Newbie question?

[boombastic]

I've got a Compaq Presario 1515EA and if i use the Knoppix LiveCd all is ok,does this mean that if i install it onto the HD all will be ok the same?This is the use of a liveCD,isn't it?

[A. Jorge Garcia]

The only way to know, in my experience, is to go ahead and try it. I've very seldom had a problem getting the liveCD working on just about any PC I want. Once I figure out how to get the liveCD to boot the way I want (ie: cheatcodes, etc) then installing to the hdd is usually a breeze!

When installing to the hdd, I usually run qtparted to perform a nondestructive repartition first. I usually resize the original partition (hda1) to half its size (as long as the current contents will fit in the new size). Then I create hda2 and format it as a linux swap partition usually double the size of the RAM I have. With the remaining space I create hda3 and format as a linux ext3 partition.

Having done all that, running knoppix-installer usually goes very smoothly!

BTW, they say always to backup the contents of hda1 before repartitioning and you probably should if you're not familiar with partitioning in general or qtparted inparticular. But, to be honest, I never make backups prior to repartitioning since using qtparted instead of cfdisk (which performs a destructive repartition).

Also, if you have a fast PC, say a PIV with over 256MB RAM, I don't think a swap partition is going to make much difference, so you might skip that step!

Good Luck!

Regards,
AJG