Kanotix - how do I install?

[Harry Kuhman]

See, this is where I don't really understand why people use the Debian installers compared to a live CD....... the live CDs get you to that point much quicker and easier than the Sarge installer. As far as I'm concerned, the modern and most efficient way to install Debian is via a live CD.

You just have to read through the hdd install forum (and a lot of the posts about broken things in other forums that end up being about a hard disk install) to see why people do it. Yes, I like the look and feel of Knoppix much more than that of any Linux I've installed from an installable distro. Yes, Knoppix (and it's deravitives) does the best job of hardware detection I've yet see in Linux. But the one underlying truth is that Knoppix is a mix of stable, testing and unstable, and maybe even with some other stuff thrown in too. It's well tuned for running from a Live CD. But from all I can see it does not work as well when installed to a hard disk.

I'm frequently seeing posts about things like basic internet access that worked find when running from the CD but broke when the CD was installed to hard disk. And from what I have read if you try to update all of your packages once you have Knoppix installed to HD things will break down completely (implying that any update might break stuff). So while Knoppix is great as a live CD and a quick install to hard disk might seem attractive, many of use are asking ourselves if we want it done quick, or if we want it done right.

[markb]

But the one underlying truth is that Knoppix is a mix of stable, testing and unstable, and maybe even with some other stuff thrown in too. It's well tuned for running from a Live CD. But from all I can see it does not work as well when installed to a hard disk.

Yes, I agree this is certainly true for Knoppix. But it isn't true for Kanotix or Mepis! Knoppix is built primarily as a live CD and is not the best for a HD installation. Kanotix, in particular, is much closer to standard Debian sid (unstable) and is tailored for HD installation. My main machine was originally installed with Mepis 2004.03 but I then apt upgraded to unstable and have been updating weekly for many months. I've never had a problem.

[mzilikazi]

How can i install my kanotix?

i have of cource some problems.

with partition magic i made 2 partitions: one for WIN and one for LINUX
it boots the CDrom but cant load ... the only way i can run kanotix is using the "fromhd=/dev/hda1" parameter (copied the folder knoppix to c:\ )




If i run the kanotix hd installer it only show 1 HD (not the partitions) and it sais that the HD is read only.

I really dont know what to do now...

ps other live cds like slax, college linux are working fine

I would suggest you use the Kanotix forums. You'll get much more accurate and faster responses there.

Is the cd defective? Did you check the md5sums before burning the disc?

Some people find the need to use Smart Boot Manager before they can boot a live Linux disc.

When you boot the .iso from hdd it is read-only. You would need a 3rd partition for this option to work. ONe for windows, one for the .iso and one to install to. BTW Kanotix has some fine partitioning tools like fdisk and cfdisk both quite capable of partitioning the drive correctlly. I have my doubts about Partition Magic.

[markb]

Some people find the need to use Smart Boot Manager before they can boot a live Linux disc.

I run smart boot manager. But not because I have too! It is a far smarter manner to manage installing, changing, and testing various linux installations. You just install smart boot manager once into your MBR (where it lives completely, yes it is tiny) and you never need to touch your MBR ever again. Everytime you install a new linux/OS then just install grub/lilo to the root partition rather than the MBR. Smart boot manager is a simple GUI program which you can understand in 5 mins without reading any documentation and yet it does everything you will ever need. It will allow you to automatically or manually select which partition you want to boot. I just don't understand why everybody doesn't do it like this?! Who wants to stuff around merging grub/lilo boot options etc everytime you install a new OS?

[Harry Kuhman]

I run smart boot manager. ... It is a far smarter manner to manage installing, changing, and testing various linux installations. ..... I just don't understand why everybody doesn't do it like this?! Who wants to stuff around merging grub/lilo boot options etc everytime you install a new OS?

markb, your absolutely right Smart Boot Manager (or the somewhat fancier XOSL) is the way to go in situations like this. I suspect the people who resist looking at SBM are likely in the same class as the people who burn bad iso downloads, even after being asked if the md5 sum is right, because they just can't be bothered to find out what the md5 file is. Sadly, the Live CD world seems to have no shortage of them.

[mzilikazi]

Who wants to stuff around merging grub/lilo boot options etc everytime you install a new OS?

I think I know what you mean but GRUB is not at all difficult IMHO - you don't reinstall it everytime you change it (unlike LILO), simply add an entry to a file. All very simple.... Besides, my GRUB screen is much sexier than SBM.

[markb]

[quote="mzilikazi"]

Besides, my GRUB screen is much sexier than SBM.

Agreed, grub is certainly sexier. But remember that SM merely chain loads into grub. So I do get the grub menu in all its glory.