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Five Live CDs Reviewed
This article will be interesting to anyone interested in knowing about the
current state of Live CDs, their features and which one might fit their
needs. The reader is expected to have an average knowledge of GNU/Linux.
This article arose out of the need to experiment with the different flavors
of Live GNU/Linux CDs to choose the one that really fit my need and taste.
In the process, I have learned about these five flavors and wanted to share my experiences and findings with fellow geeks so that they can make their own choice. I have tried to write them in a no-frills style and to the point, though I am by no means an expert. Comments, criticisms and feedback are welcome at lnamath{@}phreaker.net. GNU/Linux Live CDs Live CDs are a way to run a GNU/Linux operating system from a CDROM without installing it on your hard drive. The CD comes with a collection of very useful software tools like a browser, office suite, graphics tools, audio tools, email software etc. Some uses for the GNU/Linux Live CDs:
All the reviews were done on my Laptop which is a custom made Intel Pentium 1.6 GHz with 512 MB RAM running dual boot with Red Hat Linux 9 and Windows XP. The following Live CD distributions were tested: ADIOS is a Red Hat Linux 9 (2.4.22 kernel) based distribution which runs 3 different desktop environments, KDE, GNOME and ICE. The first thing I noticed is that you have lots of options to run the distribution, like run from CD or install on the hard drive, store profiles to a flash drive, and more. Hardware detection was slower compared to the Debian based distributions. The boot time was 3 minutes and 30 seconds. All the hardware was detected and configured accurately. The distribution provides tools like the OpenOffice suite, Mozilla, Konqueror, GIMP, XMMS, KWrite, Gnome Toaster and so on. It has lots of games. Not that I game much. It has KDiskFree which can be used for viewing all your partitions and mounting the ones that are not mounted. However, when I tried writing to my vfat partition that I mounted, I didn't have write access and could not change the setting. If you are creating a live CD, I think its imperative that you provide an intuitive way to mount a windows partition and be able to write to the same partition. I agree that NTFS partitions are more difficult, but writing to a vfat partition should be granted by default. Of course then it's easier for newbies to damage their partitions. ADIOS didn't allow root login at boot prompt which I thought was odd. So after getting all this done, I wanted to check my mail and get my Slashdot fix for the hour. I configured my network card which picked up an IP using DHCP. Then I fired up Mozilla and used KMail to check my pop3 mail account. All of this was pretty zippy. All I needed to know were a few settings from my mail server. Another addition to this distribution which I didn't notice in any of the other distributions was an option to run User Mode Linux (UML) which is like running a GNU/Linux with-in another GNU/Linux. Its like a virtual machine. I was pleased with this feature because I could simulate many machines on a single machine. For ADIOS, I think you can run nine UML sessions. So you can simulate 10 machines on a single machine. Also, you can run UML with Linux Intrusion Detection System (LIDS) turned On or Off. You can also run SELinux which is an enhanced kernel for extra security, developed by National Security Agency (NSA). I was pretty impressed with this distribution because it's simple, has the goods and does the job well. Gripes: I'd like to see some development tools on the menu like KDevelop and Mono which is the GNU/Linux implementation of .NET. For people comfortable using Red Hat Linux, this is a fairly decent distribution, with three available desktop environments.
GNOPPIX is a Debian-based distribution using the GNOME desktop environment. It is similar to KNOPPIX but with GNOME instead of KDE. GNOPPIX 0.6.0-beta3 has GNOME version 2.4. It took about 3 minutes and 10 seconds to get to the desktop. It recognized my screen resolution and partitions. But none of the partitions were automatically mounted. I looked around for a way to mount my Windows partition and couldn't find any. Since my terminal emulation wasn't working, I wasn't able to use the command line to mount it either. I tried this distribution on different machines and the console wasn't properly configured on any of those. I tried changing the character coding to UTF-8. But it didn't help. Since I work using both the mouse and the terminal command line, I found it very discouraging to use only the mouse because my terminal wasn't working. This was a big let down. Another gripe was that quite a few menu selections weren't working. For example, I was not able to change my desktop background, or configure my network card. Also, when I tried to switch user, it crashed on me. On the plus side, this distribution provided the Debian menu which has an excellent collection of tools. These include Dictionary, Open Office suite, Evolution, XMMS, Sodipodi, GnuCash, Anjuta and Glade, among others. Another interesting thing was that GNOPPIX had QTParted, which is partition resizing tool similar to Partition Magic. But you need to be root to run it. (At the terminal type su and you are root automatically). GNOPPIX is still a work in progress and I think they have quite a bit of work before they catch up with MEPIS, KNOPPIX or ADIOS.
