Knoppix
From HvWiki
Knoppix is a live CD distribution of Debian Linux which is designed to run completely from a CD, autodetecting and configuring all hardware, without making any changes to a hard drive.
It is highly popular because it is easy to use, portable (it is on a single CD), and has many powerful tools included.
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Uses
Here are some reasons to use Knoppix:
- Get a feel for Linux without the complicated or lengthy process of installing it.
- Use linux on a computer that you aren't allowed to install linux to (such as a work computer).
- Do data recovery and operating system repair.
- Get a working desktop or server fast, when your current one quits in the middle of something important.
Getting Started
Follow these steps to start using Knoppix as fast as possible.
- Download: Visit the Knoppix Mirrors Page to select a mirror geographically close to you for downloading, or use the bittorrent link to conserve bandwidth of the mirror providers, and download the image file to your computer.
- Burn: Using a program such as Nero or the free Deep Burner, burn the image file to a CD.
- Boot: Put the CD in your CD drive and boot (or reboot) the computer. Your computer must be set to boot from the CD drive before the hard drive. It is frequently already configured this way, but if not, you must enter your computer's BIOS and change the boot order.
- Enjoy! A boot screen will come up, which you can enter boot options (called Cheat Codes) in, or hit enter to use all of the defaults. It takes a few minutes to boot, and then you will have a KDE desktop to work at.
Cheat Codes
These are the codes you can add before booting for custom hardware features. They can be accessed by pressing F2 or F3 while on the boot screen.
Using Cheat Codes
To use these codes, you almost always type in "knoppix code" (without quotes). The "knoppix" tells it to select the default kernel for your version of Knoppix, and code (or codes) enables specific options which will be used while booting. Almost all codes require you to use "knoppix", and those which do not will be listed without it. You can use multiple cheat codes at once, for example, "knoppix screen=1280x1024 depth=16" simultaneously sets the resolution and color depth.
Useful Notes
One of the more common problems with Knoppix is incorrect configuration of the monitor settings (resolution, color depth, and refresh rate). Use the "screen=", "depth=", "xvrefresh=" and "xhrefresh=" codes to use more conservative settings if you have problems with your display working. If you are having difficulty with hardware detection, the "failsafe" (do not use the "knoppix" prefix for this command) command will utilized minimal hardware detection, which will be more likely to work, but utilize few features and hardware accessories.
Complete List of Cheat Codes
These are the codes as described in knoppix-cheatcodes.txt distributed with Knoppix, and found (as of writing) at LinuxTag. This is a complete list with minimal explanation, for a more in-depth coverage of cheat codes and usage, please see the article Knoppix Cheat Codes.
CHEATCODES AND HINTS FOR KNOPPIX V3.4
==============================================================================
(last update: 26.04.2004)
These options (can be combined) work from the ISOLINUX bootprompt:
knoppix lang=cn|de|da|es|fr|it|nl specify language/keyboard
knoppix lang=pl|ru|sk|tr|tw|us specify language/keyboard
knoppix gmt Use GMT-based time
knoppix tz=Europe/Berlin Use this timezone for TZ
knoppix atapicd Do NOT use SCSI-Emulation for IDE CD-Roms
knoppix alsa (or alsa=es1938) Use ALSA sound driver (at your own risk)
knoppix desktop=fluxbox|icewm Use specified WM instead of KDE (1)
knoppix desktop=kde|larswm|twm Use specified WM instead of KDE (2)
knoppix desktop=wmaker|xfce Use specified WM instead of KDE (3)
knoppix screen=1280x1024 Use specified Screen resolution for X
knoppix xvrefresh=60 (or vsync=60) Use 60 Hz vertical refresh rate for X
knoppix xhrefresh=80 (or hsync=80) Use 80 kHz horizontal refresh rate for X
knoppix xserver=XFree86|XF86_SVGA Use specified X-Server
knoppix xmodule=ati|fbdev|i810|mga Use specified XFree4-Module (1)
knoppix xmodule=nv|radeon|savage|s3 Use specified XFree4-Module (2)
knoppix xmodule=radeon|svga|i810 Use specified XFree4-Module (3)
knoppix 2 Runlevel 2, Textmode only
knoppix floppyconfig Run "knoppix.sh" from a floppy
knoppix myconf=/dev/sda1 Run "knoppix.sh" from a partition
knoppix myconf=scan (or config=scan) Try to find "knoppix.sh" automatically
knoppix home=/dev/sda1/knoppix.img Mount loopback file as /home/knoppix
knoppix home=scan Automatic search for knoppix homedir
knoppix no{apic,agp,apm,audio,ddc} Skip parts of HW-detection (1)
knoppix no{dhcp,fstab,firewire} Skip parts of HW-detection (2)
knoppix no{pcmcia,scsi,swap,usb} Skip parts of HW-detection (3)
knoppix pnpbios=off No PnP Bios initialization
knoppix acpi=off Disable ACPI Bios completely
knoppix usb2 Try to initialize USB 2.x controller(s)
failsafe Boot with (almost) no HW-detection
knoppix pci=irqmask=0x0e98 Try this, if PS/2 mouse doesn't work *)
knoppix pci=bios Workaround for bad PCI controllers
knoppix ide2=0x180 nopcmcia Boot from PCMCIA-CD-Rom (some notebooks)
knoppix mem=128M Specify Memory size in MByte
knoppix dma Enable DMA accelleration for ALL IDE-Drives
knoppix noeject Do NOT eject CD after halt
knoppix noprompt Do NOT prompt to remove the CD
knoppix vga=normal No-framebuffer mode, but X
knoppix blind Start Braille-Terminal (no X)
knoppix brltty=type,port,table Parameters for Braille device
knoppix wheelmouse Enable IMPS/2 protocol for wheelmice
knoppix nowheelmouse Force plain PS/2 protocol for PS/2-mouse
fb1280x1024 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (1)
fb1024x768 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (2)
fb800x600 Use fixed framebuffer graphics (3)
knoppix keyboard=us xkeyboard=us Use different keyboard (text/X)
knoppix splash Boot with fancy background splashscreen
+ animations + progress bar **)
knoppix toram Copy CD to RAM and run from there
knoppix tohd=/dev/hda1 Copy CD to HD partition and run from there
knoppix fromhd Skip checking for Knoppix on CD-ROM
knoppix fromhd=/dev/hda1 Boot from previously copied CD-Image
knoppix bootfrom=/dev/hda1 Access Image then boot from previously
copied CD-Image (enables booting from
NTFS / ReiserFS) ***)
knoppix bootfrom=/dev/hda1/KNX.iso Access image, boot from ISO-Image. ***)
knoppix knoppix_dir=KNOPPIX Directory to search for on the CD.
knoppix knoppix_name=KNOPPIX Cloop-File to search for on the CD.
knoppix testcd Check CD data integrity and md5sums
expert Interactive setup for experts
NEW Kernels and Options in version 3.4:
knoppix26 [Options...] Boots with Kernel 2.6 (2.4 is default)
expert26 [Options...] Same for expert mode
knoppix26 acpi=off Disable ACPI configuration in Kernel 2.6
memtest Run memtest86 instead of Linux
