Live linux knoppix usb
Just in time for 21. Chemnitzer Linux-Tage, KNOPPIX version 8.5 has been released exclusively in the current German DELUG edition of Linux Magazine.
Contents
- Version 8.5 of KNOPPIX is based on the usual picks from Debian testing (buster) and unstable (sid) for newer graphics drivers or desktop software packages. It uses Linux kernel 4.20.6 and Xorg 7.7 (core 1.20.3) for supporting current computer hardware.
- Kernel Patches: cloop, aufs.
- Both 32bit and 64bit kernel supporting both old and new computers, the 64bit version also supporting systems with more than 4GB of RAM and chroot to 64-bit installations for system rescue tasks. The bootloader will start the 64bit kernel automatically if a 64bit-capable CPU is detected (if not manually specified otherwise).
- For Computers that can only start from CD, not from DVD or USB flash pen, a tiny bootable CD image has been placed in the «KNOPPIX» folder, which can be burned and used together with the full USB or DVD version in order to start on old computers.
- New in 8.5:
- Updated Kernel and Systemsoftware (Debian buster+sid),
- LXDE, the lightweioght Knoppix standard desktop including file manager pcmanfm 1.3.1.
- Gnome 3 (Bootoption knoppix64 desktop=gnome ).
- KDE 5 ( knoppix64 desktop=kde ).
- Accessible Adriane Audio Desktop.
- Wine 4.0 prerelease for directly installing and running Windows applications on Linux, also Windows 10.
- Qemu-kvm 3.1 for paravirtualization.
- Privacy-enhanced tor browser.
- Web-Browser Chromium 72.0.3626.53, Firefox ESR (long term support version) 60.5.0 with ad blocker Ublock Origin and Noscript.
- Libre Office 6.1.5, Gimp 2.10.
- Maths/Algebra-Software for teachers, solving equations etc.: Maxima 5.42.1 with direct integration of Maxima sessions into Texmacs, creating documentation in lessions.
- 3D Productivity-Software Blender 2.79, Freecad 0.18, Meshlab 1.3.2, Open Scad 2019.01 (-> Bugs) for 3D Prototyping, Slic3r 1.3 for layering 3D prints.
- Virtualization and Container functions for experimenting: «Knoppix in Knoppix — KVM» (fully virtualized), «Knoppix in Docker» (integrated 64bit Docker environment), «Knoppix in Chroot» (builds a chroot container by symlinks)
- Video editing & Productivity: kdenlive 18.12.1, openshot 2.4.3, photofilmstrip 3.7.1, obs-studio 22.0.3
- Mediathekview 13.0.1
- OwnCloud 2.5.1 and NextCloud 2.5.1 Clients
- E-Book Manager calibre 3.39
- Game Engine godot3 3.0.6
- Audio/Video transcoder: RipperX 2.8.0, Handbrake 1.2.0,
- UpnP-Streaming: gerbera 1.1.0
- Automatic resizing of the Overlay-Partition without Reboot (!) even after 1:1 copying to USB flash disk (s.a. New Hybrid Layout),
- Remastering-Option when copying to USB flash disk by flash-knoppix ,
- Terminator (Terminal-Emulator with many features),
- support for UEFI Secure Boot
New partition layout
Hybrid DVD or USB Flash disk (Original.iso) Partition Size File system Content 1 4GB iso9660 (ro) Compressed Knoppix-filesystem (KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX*), Bootfiles, Info 2 20MB FAT32 EFI-Bootloader and boot files (copy). Invisible on DVD 3 4MB Reiserfs Empty Linux file system which, in case of a writable medium, will automatically get expanded to maximal available size and is used as writable overlay. Invisible on DVD. With the new Hybrid layout of the ISO file, the file can be copied directly to USB flash disk, either using standard Linux tools like dd or cp , or programs like Win32 DIsk Imager. In this case, the first partition is read-only because of the iso9660 file system. Because od that, boot options cannot be changed permanently.
Example:
dd if=KNOPPIX_V8.5-2019-02-10-EN.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=1MA better way of installing, is using —> flash-knoppix , which will create the simpler and writable layout with one FAT32 and one Linux partition on USB flash pen. Optionally, a personal remastering can be chosen in version 8.5.
UEFI Secure Boot
KNOPPIX 8.5 generally supports booting in UEFI and Secure Boot after installation on USB flash disk. But in order to use this feature, an entry in the UEFI firmware is necessary at first boot attempt. —> Find quick instructions here.
