Is it possible to boot a windows partition using Knoppix?

Hi. Not long ago my master HDD passed the way. Maybe there is still hope, but I'm here because I can't boot from any of my other hard drives. This happened a couple months ago, and I've been using Knoppix. It's great! I'm just not able to install the drivers for a printer (deskjet f4140) because of a “make� command. I have two different windows installations on two different hard drives and I want to boot from them, to be able to print, I just don't now how. Am I able to use Knoppix to load Windows? If not, what can I do?

Thanks

It looks like what you need is HPLIP http://hplip.sourceforge.net/support...nkjet_aio.html. However, if your running from live CD, installing it via apt-get is pretty much impossible. You might try looking at some other livecd distros and see if they have HPLIP installed, or if HPLIP will install on them.

If you've installed knoppix to HD, then you can try apt-get install hplip and take it from there.

HTH

Thanks, Rusty. At the moment I'm unable to install HPLIP with the self extracting installer. Knoppix 4.0 isn't on the list of supported distributions http://hplip.sourceforge.net/downloads.html. That being the case, I opted to do the manual install from: http://hplip.sourceforge.net/install...ros/other.html here, I can't get past step 5, it seams like I don't meet the minimum system requirements. You may be right when you say it's impossible, but I've only tried installing the latest version.

Where would I go to look at other distributions of Linux? I use to have a copy of Fedora 5, that I got from an instructor at school, but it's no longer with me. I had installed it to one of the hard drives, but I formated the whole disk to install a copy of Windows, just in case the other became corrupt, but I can't boot from them without my master and it doesn't work. I'm using a 256MB flash drive as a hard drive. The others are formated with NTFS and I have data saved on them that I need. I have trouble running Knoppix for long sessions—It crashes—so I'm not sure if I can leave it running long enough to download an OS. I don't have enough RAM to store it anyway, and I'm sure it won't fit on my flash drive.

I'm not sure why I'm unable to boot Windows from my HDDs. May be it has something to do with a missing boot.ini file, I don't know. Before Knoppix starts, there is a dialog box where I can key in commands. I'm just wondering if I can use that, or some other Knoppix feature, so I'm able to run Windows?

Knoppix on my hard drive doesn't sound bad at all. I think, later, I'll buy a larger flash drive and put Knoppix on it, but right not I just need help loading Windows so that I'm able to print.

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Originally Posted by zebraboxers

Where would I go to look at other distributions of Linux?

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Distrowatch will give you links to home pages of many popular major distributions. (See the page hit rankings in the right hand column, or the drop down distro list picker near the top of the home page.)

Thanks a lot, Harry. You know I checked that out! Unubtu and PCKinux are pretty popular, I'm curious about the left column. Under OSDisc.com, what do the dollar amounts mean? Are they selling these? If I had gotten both of my Linux operating systems free of charge, would I breaking the law? Assuming I payed for Knoppix, what would make my copy different (or more popular than) Butonubu or PCLinux? I'm asking about unique, distinguishing features that no other “distros� have. Maybe some sort for XP loader?

Now then, let us boot some Windows installations! Yeah!! How should we tackle this? I've ruled out sweet talking and caressing. Next I'll try whispering sweet nothings, stuffed animals and origami roses. The roses'll do the trick, I just know it, then I'll be able to print.

Printing is only the beginning, after that I'll be able to move from 256MBs of storage to an almost unlimited amount of 400GBs. So can I call if jet-lag if there is no change in timezones, and no jet? I was looking for different “cures� for it, but none of them seem like thy would work for me. I've stayed awake long enough to fall asleep in the evening, but the next day I can't sleep until mid-morning (between 4 and 6 AM). I just lay there and listen to mind chatter while I count. That's right I've become so skilled at counting, I can do it in five different languages and while daydreaming--late at night. Is that normal? I mean the counting and unwilling reverie conundrum. I want to stay away from pills, crazy diets and it seams like I'm immune to the drowsing effects of the dark. Thanks you guys

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zebraboxers

Are they selling these? If I had gotten both of my Linux operating systems free of charge, would I breaking the law? Assuming I payed for Knoppix, what would make my copy different (or more popular than) Butonubu or PCLinux?

