While converting Knoppix 6.4.4 into a pure (well, almost) 64-bits system turned out to be reasonably difficult, repeating the exercise with Knoppix 7.0.2 seems to be much harder - at least when working off squeeze (stable) as I have done. I may try to repeat the procedure off wheezy (testing) or sid (unstable), but perhaps the best thing to do today, is increasing the 64-bits content in hybrid ordinary Knoppix.

When 64-bits Debian 6.0.1 was released last year, it used the 2.6.32 kernel - not too far from the 2.6.37 of Knoppix 6.4.4, and library versions were mostly quite compatible, allowing for rather simple mix n' match. But a lot has happened in kernel-land since then, and when Knoppix 7.0.1/2 was released with kernel 3.3.7 in the end of May, it was rather far from Debian 6.0.5 released in the beginning of the month - still with 2.6.32.

And this is not simply accelerated version number counting: There are significant library differences, and I found a squeeze-based system rather hard to upgrade stepwise. For example, using debootstrap to create a basic squeeze-system, we very quickly run into problems if we try naive approaches for combining with Knoppix 7.X.

So, at a minimum, I think one has to work off wheezy or even sid to create a new Knoppix 64-bits basis. But I think stuffing in 64-bits libraries in Knoppix 7.X may be better for most uses. For now, I will use my Knoppix 6.4.4 64-bits remastering (kernel 2.6.39) for server-like tasks (running it with VMware workstation 8.0.3), and take the corresponding 7.X version as as a possible longer term project - stuffing up "standard" 7.0.2 with 64-bits binaries in the meantime.

Any hints, tricks or running 64-bits/kernel 3.x-versions are welcome!