Newbie question about using the knoppix, safety etc.

[JohnElmore]

Hi!

I'm a total newbie with this thing and would like some info about the knoppix.

1. I'm using the latest live cd and would like to know what can be safely done. If i understood correctly i should not write anything to my hard disk (which is in use with my Windows XP home and uses NTFS partitioning)

So i should not save anything to disk? right? :)

2. I tried the Gimp but it gave me installation screen. So, it should be installed. Um... if i can't use the hard disk where can i install it?

3. What can be done with knoppix / or expected to get by using knoppix? :) totally stoopid question but being a windows user i don't know anything about the programs etc. (except the gimp) what are the best main applications?

Thanks in advance for your comments!

[od]

Hi,

As another relative newbie, I can assure you that Knoppix doesn't install anything on to your Hard Disk at all. It creates it's own temporary working space, (which you can save if you want to - for future use) so it is OK to follow the setup instructions for The Gimp. When you shutdown everything is back to normal. You have all your standard office packages and whole lot of multimedia / tech software as well, just go ahead and experiment! All is free and highly configurable!

[JohnElmore]

Thank you for your comments!

Is there any place i could save files permanently (safely) ?

I'm using the knoppix on a cd-r... i'm wondering that should i make
a cd-rw of it so it could be read and write.

Does it work like that and what kind of cd-rw disc would suffice? (for example how fast should it be)

[j.drake]

Thank you for your comments!

Is there any place i could save files permanently (safely) ?

I'm using the knoppix on a cd-r... i'm wondering that should i make
a cd-rw of it so it could be read and write.

Does it work like that and what kind of cd-rw disc would suffice? (for example how fast should it be)

I haven't been able to write the Knoppix ISO to CD-RW, because it doesn't hold as much. In fact, not all CD-Rs will work. Knoppix has so much stuff shoehorned into that ISO that I seriously doubt that you can add anything, even if you found a big enough CD-RW. Note that this is not the same as "remastering", and there are a number of threads in this forum dealing with mastering your own custom installation.

[Stephen]

Thank you for your comments!

Is there any place i could save files permanently (safely) ?

I'm using the knoppix on a cd-r... i'm wondering that should i make
a cd-rw of it so it could be read and write.

Does it work like that and what kind of cd-rw disc would suffice? (for example how fast should it be)

You can save your configuration to floppy drive and then use the cheat code (http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/CheatCodes) knoppix floppyconfig or floppyconf to load the saved configuration at boot. As to the cd-rw you may be able to save the persistant home to the ramdisk and then write it to the cd-rw and see if it will be used with the home=scan cheat code this would require a seperate burner in the computer that you would not be booting knoppix from. note: I have found that cd-rw on last for about 10 or 12 re-writes at least when I used them for the full image.

[paradocs]

Hello all,

As Stephen points out, persistent home is the best way to work
form CD and save our work.

If you just make a few small files these can be saved to the
floppy dirve -- but this is small and very slow. So if you
get past experimenting, it next best is a USB memory
stick, or a USB hard drive.

I have made a method for keeping the files on a second
CD-RW drive for security. It has been working well and I
am now adding scripts to verify that the CDRW is valid. This
is very experimental. Don't try it during a thunderstorm
or when the power gird is about to overload! :D

burn_home
http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2705

I do like working from the uninstalled KNOPPIX CD
but as you progress you may want to try one of the
methods of running KNOPPIX from your hard drive.

Best Wishes
paradocs