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You can buy copies of these distros, or even of Knoppix. You certainly don't have to, a free downloaded copy is perfectly legal and IMHO its far better. When you download you should be getting the newest version with the most current bug fixes (assuming that is what you chose to download). When you buy you might be getting whatever version the seller had handy. Also, many sellers make high speed burns (to maxamize their profit, do you really think they are taking 20 minutes or more per disc and then selling you quality media properly burned for $2? As long as you have a high speed connection you are much better of burning your own discs, or, for Debian at least, doing a "net-install" across the Internet.

As to Assuming I payed for Knoppix, what would make my copy different (or more popular than) Butonubu or PCLinux?, well, paying for it might well give you a sub-standard copy that will not always boot properly. Other than that, distros are different. Knoppix is a Live CD or DVD. While some insist on fighting with the problems of a Knoppix hard disk install, it is not really intended for hard disk and not suitable for it (IMHO). The other distros you mention are (actually, I never heard of Butonubu, did you type that properly? I know of Ubuntu and Kubuntu but not Butonubu. If there is such a distro, and there well could be, use the site where you found it for information on it). Different distros simpy have different target users. They may incorporate different Linux features, may use different package systems to install and manage add-in software (for example, not all Linux distros use the Debian apt-get system, Red Had uses a completely different system) and have other differences. Knoppix differes from many other distros in being a Live CD, it was one of the first distros intended to boot and run right from CD and do automatic hardware detection, configuring itself for the system it was booted on. It's far from the only Live CD at this point and there are many other Live CDs out there. Some are general purpose systems like Knoppix, many others are targeted at specific uses (see Helix of computer forensics or Backtrack 2 for network security, or DSL or Puppy Linux for live systems that require much less space and have very good ways to allow a user to install additional software cleanly). It's up to you to choose what system is right for you (the large nuber of choices can often make this a difficult choice, and asking what distro is best is a lot like asking what religion is best, most responses will be of the form my religion is best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harry Kuhman

The other distros you mention are (actually, I never heard of Butonubu, did you type that properly? I know of Ubuntu and Kubuntu but not Butonubu.

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No, It was very improperly keyed. I'm not proud to be fluent in typo, but I've heard of very few of these and here:

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Originally Posted by zebraboxers

Unubtu and PCKinux are pretty popular. . .

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“Ubuntu� didn't display the way it should, and I caught that when I double check it's spelling down here:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zebraboxers

what would make my copy different (or more popular) than Butonubu or PCLinux?

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It tickled me to see how far off I was from the original spelling, so I let it be and hoped it would tickle someone else as well. I apologize, because I shouldn't have left it unchanged. You are, indeed, correct. It's possible that a distro by that name exists. If it does, then I'm not, and wouldn't be aware of it, as I'm very new to this kind of thing, however, your post was very enlightening. Thanks to you, I now know a great deal about distros.

I didn't ask which was the best, but what made one different enough to become so much more popular than the others, and that question was answered. I've attended a Catholic church, Cristian, Baptist, and a Jewish service. In the Catholic church I got “free� food and gifts. The Cristian church is where I learned to fold paper roses, and it's like the Baptist, but with more people. Because the Baptist temple had fewer people, we could go out to eat at a buffet style restaurant or make BBQ at the park. At the Jewish service, I learned the Hebrew letter bet, “it looks like a house with an open door,� and sometimes there'll be a man getting ready to walk in. Maybe these are the wrong reasons to go to church, but it's why I like to go. Now if there was a way to put all of these religions on a flash drive, along with a universal booting tool. . . hmm.