KNOPPIX is a Debian based distribution that runs only KDE. From the time I popped the CD in, the time I got to the desktop, took 2 1/2 minutes. And the first thing I noticed was that my screen was flickering. It found the right screen resolution but horizontal and vertical refresh rates weren't right. This is probably because my graphics card isn't of a very good quality. On the desktop were links to all the drives on my disk. Right click on any drive and you can mount them and change read/write permissions. The left side of the bottom bar has two important menus, KMenu and the KNOPPIX menu. If you have a network and want to connect to the Internet, click on KMenu -> KNOPPIX -> Network/Internet -> Network Card Configuration. If you have DHCP enabled, click Yes. If not, try something like 200.0.0.1 as your eth0 IP address (using default value would work too). Enter your Network Mask (default value is fine too). Enter your broadcast address, your default gateway IP address and the address of your nameserver, and you are ready to browse the Internet. Using the KNOPPIX menu, you can create a persistent Home directory and save your settings there. I save them on /mnt/hda6 which is a VFAT partition on my laptop. After booting up I type knoppix myconfig=/mnt/hda6 to load my configurations into the system. KNOPPIX comes with all the basic tools like Konqueror (file manager and browser), Open Office Suite, Mozilla, KMail, & etc. All the software is neatly arranged in groups so navigation is easy. You will find all the tools you need, and then some. I haven't had a chance to explore all of it. I was never a KDE fan, until I started using KNOPPIX. Now I've become a fan of KDE. It is very user friendly. Also, KNOPPIX comes with partition Image, which can be used for rescue work. You can use it to save a partition into a new image file, restore a partition from and image file or restore your damaged Master Boot Record (MBR) from an earlier saved image. My biggest gripe about KNOPPIX was that it didn't detect my win modem. But it did detect my USB flash drive.
MandrakeMove is an RPM based distribution that uses KDE 3.1. Time to reach the desktop was about 3 minutes. I had to choose my language, full name, username and password before I was allowed on the desktop. This took a lot of time and seemed unnecessary because I was in a hurry to get to a desktop or terminal. I find it quirky that a live CD should ask for this info before being able to use the system. All of my Windows partitions were automatically mounted but none of my GNU/Linux partitions were mounted. The hardware detection wasn't great because it failed to detect my screen resolution of 1024 X 768. So I had to settle for 800 X 600. Added to this there was the irritating screen flicker. But when I tried the same distribution on a different machine, it configured my screen and Ethernet card, and grabbed an IP from my router. Konqueror was quick as always. Open Office suite, GIMP, Konqueror, GnuCash, KDiskFree, KMail, ARK (compression software), K3B (CD burning software) were all easy to access from the main menu, which wasn't cluttered with excess choices. After I hit the desktop, I clicked on Konsole to use the command line and I notice that the Konsole wasn't configured. So I had no way of configuring anything. I was doubtful that it would detect my flash drive, but when I popped it in, it was detected seamlessly. MandrakeMove is a decent lightweight distribution, good for non-technical users because of its easy of use. I found the distribution very snappy.
MEPIS Linux is another Debian/KDE based distribution. Among all the distributions tested, MEPIS had the best hardware detection and the fastest boot time. Even my screen resolution was set accurately, and most of all no screen flickering. It was the only one able to configure my screen correctly. The desktop has three important links:
Hardware detection was quick and easy. On the desktop, clicking on Mount Partitions shows all the partitions. All you need to do is to right click and then chose mount device. I am currently typing this article using MEPIS. Among the distributions I have used on my laptop, this was the easiest to use and least complaining, with a good collection of tools.
Final Take I am impressed with three of the five distributions I have reviewed, MEPIS, KNOPPIX and ADIOS. A casual or first time user will be able to use any of the three and be very productive without much fiddling around. MEPIS had the best hardware detection. The others had problem identifying my laptop's refresh rates, so my screen was flickering. It also had a control center where you can configure the system. The fonts seemed a bit clunky, but it was very easy to mount partitions. It also had QTParted which can be used to resize your fat32, NTFS and GNU/Linux partitions. KNOPPIX is a genuine winner on most hardware. It lost out to MEPIS because it wasn't able to configure my monitor well enough. However, if you run KNOPPIX on any standard hardware, I am sure it will be as good as MEPIS. ADIOS would be helpful to people who like to run tests using User Mode Linux because none of the others have that feature. ADIOS had very good documentation and lots of boot time options. GNOPPIX is good for GNOME fans, but it needs work. Some of the menu items wouldn't start and some of the documentation was in German, without an English translation, also I had problems with the terminal emulation. I would not recommend it to power users at this point because it needs quite a bit of work. MandrakeMove is easy to use for people used to the Windows environment. But when compared to the functionality of KNOPPIX, ADIOS and MEPIS, it kind of loses it luster and looks and works very plainly. It took longer to load because you need to enter geographic, language and login information each time you boot. It didn't come with as many tools as the other distributions. Looking at the boot time, ADIOS was a little slow, MEPIS and KNOPPIX were the fastest. So, if I could have just one live CD, it would be MEPIS, followed by KNOPPIX and then ADIOS. I hope you enjoyed this review. Please realize that this review is based on the testing done on my laptop. Most of my impressions about the distributions were based on their respective performance on my laptop. On a standard desktop, the results might have been different.
