knx2hd finds only one partition

[init1]

Hello,

I'm trying to install Knoppix 5.0.1 on harddisk, following the procedure described in "easy linux 08/2006", which came with Knoppix 5.0.1 on DVD.

The magazine says, you must start the root console and type "knx2hd", later choose one of the partitions which have been found.

Problem is, I want to install on /dev/sda5, a 10 GB partition which I had first formatted with ext3 than ext2 (using QPartEd) to test if "knx2hd" will find the ext2 partition. But knx2hd only offers me /dev/sda6, which already carries lots of data which I don't intend to remove.

sda5 is known to Knoppix and I can mount or umount it. Are 10 GB not large enough, or what is the reason that it doesn't get offered from knx2hd? What can I try to make it find sda5?

If all attempts to install with knx2hd will fail, can I just mount sda5, for example to /mnt, and rsync the complete Knoppix filesystem to the partition, doing an "rsync -Sav / /mnt"? Will I get the whole Knoppix 5.0.1 with this command? (Booting is secondary, if I would get a valid system copy on sda5 with rsync)

[Harry Kuhman]

I know there are some people who believe in Knoppix "installs", I am not one. See answer #2. Most of the time I just keep my silence when people post that they are determined to "install" Knoppix in spite of the warnings, but in your case you are already seeing problems even before the install gets started, so I have to wonder why this doesn't make you suspect that there might be some serious issues with a Knoppix "install" and that things could get worse down the road.

And I've never had a good answer to why people insist on installing Knoppix rather than Debian, and then being able to cleanly install all the applications they want, either ones on the Knoppix discs or plenty of others in the Debian package system that are not included in Knoppix. I suspect these people have never tried to install a recent version of Debian. The only reason that people try a Knoppix "install" seems to be the baby duck syndrome, which explains what is happening but is not a justification.

If you are interested in a simple clean viable install of the same Linux distro that Knoppix is based on, try an install of Debian. I would suggest the version called "Etch". At the moment the net-install of etch is down as they make changes to the package system to move from beta 2 to beta 3, but if it's still not back by the time you try then you can still download the full CD #1 and install from that. You do not need any CD beyond CD #1. For installing Debian I suggest that you remove the partitions that you had planned to use for Knoppix and just have free unpartitioned space on the drive. During the Debian install one of the options will be to use this free space on the drive for the install. Debian will then partition and format it as required, making both the Linux partition and a swap partition.

If you decide that you still want to try with Knoppix rather than a distro intended for hard disk, good luck to you. I would rather work with a less problem prone version of Linux, so I can't help you through your Knoppix issues.

[kg4wxw]

i have tried several times in quite the amount of fustration to install debian on a fresh pc with past versions but to no avail i have yet to actualy get x to come up and run... i have stuck to fedora just dur to the fact it comes up and is ready to go after ful install. Is the new version more compatable with every day hardware such as video cards? is the install easer (idiot proof)

[Harry Kuhman]

i have tried several times in quite the amount of fustration to install debian on a fresh pc....

David, you are not the person I was addressing here, so I really don't know much about your problem. What version were you trying to install? What options did you take? What were the errors?

Several years ago Debian (and many other Linux distros) were a lot more complex to install. They needed the user to provide detailed technical information like interupts and I/O addresses fior many devices. When Knoppix came along many people were asking "Why can't a normal Linux install detect these things if Knoppix can?". The developer community seems to have learned from this and modern installs are much cleaner. Some people still insist on fighting with Knoppix on a hard disk, but I see no reason.

I've done many sucessful installs with both "Sarge" and "Etch". Etch, being newer, seems to have a nicer install in most cases, but I don't recall problems with Sarge. I would suggest an Etch install at this point for anyone installing Debian.

I don't want to pretend that all Debian installs are without any issues at all. Neither Sarge nor Etch detects a very common old ISA SoundBlaster 16 pnp that I have in one test system. To be fair, neither does Knoppix. And I have had some partition issues with Etch that I didn't have with Sarge (trying to install on a 4 partition system and trying to get the Debian installer to put Grub on the Linux partition, not the MBR). But I would much rather deal with issues like this than the known ongoing problems of a Knoppix "install".

And since this is Linux there are a lot of options that you can choose during install. Thery are not intending to make just an "idiot proof" desktop install for dummys, the same installer is used to install a version of Debian that would be suitable for a web server or any number of other uses. If you are installing Etch and you want the Gnome GUI installed during the install process, be sure to select the "Desktop Install" in the dialog. If you want KDE (the GUI that Knoppix uses), you can install it and tons of support packages with a simple "apt-get install kde" once you have Debian running. I have both Gnome and KDE installed on my test system this way, and select which I want at log-in. This desktop choice is done a bit differently in Debian Sarge, but it's still there. Make a system that is idiot proof and only an idiot will want to use it.

And, of course, I've had more than my share of fighting with Windows install problems too. At this point my expectations are that Debian will install much cleaner than Windows, and I will not even consider a Knoppix install.

I'm not preaching Debian as the right Linux distro for everyone. I had bad experiences with Red Hat in the past and I don't think much of the way they are making Fedora their unwanted step-child, so I've stayed away from it. If you like it then I am not trying to tell you that you should switch to Debian. I like to play around with different Linux distros and see what they have to offer, so I expect I'll be installing other hard disk targeted distros in the future. But Debian seems a good choice for someone who has seen Knoppix and wants a Knoppix like system without the Knoppix like problems.

[kg4wxw]

i understand i was not the person you were originaly speaking to yet i found youre reply an interesting one none the less..... it is true its been a good year and a half since the last distro i tried with debian and since i have only a few brain cells left i cant remember back that far as to errors and such. My main problem was the research rout i took to figure out the complex installs to try and find a soutable rout for the install. I have tried many os's just due to the fact i was increadably board at the pc shop when it was reeeeely slow so i played a lot seeing witch ones were easest to install on the get go. Mainly for refrance when speaking to other ppl to get there intrest into linux. But as i mentioned before the previous distros were a bit on the complex side and way over my head even with the power of google and a little bit of dangerous knoledge. My question was a simple one drawn out a bit to far, Is the new distro of debian an easer install than previous versions. I beleve from youre reply it should be so i will give it another shot tonight.

thanks

[Harry Kuhman]

.... I beleve from youre reply it should be so i will give it another shot tonight.

One thing to be aware of is that the Debian team is in the process of making some changes to the package system in the move from beta 2 to beta 3 of Etch. See the news section here. This will keep you from doing a net-install at the moment, assuming it doesn't change in the next few hours. But you should still be able to download the ISO of the full CD #1 and install from that.