logout & logout knoppix

[j.drake]

Pardon my dumb question - but what is the advantage of doing a debian-style install of Knoppix, as opposed to a straight Debian Sid installation??

BTW, I've figured out from her posts that Cuddles is a control freak, at least w/r/t her computer (and that's not a criticism). I just mean that I can't see her clicking a script and hoping that it does what she wants, just because it's easy. I was just at the Debian site last night, and they have an incredibly well-written FAQ and installer how-to that answers a lot of the questions that come up repeatedly, including questions relating to partitioning and the like. Looks like anyone who wants to micromanage every last detail of a HD install would do well to read those, and maybe even install Debian from Debian. Both documents are exceedingly well-written and very detailed. Picking through posts on this forum, I see a lot of "oh, just do this . . . ", but these Debian docs really take the time to explain the whys of what is going on.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not criticizing Knoppix or the installer or this forum, but I do recognize that different people have different needs. Some have no patience or understanding for the details, and need something analogous to the MS approach of a one-click, no options install. OTOH, for someone like Cuddles (and possibly me), straight Debian seems like the ticket for ultimate control.

Either way, I highly recommend those documents on the Debian site, and we might want to consider linking to them on the WIKI.

jd

[eco2geek]

Pardon my dumb question - but what is the advantage of doing a debian-style install of Knoppix, as opposed to a straight Debian Sid installation??

Simple answer: It's one hell of a lot easier.

The last time I tried to install Debian Sid from CD images, I found out (after asking) that the (beta) installer was a separate download from the CDs with the packages on them. Also, the stock "nv" (NVidia) driver didn't work correctly, and X wouldn't run.

I didn't spend too much time trying to configure it correctly, since I knew I could simply install Knoppix or Kanotix instead, and what I got running the live CD was what I would get with a hard drive install. Nor would I have to spend time using apt-get or dpkg, since most of the apps I wanted already came with Knoppix/Kanotix.

[j.drake]

Thanks. I suspected as much. I gather that there's a trade-off between simplicity and control, apparently, with MS at one end of the spectrum, and Debian at the other, with Knoppix in between. Given my inexperience, I think I'll likely take the Knoppix route this time.

Still, my only other HD dual boot install experience with Linux involved Mandrake, which went too far in promoting ease at the expense of control, and I wound up installing LILO to the MBR by accident, despite the fact that I was DELIBERATELY trying to avoid doing that. By the time I caught the problem it was too late (I was trying to keep XP on the first HD, linux on the second, mount the bootloader on the second HD, and then reverse the boot order of the HDs in BIOS, specifically to keep Linux the hell off of my XP HD).

Thanks again for all your help. I still recommend the Debian guides, though. Very informative. I learned a lot.

jd

[Cuddles]

Control Freak

Now wait a minute here... I am not a control freak, I just don't like "unplanned" things, especially if I have the time to plan them, or to do something that I don't have a clue about, i.e. lack of information.

J.D - if you told me to click something, and that something I didn't have a clue about, I would probably "trust" you, and click it. For this same reason, if I was going to tell someone to click something, I want to be darn sure I know what I am talking about...

Also, I actually like Knoppix, wouldn't trade it for anything, really... But the new installer isn't the same as the previous one, and since the choices you make, can have reprecustions afterwords, I wanted to be sure of what I was doing. ( still not sure if I would "recommend" any specific "options" to anyone though, I'm really not that sure right now. ) Heck, I'm still a newbie here, haven't been running Knoppix for more than a year yet, a couple of weeks with the Live CD, and all of it from v3.3 -=- and this is my first "major" upgrade of the OS...

I don't think I'm a control freak, maybe a cautious "detail oriented" person, with a "knack" to ask before she does - but a lot of that came from M$ - and the fear that anything you do in Windows could literally break it. Having done a few apt-get installs, or apt-get upgrades, and have your whole "apt-get" get hosed, has made me even more "cautious" with Knoppix, too. I do like the "Windows" click thing, but, have enjoyed getting "intimate" with my system and its hardware with Knoppix -=- not a "power" thing, or a "control" thing, but, I do like root, for its ability to take away "control" and "power" when it isn't necessary

So, J.D, I might just have to see those docs on Debian - more information and enlightenment, make for better decissions and judgement...
Ms. Cuddles

[j.drake]

LOL! I figured I'd get a rise out of you!

Seriously, though, I think you'll like them. I'm also one of those people who needs to understand, and I'm a newbie too.

jd

[j.drake]

So, J.D, I might just have to see those docs on Debian - more information and enlightenment, make for better decissions and judgement...

Here's one I particularly liked. I remembered you saying that you were going to install over the fourth, so I was hoping to make you aware of it in case you needed it:

http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/install

HTH

jd

[softgun]

Hello everyone,
Thanks for everyone for the discussion, which paved the way for me to do my HDD install witout much problems. I did a beginner type install. The problem is I started Knoppix with icewm and did the install. When I booted the HDD install it went to the KDE desktop!

A BIG dissapointment is the removal of LATEX and LYX. LOL! I have to use word processors again?