuff on here, I don't have enough room to do the install to the hdd. I know you're not supposed to do that but i've got it installed on my laptop and it hasn't cost me anything. :-/
We're on dialup out here in the boonies and I've got to reinstall the drivers for my usb modem every time I boot up. Of course, I keep no other settings between boots, but my main gripe is redoing the modem and internet settings. I've tried every different form of cheatcode combos that I can think of to no avail. I've even tried just doing the save config from a root shell but that's not happening, either. When I do the persistent image (1GB) whatever is in my home folder is there when I reboot but no modem drivers, internet settings, desktop settings, etc.
I wouldn't be surprised if it's something simple i'm overlooking because god knows i'm the king of overlooking simple stuff. I hate to ask about such an idiotic problem on my first post but i'm at my wits end and have no idea where to go from here. I've googled until my eyes are close to falling out of their sockets but can't seem to find the light at the end of the tunnel. If you took the time to read the ramblings of a clueless linux noob, I thank you.

[hal8000]

First thing to remember about Knoppix is that its designed as a Live CD/DVD. It will install as a hard drive but not a recommended distribution for any beginner. If you'd like a permanent linux install then Ubuntu (also based on Debian ) is a good choice, or alternatively, PCLinuxOS, Suse, Mandriva and others.

By installing the DVD to 1 partition (do you mean youve copied the entire DVD to a partition) then it will still be running as a live DVD and ignore any persistant home settings. I dont use the latest 5.3.1 DVD but instead have Knoppix 5.1.1 installed as a permanent install from the knoppix CD. You will always get some small problems that you'll need to resolve (mainly because knoppix is intended as a live distribution) not for permanent installs.

To install knoppix 5.1.1 I switch to console mode ctrl-alt-F2 and as root type
knoppix-installer

The installer will then ask you a few questions but you must choose to install as a debian distribution, you also require a preformatted linux partition for
this script to run and about 4G minimum space as a partition. To create a /home directory afterwards, you need to create a /home partition, modify fstab
and reboot, it is perhaps similar to 5.3.1 on DVD.

If that all sounds too complicated, most distributions will do all that for you, you do have to be careful when it comes to partitioning as many distros offer a choice of using the complete hard drive and will remove any existing OS i.e. windows. Afterwards there are easier options to setup your internet and most
hardware.
Hope that helps

[jiffypop]

First and foremost, thanks for the reply.

I'm not looking to install knoppix on here as this is the wife's 'puter. She would literally kill me if I did. I've actually got 5.1.1 installed on my old sony vaio laptop along with XP. I'm cool with all the partitioning and installing and would love to do it on this rig but that's not allowed. :-(

I have indeed copied the dvd to a partition (fat32) and do the "knoppix fromhd=/dev/hd*".
Currently i'm using an ISO with the "knoppix bootfrom=/dev/hdb2/knoppix.iso" cheatcode.
I only have one dvd drive I can use in this box. So, unfortunately...I have to copy the dvd to the hdd in one way or the other in order to use the drive after i've booted up.

This is the crux of the situation: I have a Zoom usb modem. I use what's called a dgcmodem driver for my particular modem. After I extract the file and run "make install", I have to run dgcconfig. Then I have to type in the path for the modules. "/lib/modules/2.6.24.4/build". Then I use kppp to configure my modem and dialup settings. Everything works fine until I reboot. My internet settings are there: provider name, dialup # and my l/p. However, kppp tells me it's unable to open the modem.

Sooo, I dunno. I've tried the persistent home and i've tried saveconfig from a rootshell but to no avail. All I really would like is to have my modem that's functioning now also function upon reboot. I would think this would be a possibility with knoppix and am sure it is, somehow. It's just that i'm not quite sure how to make that happen. Guess the first few hundred pages I googled weren't good enough.

Once again, thanks for the reply and I hope I explained my situation in a satisfactory manner.
;-)

[OErjan]

uhm, one thing is that you should try,
first make a permanent home.
reboot, making certain you type home=scan and myconf=scan as cheatcodes.
download all the files to the permanent home, install the modem and save config, then reboot as above, it should now have stuck.
if not is there room enough on the permanent home?

why this rebooting and stuff? uhm, wel, it is not strictly necessary but easier than me giving you loads of text to type in a terminal.
the first time it just prepares the system to accept the files, the second you should be able to install everything and it should stick,
keep asking, we perhaps could make a script you could execute for the install?