Special Feature «Everything 3D»
- OpenScad — 3D construction without drawing skills
- Slic3r — G-Code printing preparation for 3D models
- Blender *) — extensive 3D modelling and animation program
- Freecad *) — Draw 3D models
Known bugs in version 8.5
- The current beta version of OpenScad in Debian/unstable is disfunctional, which you only realize after starting edit mode, here the window freezes and the program can only be terminated by the task manager or killall openscad .
Workaround: Downgrade of openscad to the latest «stable» version:sudo apt update sudo apt install --auto-remove openscad/stable libqt5scintilla2-12v5 libqt5scintilla2-l10n
ADRIANE
A.D.R.I.A.N.E. (Audio Desktop Reference Implementation And Networking Environment) is a talking menu system, which is supposed to make work and internet access easier for computer beginners, even if they have no sight contact to the computers monitor. A graphical environment with also talking programs and arbitrary magnification using compiz, is another option.
Booting from Flash
In order to create a bootable USB-medium (memory flashdisk, SD-card, digital camera with USB connector, cellphone with microSD, . ), the program flash-knoppix can be started from a running KNOPPIX system. This program installs all needed KNOPPIX files onto the FAT-formatted flashdisk, and creates a boot record for it. If desired, the target medium can be partitioned and formatted, or left in its inistal state, so that existing files stay intact. The KNOPPIX Live System starts and runs about factor 5 faster from USB flash disk than from CD or DVD!
After having copied the system to flash, using the persistent KNOPPIX image (overlay feature) or an additional Linux partition, it is possible to also store files permanently in live mode. That way, personal settings and additionally installed programs survive a reboot.
Update: Computers without DVD drive
The flash-knoppix script since Knoppix 7.4.0 supports on-the-fly conversion of a DVD ISO image for direct flashing of a USB pendrive or disk. By using this, the intermediate step of burning a DVD and booting from it, can be skipped. For burning a CD or DVD, only one single .iso file matching your language and version choice, is sufficient. For using this feature, just add the name of the .iso file as commandline parameter to flash-knoppix like this: flash-knoppix KNOPPIX_V8.5DVD-2019-02-10-EN.iso
Boot options and controls
Overview of the most important functions. A complete description and listing of shortcuts can be found in the configurations of sbl, orca and compiz.
adriane Start ADRIANE (32bit) with talking text desktop knoppix Start KNOPPIX (32bit) with graphical environment knoppix64 Same as above, with 64-bit kernel (DVD version only) knoppix/adriane acpi=off noapic nolapic pci=bios . problem solvers, if computer doesn't start knoppix testcd Check CD/DVD/flashdisk for errors knoppix tohd=/dev/sda1 Copy CD content to harddisk (sda1: 1st partition on 1st SATA harddisk) and start from there (free CD-rom drive) knoppix toram Load CD content to memory and start from there (free CD-rom drive)
CapsLock + space read current line CapsLock + arrow up read previous line CapsLock + arrow down read next line CapsLock + pageup read from beginning of page to current position CapsLock + pagedown read from here to end of page CapsLock + arrow left/right spell charwise
Super + mouse wheel Set zoom scale Super + m small mouse lens mouse to upper right corner window overview CapsLock + space start orca preferences (if startet) Control + Alt + MousebuttonLeft Rotate Desktop cube manually Super + AltLeft + MousebuttonLeft Comment on screen Super + AltLeft + k Remove screen comment Super = penguin- or "window"-key left
Micro-Remastering
Boot options like «adriane» can easily be preset by changing syslinux.cfg after having copied the CD to a bootable memorystick using » flash-knoppix «:
for automatically starting ADRIANE on boot. This is already default in all ADRIANE iso files.
The KNOPPIX flash station
*) Specifications: The USB flashdisk should have a capacity of at least 8 GB. SD cards and other flash media can be installed, too. Flashing takes about 10 to 20 minutes for the full DVD size, depending on the supported writing speed. If desired, flash media will be ereased and re-partitioned with a writable overlay, when being filled with KNOPPIX data. Therefore, we cannot provide any warranty against data loss of any kind, or even media defects! Please label your flashdisks accordingly, so they won’t get lost.
General Information: Booting KNOPPIX from Flash
Most modern computers support booting from USB flashdisk or cardreaders today. Sometimes, keyboard combinations have to be pressed during start, in order to get a boot menu, like F8 , F12 or Escape .
In order to create a bootable USB-medium (memory flashdisk, SD-card, digital camera with USB connector, cellphone with microSD, . ), the program flash-knoppix can be started from a running Knoppix DVD system. This program installs all needed Knoppix files onto the FAT-formatted flashdisk, and creates a boot record for it.
After having copied the system to flash, using the persistent Knoppix image or partition (overlay feature), it is possible to also store files permanently in live mode. That way, personal settings and additionally installed programs survive a reboot.