This edition of techblog is about Knoppix 6.2.

Why Knoppix?

Knoppix or KNOPPIX is a Linux distribution based on debian. But ,unlike most of other distros, Knoppix is made to run from a CD or DVD (live CD). You may also use a USB stick instead of CD/DVD. The distro will get loaded into the RAM drive from the CD/DVD and it will be able to access the files.

You may ask why we need Knoppix itself. We can use a live CD of any linux distribution (say Fedora) for accessing the drive. The answer is that – no other distro (live) can do these tasks as efficient as Knoppix. You may have noticed that some operating systems (say, Ubuntu 9.10) supports encryption of data. So it is possible to prevent access to the disk partition as a whole. In this only Knoppix can help.

Knoppix  has been designed to copy your files from hard drive – which are even inaccessible to operating systems!

How to copy?

All you need to do is to power off the system and reboot it with the Knoppix CD/DVD (you will have change the boot preference accordingly). Then, bootup the operating system (Knoppix) and use the tools.

Knoppix Overview

This segment presents an overview of Knoppix 6.2.

The latest version comes with Kernel 2.6.31 and soon after the boot splash screen is displayed you will be shown the verbose mode:

Now you can access the ADRIANE ( Audio Desktop Reference Implementation and Networking Environment) menu. ADRIANE is intended to help users access system resources from the live CD. Knoppix  uses ADRIANE for these.

You can highlight (using arrow keys) the first option and select the same if you need some extra tips!

Here is another demonstration that shows the ways to use the shell that comes along with it. You may also note that the operating system has all the required decrypting tools if you want to access the data that you have previously encrypted.

It also has a multimedia option that allows you to manage your media.

Another interesting feature is that it supports Graphical environment as well.

You can also configure all your devices (attached to the system) even if the installed operating system is not functioning!

Here is another tool that allows you to configure the network adaptors and settings. Here you can see that Knoppix  is allowing me to configure my netcard and wireless card. It also has an option that allows you to connect to internet using a GPRS enabled mobile phone.

If you are using a 3G phone, then also you can give it a try since UMTS protocol is also supported.

Installing Knoppix 

Well, you can also install Knoppix  in your system. This will allow you to build your own custom operating system. You can select the option “install to hard drive” from the main menu and follow the instructions.

After this stage, you will be allowed to choose a proper partition in your hard disk to which Knoppix  can be installed.

Once it is done, you will see a message.

Then you can select the formatted partition and proceed with installation.

The system will now copy the Knoppix  files to your hard drive

Then it will allow you to configure the GRUB boot loader

Once Knoppix  has been installed, you will see a message like this

Now you can log into your system (Knoppix  OS) with the Live CD