atumra 0 Posted May 16, 2004 I have tried knoppix and I would like to get more into linux. I was thinking about installing it on my D: drive (518 MB) as I have Windows ME on my C: drive. Is this possible? Can I then have a choice in what OS I run? Are there any good free distributions that I can try out? Thanks for any help. Share this post Link to post
danleff 0 Posted May 16, 2004 You can install Knoppix on the hard drive. How you do this depends on what version of Knoppix that you have. The newer versions have a slightly different method that the older versions. But, you can install it right from the live cd. Most distros are available as a free download. See Distrowatch to get some ideas. What you want to do is make sure that your hardware is supported in whatever distro that you choose. For example, Knoppix is based on Debian. If all your hardware works with Knoppix, it would be a fine choice. It all depend on what you are looking for in the distro install (what tasks that you want to accomplish). What version of Knoppix do you have? Share this post Link to post
atumra 0 Posted May 17, 2004 Sounds like a good way to get started! I have v3.2. Will that work? Also I can't connect to the internet with it. Knoppix says can't query my modem, maybe I need a driver for it- its a Conexant SoftK56 PCI Modem. I could just be doing it wrong, too. Share this post Link to post
danleff 0 Posted May 17, 2004 This is why it is good to know what hardware a person has in their system before pushing ahead. Yes, this version of Knoppix will easily install on your hard drive. Knoppix will need about 3 gigs of hard drive space, according to the instructions. This means that you will need to install it to the C drive, which is possible, if you can afford to give the 3 gigs from that drive. It will operate next to the windows partition. So, if you have a 20 gig hard drive for C, then you can allocate 10 gig for Windows and 10 for Knoppix. Or, more for Windows and at least 5 gigs for knoppix, if you want to install more programs to Knoopix. If not, just allocate 4 for Knoppix. If this is not possible, you may want to consider one of the smaller Linux distros, such as Damn Small Linux or Puppy Linux. For example, you could install Puppy on the D drive, or run it from the Live CD (like Knoppix). The D drive will be used to store some files that will hold your settings and such. It just needs to be a fat 32 filesystem on the drive. However, the modem is another issue. This is a winmodem, meaning that it was made to work within Windows. Recent developments in drivers had been good, but not without some linux knowledge and work by the user. So, your options are to get a modem that has the controller built into the modem ( a "hard modem") or install Knoppix to get comfortable with Linux in general. These modems are not easy to come by and it is easy to get confused on what is and is not Linux compatible. For reference, the modem driver page is here. The Knoppix install instructions are here. A discussion on the issues here and finally some ideas on such hard modems here. Share this post Link to post
atumra 0 Posted May 17, 2004 Thanks a lot! I'll give it a try. When I use the CD everything else works (haven't tried the printer, though- but I think its listed as compatible) Currently I'm just running an e-Machine 600MH. C: drive is 10 gig and an HP Pavilion monitor (Did I throw this system together, or what? Share this post Link to post