I didn't pay for Knoppix. I took a class, intro to operating systems, and the first day we were each assigned a hard drive. It had several operating systems installed on different partitions with different file systems. I had been introduced to all of them, but one—ext3. This one was a “Red Hat distro�. I grew up with Windows, and the only other OS I knew existed, before I took that class, was OSX. I was like a kid, in an all you can eat for free candy store! Later that year we were handed CDs containing Knoppix, and we used the QTParted tool to change the size of a partition. I took a blank DVD to the instructor and asked if he could burn a copy of Linux on it. That became Fedora, I could choose between KDE interface or a Red Hat. Later I took a blank CD to the assistant instructor and asked for Knoppix. He reached in a box and traded me disks.

It seams like my copy of Knoppix was burned at a slow speed, because, other than not being able to print, it's never given me trouble. I'm going to start folding those roses now and see we can run Windows XP.

At the Bottom of the post Rusty made I see

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Originally Posted by rusty

HTH

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what does that mean?

HTH=Hopes This Helps

OIC, TY. It did help and would have fixed my problem too, but my operating system isn't supported. Now, shal we find some other method to get Windows to load? The roses didn't work by the way. I mean BTW.

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Originally Posted by zebraboxers

...Now, shal we find some other method to get Windows to load? ....

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You might want to look at a simple boot manager called SBM (Smart Boot Manager). But I really expect the issue wil be a corrupt Windows system that can no longer boot (not untypical of Windows).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE FWIW (For What It's Worth)

While changing HDDs, I broke the rules and didn't turn off the power. I saw a spark, my computer shut off, then I looked up at my ceiling and hissed "Por Que!" I took a deep breath and told myself to think positive, but the terrible feeling, from when I caused the short, returned when my power button wouldn't work. I opened the enclosure, caressed my power supply and bid it farewell, thinking I would have to replace it. Then I remembered something similar had happened in the past and all I did then was wait a little bit. Five minutes passed, and I tried it again, but received no signs of life. In tears, I unplugged the power cord from the back. I was to go out in the morning and purchase a new one. Toes and fingers crossed, I decided to try one last time and I plugged it back in. For a few moments I was lifted off the floor with joy, to the sound of the fans spinning, the sight of LEDs blinking, and the tune of the speaker beeping, but I was quickly encumbered with an overwhelming sorrow by a monochromatic screen that read “please insert system disk.� To myself I said, “Onegai, onegai shimasu!! Not my 400GB slave!� Yes, I said slave, because the OS on my master needed to be activated because I changed the hardware too often, so I had been booting off of my slave. I don't know why Microsoft does that, It's a pain for both of us, I'm sure. I rebooted and crossed my fingers, but not my toes, as it is very difficult, and through tear blurred eyes I saw it listed on my display. What I did not see was my master. I can't boot from my 400G baby yet, but she works. If I put my ear to her I can hear her purr, “I still love you.� My 80GB master, however, wasn't even able to say it's last words—poor little thing. I want to do something to recover the data, as this is a very big inconvenience for me. This is a Seagate model ST3800020A, clad in black rubber and stickers. I want to remove the circuit board, that's under the rubber, and replace it with another, but I don't want to damage it, or corrupt my data any more than it already is. Are the little circuit boards with the IDE and power connectors swappable? What can I do?

This happened on my tower. On my laptop there is a corrupt system file in the Windows folder. This has happened before and I had to reinstall or "recover" Windows, just because of one "missing or corrupt file". My laptop came with Windows XP Pro SP2, ST3800020A has Windows XP Home, and my slave has the same copy. I have another drive, that wasn't connected at the time of the incident, with Windows XP Pro SP2. When I installed Pro on it, I had my latex sweetheart plugged in, so I've connected the problem to the boot settings saved on ST3. . .A, which aren't accessible. I've misplaced my copy's of Windows, so I'm unable to fix the problem on my lap top. I hope this isn't so, but I think I thew them in the garbage, along with an Eathlink and a couple AOL free trail discs. That same carelessness is keeping me from being able to sole the problem on my other drives.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harry Kuhman

You might want to look at a simple boot manager called SBM (Smart Boot Manager). But I really expect the issue wil be a corrupt Windows system that can no longer boot (not untypical of Windows).