About the author. Lenish "lenman" Namath is a computer geek, GNU/Linux enthusiast and a software developer. He has degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering, and speaks six languages fluently. He started using computers at the age of 14. When not developing clean software, he loves traveling, hiking and photography. He also was the university Racquetball champion in 2003. He can be reached at lnamath{@}phreaker.net (Log in to post comments)
Five Live CDs Reviewed Posted Feb 5, 2004 2:51 UTC (Thu) by flewellyn (subscriber, #5047) [Link] It is not true that Knoppix only runs KDE. That's the default, but if you hit F2 at the boot prompt, you get a list of "Cheat codes" (heh) which, among other things, allow you to select other desktop environments/window managers than KDE. Last I looked, it had IceWM, BlackBox, Windowmaker, Enlightenment, and a whole lot more. You can also change language settings and pass in hardware info.Thought you'd want to know.
Five Live CDs Reviewed Posted Feb 5, 2004 4:36 UTC (Thu) by lenish (guest, #19017) [Link] I am sorry i said that. I actually tried GNOME and ICEWM on KNOPPIX.I regret the error. Thanks, Lenish
Five Live CDs Reviewed Posted Feb 5, 2004 6:23 UTC (Thu) by ctg (subscriber, #3459) [Link] One of the interesting things about MandrakeMove is that it is intended to run from a Flash Drive (e.g. USB key ring).It would be interesting to know how well this worked. Do the others have this capability?
Five Live CDs Reviewed Posted Feb 9, 2004 12:23 UTC (Mon) by ekj (subscriber, #1524) [Link] Close. MandrakeMove doesn't (by default anyway) run from a USB-keyring. It does however support using one for storing all your settings, aswell as $HOME, thus a person with a usb-keyring and a MandrakeMove cd can boot up any computer, and have all his stuff there, assuming "all his stuff" fits on the keyring.
Five Live CDs Reviewed Posted Feb 12, 2004 21:45 UTC (Thu) by Frodo42 (guest, #19421) [Link] Close. MandrakeMove doesn't (by default anyway) run from a USB-keyring.It runs from a CD like the rest. The download edition doesn't store its configuration anywhere, meaning you'll have to enter your info every time you boot - and reconfiguring won't survive a reboot. The payware edition runs very nicely with a USB key. It stores all the info you type in, holds your home dir, holds all configuration info and is generally a breeze to use. It has fewer apps than other Live-CD's, but more importantly for Joe A. User: it has by any measure the least number of obstacles for getting down to work. It's easier to set up and use than Windows, and the risk of downing your system by misconfiguration or by virus infection is just not there. Now, some Linux users might be allergic to paying for software at all - or just too cheap to shell over ?20/$25 for just OS + Office Package + bunch of other apps, they can stay in their Ivory Tower and leave the commercial market to Microsoft. For the rest of us, who appreciate getting a system that's sleek, functional and works out of the box, MandrakeMove is a great, little product. There are plenty non-commercial Live-CD's for geeks to use - it's a different ballgame - but as an alternative to Windows, MandrakeMove is cool :)
PLD Live CD missing Posted Feb 5, 2004 17:11 UTC (Thu) by kreutzm (guest, #4700) [Link] Is there a reason the PLD Live-CD was not tested? It is always presented in the update section of the distributions in lwn.
Openoffice not working on Knoppix Posted Feb 7, 2004 16:45 UTC (Sat) by miannac (guest, #11411) [Link] Am I the only one that is not able to run Openoffice on a Knoppix LiveCD? I dunno why but when I run whatever OO application it stops at the OO splash screen... shall I configure somehow? For the rest Knoppix 3.2 is great (and so far I use Koffice when I need an office application in Knoppix)! It might be good to mention also Knoppix-STD which is a Knoppix distribution focused on security wna with all the right tools available.
Five Live CDs Reviewed Posted Feb 14, 2004 13:36 UTC (Sat) by Sergio1704 (guest, #19452) [Link] I understand the possible reason why you haven't reviewed PCLinuxOS: because it is a prerelease.However Gnoppix isn't a final either. PCLinuxOS is very promising, IMHO, much more so than the other rpm Live CDs. I would put it in the same class as Mepis, and of course the final will be even better.
Five Live CDs Reviewed Posted Feb 16, 2004 1:53 UTC (Mon) by aie (guest, #19482) [Link] PCLinuxOS just rocks!I'm writing from hard disk installation of PCLinuxOS 2k4 preview 5, on my Acer centrino laptop. It's fast, it's amazing and it's just plain fun. I'm looking forward for PCLinuxOS with KDE 3.2. Thanks Texstar.
Mepis / Knoppix comparison Posted Feb 15, 2004 0:40 UTC (Sun) by jimf43 (guest, #19462) [Link] I beg to differ with the Mepis / Knoppix comparison. I've run both on my Compaq laptop and on my workstation and, in both situations Knoppix was clearly the winner. Knoppix recognized all important components and configured monitor and screens perfectly. Mepis gave me a useable screen in the wrong resolution at (arg) 60hz, and, a frozen mouse. For me, the non-functional mouse is a 'fatal' flaw in a bootable CD release.In a HD install with each of the CDs the results were similar. Mepis flaws were correctable and it can be made into a nice desktop, but overall, Knoppix looks to be about 6 months ahead in development. That could change, but for right now, Knoppix is the clear hands down winner. Whichever of these CDs you start with, you are given the ability to construct a Debian desktop without the time and effort that it normally takes to install Debian and, that is no small gift.
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