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Knoppix, or '''KNOPPIX''', is a complete Linux Distribution on a CD. This includes a working Computer Operating System and a powerful suite of graphical user software which can be used as a Live CD . It is a Debian -based Linux distribution, developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper . When repairing systems with non-booting hard drives, live CD operating systems like Knoppix are a much more comfortable environment than the previous solution of Boot Floppies , thanks to the complete graphical environment and networking. Although Knoppix is primarily designed to be used as a live CD, it can also be installed on a Hard Disk like a typical operating system. Computers that support booting from USB devices can load Knoppix from a Live USB Flash Drive or Memory Card . There are two main editions of Knoppix: the traditional and German . There is also Tapani Räikkönen's Finnish translation, SuomiKnoppix . When starting a program it is loaded from the Optical Disc and decompressed into a RAM Drive . The decompression is Transparent and On-the-fly . Knoppix mostly consists of Free Software , but also includes Proprietary Software . USAGE Knoppix can be used to back up files easily from hard drives with inaccessible operating systems. For quick needs of Linux software the live CD can be used instead of installing another OS. CONTENTS More than 1000 software packages are included on the CD edition and more than 2600 are included on the DVD edition. Up to 9 Gigabyte s can be stored on the DVD in Compressed form. These packages include:
REQUIREMENTS Requirements to run Knoppix:
SAVING CHANGES IN THE ENVIRONMENT Prior to Knoppix 3.8.2, any documents or settings a user created would disappear upon reboot. This lack of permanence made it necessary to save documents explicitly to a hard drive partition, over the network, or to some Removable Medium , such as a USB Flash Drive . It was also possible to set up a "persistent home directory", wherein any documents or settings written to the user's home directory would automatically be redirected to a hard drive or removable medium, which could be automatically Mounted on bootup. What is stored there physically is a file called ''knoppix.img''. The file is used to simulate a file system into which files are written for later use. This is transparent for the user. What the user perceives is that it is possible to write files to the home directory. Since Knoppix 3.8.1, a UnionFS Filesystem transparently saves any new or changed files to a writable Filesystem – one which can reside either in memory ( Ramdisk ) or on a Hard Disk , USB flash drive, etc. This means that the user can modify the software installed on the Knoppix system, such as by using APT to install or update software. By carrying a Knoppix CD and a USB flash drive, a user can have the same environment, programs, settings, and data available on any computer that is Knoppix compatible. BOOT OPTIONS When using Knoppix as a live CD, boot options, also known as 'cheatcodes' {Link without Title} , can be used to override a default setting or automatic hardware detection when it fails. For example, the user may wish to boot into a plain console, or proceed without SCSI support. For this, Knoppix allows the user to enter one or more cheat codes at the prompt before booting. If the user doesn't enter a cheat code, or if no key is pressed before the timeout, Knoppix will boot with its default options. For example, to set the language to French rather than the default, one would type: knoppix lang=frPOPULARITY Knoppix is reported to be one of the most popular LiveCD Linux distributions. DistroWatch has KNOPPIX as the third LiveCD Linux distribution appearing in their Page Hits chart, as of October 4 2006. There are factors that contribute to the popularity of Knoppix:
Knoppix works on a fairly high number of PCs or laptops, but not all. The automatic hardware detection cannot cope with all hardware, and sometimes the drivers used will not be optimal. Knoppix has difficulty recognizing some cards made before 1998, or motherboards with a BIOS made before 2002. (In some cases, manual configuration with codes entered at boot time can overcome problems with automatic detection.) If a PC does not have enough RAM to run KDE and other included programs, Knoppix boots up a very limited TWM session instead. The only window running in the TWM session by default is xterm. VERSIONS Starting from version 4.0, Knoppix has been split into a DVD "maxi" edition (with over 9GB of software), and a CD "light" edition, both developed in parallel. VARIATIONS Adriane Knoppix Adriane Knoppix is a variation that is intended for for "Audio Desktop Reference Implementation and Networking Environment". Adriane Knoppix is intended not only for the blind but also for beginners who don’t know much about computers. It is simple to use since the user does not have to search through many applications to find what they need. Since Adriane Knoppix is voice based it is much easier to use than other complicated operating systems, especially if you are not a power user. It uses the SuSE -Blind-Linux (SBL) Screenreader with a Phoneme generator and speech engine for normal output. Other variations
REFERENCES FURTHER READING Books News articles
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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