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Prior to that I use to see the BSOD a lot. Anyway, I think that this “SBM� will allow me to load my OS, but I'm afraid my geek level isn't sufficiently high enough to use Linux command line, because the same issue keeping me from using this OS to print, is also keeping me from compiling this tool—that dreaded make command! There are two other things that may cause trouble in the future, but I won't know until I can compile it. That being said, lets get this puppy going so I can print!

It didn't look so hard, I have step by step instructions, but it is—for me anyway. I scanned through the introduction, copyright, and the rest of 1, until 2. It reeds:

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Originally Posted by 2.

How to compile and customize Smart Boot Manager 3.x? This section introduces the method of compiling and customizing Smart
Boot Manager 3.x.


2.1. How to compile Smart Boot Manager 3.x?

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“Ha! This couldn't be simpler,� I thought. Until I got to 2.1.1. It looks a lot like this:

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Originally Posted by 2.1.1.

What software is needed to compile SmartBtmgr?

For Linux users, you need gcc, make and nasm (Netwide Assembler, URL:
http://www.web-sites.co.uk/nasm/ <http://www.web-sites.co.uk/nasm/>).
For DOS users, you must have DJGPP (a DOS porting of GCC, URL:
http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/ <http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/>), and
nasm.

You also must have UCL compression library (URL:
http://wildsau.idv.uni-linz.ac.at/mfx/ucl.html
<http://wildsau.idv.uni-linz.ac.at/mfx/ucl.html>) to compile Smart
BootManager.

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I highlighted the text > pressed and held Ctrl > tapped C > pressed and help Alt > tapped Tab > slowly raised the mouse to select the address bar > pressed and held Ctrl > tapped V > pressed enter > smiled > frowned and shook my head slowly side to side after an attack of confusion. I had failed to attain the much needed ugh whatever they are.

“No biggie,� I said aloud and proceeded to a stand still.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 2.1.2.

2.1.2. How to compile it?

Edit the Makefile, change the line that including 'TARGET_OS=xxx'. If
you are using Linux, change the line to TARGET_OS=linux, if you are
using DOS, change it to TARGET_OS=dos.

Then just type make to compile it.

the executable file is placed in release/ directory.

type make install to install it. For linux, the default binary
installation dir is /usr/sbin/, themes will be stored into
/usr/share/btmgr/ and documentation is placed in /usr/share/doc/btmgr/
if you want to change them, edit the Makefile.

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Editing the Makefile was a piece of cake, in fact I didn't have to do anything at all, because “TARGET_OS=linux� was already present. I assumed that I was to do the next step in command line, and I knew what was going to happen, but I went ahead and tried it anyway.

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Originally Posted by Shell – Konsole

knoppix@0[knoppix]$ make
make: *** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop.
knoppix@0[knoppix]$ make install
make: *** No rule to make target `install'. Stop.
knoppix@0[knoppix]$ sudo su
root@0[knoppix]# make
make: *** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop.
root@0[knoppix]# make inatall
make: *** No rule to make target `inatall'. Stop.
root@0[knoppix]# make install
make: *** No rule to make target `install'. Stop.
root@0[knoppix]#

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You know what is said about assumptions, as well as I do, so I looked over the instructions, and referred to the Makefile,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Makefile - KWrite

# Smart Boot Manager Makefile
#
# Copyright (c) Suzhe 2000
#
# make compile Smart Boot Manager
# make install install Smart Boot Manager
# make uninstall uninstall Smart Boot Manager
# make clean delete unused files

