Chapter 10: Remastering Knoppix

Overview

Saving your home directory isn't enough? Not satisfied with merely saving some configuration files? Then welcome to the wonderful world of Knoppix remastering. Leading to numerous Live CDs of all different shapes and sizes, modifying Knoppix seems to have become an epidemic. This isn't all that strange because it only takes a single motivated user with some time on his hands to modify Knoppix until what is left can hardly be traced back to Knoppix at all.

Remastering Knoppix can be highly addictive, but it does have some prerequisites. First, remastering Knoppix is usually done from a normal GNU/Linux install, be it Knoppix, Debian, Fedora, or Gentoo. Remastering while running the Knoppix Live CD, although possible, isn't recommended. Booting the Knoppix Live CD consumes a healthy amount of memory, so install Knoppix to your hard disk first — it will save you plenty of headaches in the long run. Second, to remaster Knoppix, you'll likely want to have fairly recent hardware, as rebuilding does take some time. Depending on the amount of RAM in your machine, you will also likely want to have around a gigabyte of swap space available. Other Live CDs use compression types and tools that make this unnecessary, but Knoppix doesn't.

Note 

Appendix B explains how to install Knoppix on your hard drive.

Also, check http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html for the latest Knoppix version. This book's CD-ROM includes a version of Knoppix 4.0, the latest version to date. Still, you'll likely want to grab a newer release if it is available because it will save you plenty of time when updating and will give you the latest and greatest Knoppix magic. Ready? Start warming up that CPU.