Knoppix 3.4 ( Poor-man's ) HD install

This refers to Knoppix 3.4 (17.05.04) , which differs from previous versions ( so much of the Forum advice is incorrect/confusing ) ; booting from floppy with Linloader to a saved image on a Hd partition . It requires 2 ( or 3 ) partitions , but MAY be possible with one ... more of which later ... but ....I'm leaving well enough alone at this point !!!!!
The advantages of such an arrangement are that you use a floppy ( which can be easily manually extracted/editted ) as opposed to a CDR , to boot ..... if you've only one CDROM , you can still use it . The image is compressed , so the ~700 Mb it occupies , gives ~2Gb of software .... handy on smaller drives , and certainly less than the ~4 Gb a real HD install would involve .... it's faster , and not potentially damaging your liveCD ... which is now kept as a master ...

TO DO .... In Ms Explorer , create , at the root of a partition ( let's e.g. use G: [hda8]) a folder entitled 'Knoppix' .
From your liveCD , copy the file Knoppix from ?X:\Knoppix\
and linux24 and minirt24.gz from ?X:\boot\isolinux to your new Knoppix folder . ( for the 2.4.6 kernel ..... choose the '26' ones for the 2.6.x kernel )
From here http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/tools you can obtain loadlin 1.6c , extract and place the .exe in your folder ....
You're now done with your parent directory .
To boot to it , you'll need a floppy , a Win98 system floppy ( NOT startup disc ) . In Explorer , RC your A: drive /Format/select Copy System Files . Use your present config.sys , or this may be helpful on older machines


Device=C:\Windows\Himem.Sys /Testmem:Off
Device=C:\Windows\Emm386.Exe Noems
Dos=High,Umb

The autoexec.bat file you will create is critical , because it will pass booting arguments to the kernel loader .... i.e. it's where you put your cheat codes ....but in a VERY certain order , I've discovered .....

To get a clean boot , I'd suggest use

G:
cd G:\Knoppix
loadlin linux24 fromhd=/dev/hda8 ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init initrd=minirt24.gz quiet lang=us vga=normal BOOT_IMAGE=Knoppix

Notes : MY folder is on G:\Knoppix ( hda8 ) adjust the 'G' and '8' to suit ....

This differs from Klaus's default lilo argument

DEFAULT linux24
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=791 initrd=minirt24.gz nomce quiet BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
TIMEOUT 300

to avoid unsupported video modes ( vga=normal ) , and I've reordered , to allow less confusing entry of persistent home , and saved configuration arguments .... which we're coming to ( it's very order-critical ).

SUMMARY :

One folder on HD containing knoppix
linux24
minirt24.gz
loadlin.exe

One floppy containing autoexec.bat
config.sys ( optional )
io.sys
command.com
msdos.sys

To boot , insert floppy and restart your machine .....

Welcome to Knoppix !!!!

Now , we get on to ensuring your configuration is saved .... which is , unfortunately , a two-part process ..... and , in my hands , a very certain order is needed .
( Persistent Home and Saveconfig save different data , with apparent overlap ..... you'll need both [ Saveconfig , alone , stores your user/password details and other critical stuff , Persistent Home , alone , stores not only data , but some configuration material , not saved by Saveconfig ]..... you'll need both )

SO ..... configure to your heart's content , and create a Perstistent Home ( Knoppix -> Configure -> Create a persistent KNOPPIX home directory ) on a different partition ( I've used hda7 ) . It's far easier if you DON'T use all of the partition , or encryt your file .
Browse , in Konqueror , to your floppy , open ( in KWrite) autoexec.bat , and add the line home=/dev/hda7 or home=/dev/hda7/knoppix.img EXACTLY here

G:
cd G:\Knoppix
loadlin linux24 fromhd=/dev/hda8 ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init initrd=minirt24.gz quiet HOME=/DEV/HDA7 lang=us vga=normal BOOT_IMAGE=Knoppix

( capitilized to highlight ... enter in lower-case )

REBOOT to test .... you'll have to retweak , including setting root password , user details , printer services .....
NOW , you can Saveconfig ( Knoppix -> Configure -> Save KNOPPIX configuration ) , in my example to hda6 .... but it works quite happily on hda7 ( i.e. the same as Persistent Home ) ..

Add the line config=/dev/hda6 to autoexec.bat


G:
cd G:\Knoppix
loadlin linux24 fromhd=/dev/hda8 ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init initrd=minirt24.gz quiet home=/dev/hda7 CONFIG=/DEV/HDA6 lang=us vga=normal BOOT_IMAGE=Knoppix


( capitilized to highlight ... enter in lower-case )

Do be very EXACT ... the wrong order can provoke boot failure , kernel panic , slow packing/unpacking from configs.tbz , and weird German messages , both on booting , and throughout KDE !!!!! You really don't want to know ......

BUT ... you are able to save , and change , your boot arguments , by editting autoexec.bat

And that's her .... one advantage is that hda7 ( the persistent home ) is mounted rw .... so other data on it can be accessed .. say to autostart something ... like modem driver installation .... ( my next revelation )
I haven't tried , but with precise path labelling , you may be able to get the whole enchilada on one partition ( part of the complication is that your boot image , and your persistent home are both saved as Knoppix.img ) . With the PH in root , and the image in a folder , a precise path may differentiate the two .....

e.g. fromhd=/dev/hda8/knoppix
home=/dev/hda8
or home=/dev/hda8/knoppix.img

DO be enjoying the Knoppix .....