#
# CONFIG:
#
# -DSHOW_DRV_NAME Show driver name instead of driver number
# -DDISABLE_CDBOOT Disable CD-ROM Boot
# -DSLOW_ATAPI_DEVICE Use this option, if SBM cannot find your CD-ROM
# -DSTRICT_PART_CHECK Uses strict partition check policy, which will
# check the partition type and boot sector flag
# as well as the partition address.
# -DCOMPRESS_SBM Compress SBM to reduce the code size
# -DY2K_BUGFIX Use Y2k bugfix code for old BIOS
################################################## #########################

CONFIG= -DSHOW_DRV_NAME -DSLOW_ATAPI_DEVICE -DCOMPRESS_SBM -DY2K_BUGFIX \
-DSTRICT_PART_CHECK

.EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES:

# change following macro to dos, if you want to compile sbm under dos
TARGET_OS=linux

ifeq ($(VERSION),)
VERSION=3.7
endif

ifeq ($(TARGET_OS),linux)

ifeq ($(PREFIX),)
PREFIX= /usr
endif

BIN_DIR= $(PREFIX)/sbin
DOC_DIR= $(PREFIX)/share/doc/btmgr-$(VERSION)
INFO_DIR= $(PREFIX)/info
THEME_DIR= $(PREFIX)/share/btmgr

else
ifeq ($(TARGET_OS),dos)

PREFIX= /btmgr
BIN_DIR= $(PREFIX)
DOC_DIR= $(PREFIX)/doc
INFO_DIR= $(PREFIX)/info
THEME_DIR= $(PREFIX)/theme

else

$(error Invalid TARGET OS!)

endif
endif

TOPDIR= $(shell if [ "$$PWD" != "" ]; then echo $$PWD; else pwd; fi)
DEST_DIR= $(TOPDIR)/release


COMMON_FLAGS= $(CONFIG) -g

ASM= nasm $(CONFIG)
CC= gcc $(COMMON_FLAGS)

SUBDIRS= manager manager/themes installer docs
#SUBDIRS= manager manager/themes installer

LOADER= $(DEST_DIR)/loader.bin
MAIN= $(DEST_DIR)/main.bin
THEME_FR= $(DEST_DIR)/theme-fr
THEME_ES= $(DEST_DIR)/theme-es
THEME_CZ= $(DEST_DIR)/theme-cz
THEME_RU= $(DEST_DIR)/theme-ru
THEME_HU= $(DEST_DIR)/theme-hu
THEME_DE= $(DEST_DIR)/theme-de
THEME_US= $(DEST_DIR)/theme-us
THEME_ZH= $(DEST_DIR)/theme-zh
THEME_PT= $(DEST_DIR)/theme-pt

#
# Rules
#
################################################## ##########################
all:
@echo -e "\nCompiling Smart Boot Manager\n"
-@mkdir $(DEST_DIR)
@rm -f errors.log
@set -e; for i in $(SUBDIRS); do $(MAKE) -C $$i 2>&1|tee -a errors.log;done
@rm -f errors.log

@echo -e "\nCompilation complete.\n"

clean:
@echo -e "\nCleaning up\n"
@set -e; for i in $(SUBDIRS); do $(MAKE) clean -C $$i ;done
@rm -fr $(DEST_DIR) *.bak core *~ *.bkp
@echo -e "\nComplete.\n"

install: all
-@mkdir -p $(PREFIX)
@echo -e "\nInstalling\n"
@set -e; for i in $(SUBDIRS); do $(MAKE) install -C $$i ;done
@echo -e "\nComplete.\n"

uninstall:
@echo -e "\nUnnstalling\n"
@set -e; for i in $(SUBDIRS); do $(MAKE) uninstall -C $$i ;done
@echo -e "\nComplete.\n"

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I think the problem has something to do with the things from 2.1.1.. What do you think? I tried to show everything that I did, but I could have missed something of significance. Please let me know of any useful information I may have missed, but is needed for the successful compilation of this tool, so we may proceed to address my two other problems, so it's possible to load Windows, so I can finally be able to print.

