Recipe 13.8. Copying Files to a CD-RRW

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Recipe 13.8. Copying Files to a CD-R/RW

13.8.1 Problem

You have a CD writer on your PC, and you would like to burn files to a CD-R/RW.

13.8.2 Solution

The absolute easiest way is to use K3b. Start up Knoppix, and open System K3b Setup. K3b will automatically find your CD drives ; verify this in step 3 of the setup wizard. In step 6, add any non-root users you want to use K3b. (Remember, you need to create the users first.)

When you're finished with the setup wizard, close it, and open System K3b. Click File New Project. Simply drag and drop the files you want to copy, hit the Burn button, and you're done.

13.8.3 Discussion

K3b is a great CD/DVD-writing interface, one of the best on any platform. It is logically organized, and it hides all the grotty details of CD/DVD writing, so you don't have to navigate bales of windows and menus to burn a disc, or bother with odd terminology like "Joliet," "Rock Ridge," or "El Torito." While it is good to know the inner workings of a program, it is also nice when the computer does the work.

13.8.4 See Also

Chapter 11
The K3b home page (http://www.k3b.org/)

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Recipe 13.9. Editing Configuration Files from Knoppix

13.9.1 Problem

Someone with more confidence than knowledge (maybe even you) "fixed" something in a configuration file and now the system won't boot. You need to fix it. But how do you edit a file on a machine that won't boot?

13.9.2 Solution

This is a perfect job for Knoppix. You can open and edit any file on a PC from Knoppix.

Boot up your Knoppix disk to KDE. Right-click the icon on the desktop for the filesystem you want to use, left-click "Mount," then left-click "Change read/write mode."

Open a root shell, then navigate to the file you want to edit and open it with the editor of your choice:


knoppix@ttyp0[knoppix]$ su


root@ttyp0[knoppix]# cd /mnt/hda3/etc


root@ttyp0[etc]# kate inittab &

Now you can edit the file, just as you normally would.

It's easy to become confused over whether you are in Knoppix or your PC's filesystem. Check with pwd :


root@ttyp0[etc]# pwd

/mnt/hda3/etc

Remember that the filesystems on your PC's hard drives are all mounted under /mnt in Knoppix.

13.9.3 Discussion

Knoppix comes with a variety of window managers: larswm, IceWM, XFce, Windowmaker, Fluxbox, and TWM. But only KDE comes with the Knoppix menu and desktop icons for all of your partitions.

Just like with any Linux, you can also do everything from the console. To mount a filesystem as readable/writable, use:


root@ttyp0[knoppix]# mount -o rw /mnt/hda3

To open a file for editing, use:


root@ttyp0[knoppix]# vim /mnt/hda3/etc/inittab

Knoppix autodetects your filesystems and partitions and creates an /etc/fstab file, so you can look in there to find mountpoints.

13.9.4 See Also

mount(8)
Recipe 9.11

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Recipe 13.10. Installing Software from Knoppix

13.10.1 Problem

You need to run apt-get , apt-rpm , up2date , or some other updater utility that needs to be run from inside its own root filesystem.

13.10.2 Solution

In Knoppix, you can chroot to the root filesystem on the hard drive. Open a Knoppix root shell, then do:


root@ttyp0[knoppix]# mount -o rw /mnt/hda6


root@ttyp0[knoppix]# chroot /mnt/hda6

root@Knoppix:/

This gives you a root shell in the filesystem on the hard drive, as though you were booted directly into it. You are no longer in the /mnt directory in Knoppix. Now you can run any command, as though the system had booted normally. That includes commands for updating software like apt-get .

13.10.3 Discussion

From an ordinary Knoppix session it's easy to keep track of your whereabouts, as all the filesystems on the hard drive are mounted under /mnt . But in chroot , you won't see Knoppix files. If you get confused , try poking around and reading filenamesyou should recognize files that belong on the hard drive, and not to Knoppix.