Live Distro Roundup By Fabrizio Ciacchi Linux Magazine February 2006 Installation Notes Following are some tips for installing some of the live distros discussed in this article. Installing Knoppix To start the installation, open a terminal window, "su" to root, then write "knoppix-installer". Unlike other installers, the Knoppix installer prefers a menu-driven installation instead of point&click. You can resize, edit, or add partitions with QTParted ("Partition"), configure the installation, and start to install when you are sure of what you are doing. The configuration is easy; select the type of installation you want to perform (the Debian way is preferred), select the partition in which you want to install KNOPPIX (i.e., /dev/hda6), and the filesystem type (ext3, reiserfs - recommended - or jfs); after that, you are asked to create a user and to set the "root" user password; then the hostname and the place to install the bootloader GRUB (mbr or "/" partition). If you are sure of your configuration, start it by clicking on "Start Installation"; after about 10 to 30 minutes, your system is installed and ready to use. Installing Slax Start the Slax Installer (from "System" in the KDE menu), select the Source path (commonly the Slax Live CD you are running), the partition (already mounted) to install Slax onto (i.e., /mnt/hda3), and the disk where you will install the bootloader LILO (i.e., /dev/hda). You can choose from two different types of installation; the first type requires about 200 MB and permits you to install Slax in its compressed way, for example, on a USB Memory Stick with a FAT partition. The second method is a real installation of Linux on a partition that was formatted in a file system like ext2, ext3, or reiserfs; this version occupies about 550 MB of space. When you have selected all the choices, click on the "Install" button at the bottom left. In a couple of minutes, Slax is installed; remember to change the root password and to create a normal user for everyday work. Installing Mepis Mepis has an OS Center that can help you with configuring the system (for example Network configuration or GRUB reinstallation) and with installing Mepis on hard disk. The first step is very easy: select the disk to install Mepis onto, then you can optionally run QTParted to rearrange partitions, so you can choose between erasing the entire disk or a "custom install on existing partitions" (recommended). The second step permits you to select the root partition ("/"), the swap partition, and the optional "/home" partition; you can also select the file system type (ext2, ext3, reiserfs) and, optionally, check for bad blocks on the partitions. The installation starts and takes less than 10 minutes to complete. The next step lets you install the bootloader GRUB on the MBR or on the root ("/") partition. The latest step lets you create an "everyday" user, set the root password, and choose between text or graphical (recommended) login. The 6th step serves to set the computer name, the domain (if any), and the eventual Windows (Samba) Workgroup name. Step number 7 let you choose the keyboard and the the system (locale) language. You can also adjust your computer clock. The last step is useful to set which services will be started at Mepis boot (e.g., dialup, bluetooth, or the printing system). Installing Kurumin To install Kurumin, you need to open the Kurumin control center then click on "Install Kurumin on HD". The installer asks you which hard disk you want to use, then lets you choose between Gparted and Cfdisk to resize your existing partitions or to create new ones in free space. The recommended option is Gparted because it is very simple (very similar to Partition Magic), and you can resize FAT32 as well as NTFS partitions. When you close the program, you will be prompted for the selection of a Swap partiton, then you will need to choose the partition to install Linux onto, selecting also the type of filesystem (reiserfs, ext2, ext3) you want to use. The system informs you that, in approximately ten minutes, all the kurumin programs will be installed on the hard disk. The next step is the configuration of the fresh installation; you need to supply a name for the machine (you can leave the suggested "kurumin"), then you should configure your local network (for example, a broadband Internet connection); if you have a normal connection (for example ADSL on a USB modem or normal 56K modem), leave this step unconfigured. You need to write (twice) a password for the "root" user and for the normal user. The final operations consist in the activation of ACPI (for mobile computers), the installation of the bootloader LILO, the print service, and the automount for CD-ROM and floppy, then the system will reboot and you can enter your new Kurumin installation. To make Kurumin speaks your language, you can use the command "apt-get install locales kde-i18n-engb openoffice.org-l10n-en mozilla-firefox-locale-en-gb" (or your preferred language) as root. Installing Elive To install Elive, you need at least 2 GB of space plus an optional Swap partition. Open the Elive control panel, then click on "install to hard disk" and the Elive installer starts; the first step asks you to choose the hard disk to install Elive onto and the program to change the partition table. You can use Partition Morpher (Graphical) and Cfdisk (Command-line). After you have worked on the partitions table and you have a free partition for Elive and a swap partition, you can exit the partitioner, and the installation continues. The second step is to choose the swap partition. The next step prompts you for the partition you want to use as root ("/"), with the file-system type. After formatting the selected partitions, the system is copied onto the hard disk (about 1805 MB); the process take from 10 to 20 minutes. The next step is inserting the hostname, the root password (5th), a "normal" username, and the user password (6th). The last step installs the bootloader GRUB.