Thanks so much for baring with me, you guys, it looks like we're making progress now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rusty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE FWIW (For What It's Worth)

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WTG Rusty! That is very interesting, but better yet, useful information. I find it challenging to describe the conundrum of emotions triggered by the words: "A user can create his or her own installation of BartPE using the installation disk of the operating system in question..." As I reed I feel intrigued, happy, I pause to say, "Ah, the joy of creating," the song of angels fills the air, my cat's purr forms a symphony with the songbirds playing the harp, and her long playful tail adds a sense of realism, as it brushes my smiling, joy filled cheeks. I continue reeding, but suddenly, as I decrypt the last part of the quote, everything is consumed by an eerie silence, and my cat runs off. Now, when I need her most, she has shunned me, left me behind--like a yarn ball that has unwound, becoming uninteresting, and entangled--to suffer some unknown, lonesome fate. Somehow, I'm now walking down the street feeling confused, scared and disillusioned. Abruptly, someone walks up and punches me, right in the face, for no reason at all, and It happens to be my twin brother! Once again, everything changes, the cold, hard pavement becomes my rug, and I struggle to get back up on my seat to finish the article.

In a different situation, I wouldn't waste a second to create this tool, but

Quote:

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Originally Posted by I

I've misplaced my copy's of Windows, so I'm unable to fix the problem on my lap top. I hope this isn't so, but I think I thew them in the garbage, along with an Eathlink and a couple AOL free trail discs.

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Thank you so much for looking these things up for me, all I did was talk, caress, and fold flowers for my machine. I enjoy reeding the information, and I'll be looking forwards to the next link I get from either you, or Kuhman. You two do stand out from the 270 silent reeder. Thanks again, be well, and TTYL.

Can't you borrow a xp cd from someone and use it to reinstall xp or make a bartpe etc.? Another option is to resize the ntfs partition on one of the working drives to free up enough space to install linux, thus installing grub, from which you might boot your xp partition.

BTW, do you write the trashy romance books that they sell in Rite-Aid.?

I was hoping to get another link from you, but instead I got some advise. It works out the same.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rusty

Can't you borrow a xp cd from someone and use it to reinstall xp or make a bartpe etc.?

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You could say, I live in the middle of no where, for my closest neighbor lives two miles away. I don't know anyone that has an XP disk. No, I'm not able to borrow a disk from anyone in my town, and I can't find my disks anywhere. You're more experienced than I am, if its not so much trouble, could you use your copy of XP to make a bratpe, and upload it somewhere so I may use it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rusty

Another option is to resize the ntfs partition on one of the working drives to free up enough space to install linux, thus installing grub, from which you might boot your xp partition.

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I have been thinking about shrinking some space, so I may have more storage. What happens to the files, that were on the clusters, that became unallocated and formatted? Do they get moved, or are they lost? I've used grub before, and it's still on that hard disk that use to have Fedora, but it doesn't do anything. It just says, "GRUB" Am I able to use it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rusty also

BTW, do you write the trashy romance books that they sell in Rite-Aid.?

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I'm sorry to say, but I'm not the one who wrote those books you read. In fact, I've never heard of "Rite-Aid." I don't necessarily like to read things I can't learn from. To give you an idea, the last three books I read were: A Brief History of Time, Una Verdad Incomoda, and Teach Yourself Korean. If you would supply a title, I would check it out.

Well, Rusty, I'll CYAL8R

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and it's still on that hard disk that use to have Fedora

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Is the partition where fedora resided still there, You type:fdisk -l , from a knoppix root shell to see. If it is then you won't need to resize the xp partition , rather install a linux to the old fedora partition, or fedora itself if you still have the installation media.

If you have the capability to burn CD's , I recommend Ubuntu as the installer will likely see and try to configure grub to include any xp's that are in the box. Even if it doesn't, getting a hard disk installed installed linux will get you the ability to use your printer.

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Originally Posted by rusty

ability to use your printer.

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I'll get right on it!