Appendix B: Installing Knoppix to Your Hard Drive

Knoppix is a great way to try out Linux with no commitment and without modifying your hard drive. After using it a while, you may decide you want to install it to your computer so it is always readily available without your having to use the CD. This appendix explains how to prepare and install Knoppix to your hard drive.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Knoppix Hard Drive Installation

Knoppix is primarily geared for use from the CD-ROM, but there are some valid reasons to run Knoppix from your hard drive, including the following:

• Faster boot up

• Freeing up your CD drive for other uses

• Having a consistent, easily configurable Linux distribution without going through any extra steps required from the Live CD version

• Dual booting, so that you have a choice when you start your computer between Knoppix and another operating system on your PC, such as Windows 98, 2000, or XP

Be forewarned! You need to consider a few of the negative aspects of installing Knoppix to your hard drive instead of using one of the harddrive–focused versions of Linux (such as Kanotix, Ubuntu/Kubuntu, and MEPIS) that also provide Live CDs to test drive:

• You aren't provided with the same level of granularity to choose what is going to be installed.

• If you install with some of the system types, you aren't afforded the standard security protections that come with most Linux distributions (security for the root account is open to any user on the live system, for example).

• The Knoppix system is designed to be run on any system, and some of the specialized hardware installed on most systems is treated generically, not taking full advantage of the hardware. In other words, your super-expensive video card may become, in the hands of Knoppix, the equivalent of an 8-year-old basic video card that outputs rudimentary VGA and not much else.

• Users have reported various levels of success upgrading their systems once Knoppix is installed. You may go through an install only to find that upgrading your system breaks things.

The reasons to not install Knoppix to your hard drive are significant and should be carefully considered prior to going through with the process.

Note 

You can find out more about the other distros mentioned earlier in this section by pointing your Web browser at their home pages. You'll find Kanotix at http://www.kanotix.com, Ubuntu (a GNOME-based distro) at http://www.ubuntu.com, Kubuntu (the KDE-based brother of Ubuntu) at http://www.kubuntu.org, and MEPIS at http://www.mepis.org.