Quote Originally Posted by abs
I think knoppix in our school is slow because it is compressed (as what I had read, it's not a real distribution).
How do I know if it is not a real distribution?
Knoppix is very much a real Linux distribution. What makes it different from other Linux distributions is that it was designed to run entirely from the CD or DVD without requiring you to install anything on the hard disk. In order to fit all the software on the CD, the software has to be compressed.

So there are two factors which tend to make Knoppix run slower than a full install:
1) the CD-ROM speed. Remember everything is running off the CD, not a hard drive which is often 10+ fold faster than a CD
2) RAM. The compressed software has to be uncompressed and stored someplace. That someplace is RAM.

Quote Originally Posted by abs
Any experience of solutions?
Several:

1) increase the amount of RAM in the machines
2) use faster CD-ROM drives
3) create a swapfile on the hard drive
4) install the ISO to a harddrive and boot from that instead of the CD-ROM. See the "bootfrom" cheatcode.
5) wipe the existing harddrive clean and install Knoppix to it.

Out of curiosity, what version of Knoppix are you running?

Regards,
- Robert
http://www.cwelug.org