Knoppix 3.3 Update, 3.4 C't Edition Are Out

hkfczrqj writes "Knoppix has two more children. The first, 3.3-2004-02-09, an update with kernel 2.4-24-xfs, KDE 3.1.5, Mozilla 1.6, XFree 3.4. Also, and more important I guess, Knoppix 3.4 c't edition is out (torrent here). It is supposed to have kernel 2.6!" And it does. If you're looking for a way to test your setup with a 2.6 kernel without trashing a current install, this is a good way -- but note that the ct edition Knoppix boots into German (Shift-0 gets you an =, as in "lang=us") and kernel 2.4; you'll need to type "knoppix26" at startup to boot the new kernel. (You may find the excellent forums at knoppix.net helpful, too.) Update: 02/10 01:03 GMT by T : Note that the XFree version is really 4.3, not 3.4.

DVD edition download? (more current DVD edition?

[beh]

The download mirrors still have a packages-dvd.txt file listing all the packages of the DVD version. But is this version available for download somewhere (with DVD burners becoming more and more common, I would assume, that this image should appear somewhere as well... ;-)

Alas - the packages-dvd.txt is pretty old - does that mean, the DVD doesn't get updated any more? (Again - I think it would be a shame - it would be really great to have a really filled up live system that could be used to REALLY show off linux some more... ;-)

other 2.6 distros

[another misanthrope]

Distrowatch weekly [distrowatch.com] has a list of distros that contain the 2.6 kernel:

# Fedora Core, development branch (2.6.1)
# Mandrake Linux 10.0-beta2 (2.6.2rc3)
# Debian unstable, not the default kernel (2.6.0)
# Gentoo unstable, not the default kernel (2.6.2)
# Arch Linux 0.6 (development), not the default kernel (2.6.2)
# Sorcerer, not the default kernel (2.6.2)
# Conectiva Linux 10-TP2 (2.6.1)
# Magic Linux 1.2pre5, a Chinese desktop distribution (2.6.0)
# Berry Linux 0.36, a Japanese live CD (2.6.2rc3)
# Bluewall Linux 1.0, a minimalist distribution (2.6.0)
# JoLinux 1.0, a Slackware-based Brazilian desktop distribution (2.6.0)
# knoppiXMAME 1.2, a bootable arcade machine emulator (2.6.1)
# LinuxNetwosix 1.0, a specialist live CD for security operations (2.6.1)
# Shark Linux 1.06-beta2, a minimalist distribution for AMD-64, in early development (2.6.1)

Re:Knoppix!!

[beh]

I don't know what kind of problems you've had...

The only "problem" I've had with Knoppix was, that it didn't figure out, what kind of display resolution my Thinkpad A30P could do (1600x1200)... BUT - just the fact, that Knoppix 3.0 was able to boot off a notebook and recognize most of the hardware - that was something I found pretty impressive. Especially bearing in mind the kind of setup problems a lot of people HAVE with notebooks and their special hardware.

Also, I recently showed some people at my last job Knoppix 3.2 - and even there it booted off without a hitch on the Dell Latitude notebooks they've had in their offices...

gigabit speed download location for 3.4 here

[Anonymous Coward]

wh000h000 fast!

download 3.4 c't heise edition from here:

http://www.stuwo.net/temp/knoppix-3.4-heise-ct-edi tion-january-22nd-2004.iso.README [stuwo.net]

http://www.stuwo.net/temp/knoppix-3.4-heise-ct-edi tion-january-22nd-2004.iso.md5 [stuwo.net]

http://www.stuwo.net/temp/knoppix-3.4-heise-ct-edi tion-january-22nd-2004.iso [stuwo.net]

bandwidth saturation to be seen here
http://php.stuwo.net [stuwo.net]

Re:Erste poste!

[Phillup]

Because MandrakeMove freezes durning hardware detection and Knoppix doesn't?

Mandrake certainly doesn't like something about this setup:

Dual Xeon
Intel IHC5R w/ 875P chipset (ASUS PC-DL Deluxe)
NVidia FX5900
SATA RAID
1G RAM

Re:Knoppix!!

[vik]

Well, I've had a much better hit rate. Usually it is laptops with weird video cips that don;t go, and that can be cured by turning off APM and exotic video as per the Knoppix boot help menu.

Vik :v)

Re:Erste poste!

[mosschops]

This is great and all, but why would I do this when I have MandrakeMove?

I found MandrakeMove to be too dumbed down - menu items like "browse the web" for a web browser seemed to be aimed at complete newbies. It also required more input during the boot process, tho maybe that can be skipped if you save configuration.

Knoppix is definitely a better tool for power users, and still does a great job for new users (it passed the "can my parents use it" test!).

Re:gigabit speed download location for 3.4 here

[Anonymous Coward]

the complete info about the 3.4 c't heise edition can be found here

<a href="http://www.heise.de/ct/04/04/124/">http://ww w.heise.de/ct/04/04/124/</A>

comes with 2.6.1 AND 2.4.x kernel, be sure to check c't website for extended bootcodes

Bootoptionen und -parameter
Bootoptionen
knoppix Standard-Image, startet den Kernel 2.4
knoppix26 startet den Kernel 2.6
fb800x600
fb1024x768
fb1280x1024 Framebuffer-Modus fur Notebooks mit einer Auflosung von 800 x 600, 1024 x 768 oder 1280 x 1024 Pixeln
Parameter zur Hardwareerkennung
testcd CD auf Fehler uberprufen
noscsi
nopcmcia
nousb
noagp
noddc Hardwareerkennung fur SCSI-, PCMCIA-, USB-, AGP-Gerate, Monitor abschalten
noapic
noapm
nopnpbios APIC-Controller, Powermanagement, PnPBIOS nicht benutzen
nodma DMA-Beschleunigung fur Massenspeicher deaktivieren
screen=XxY Bildschirmauflosung des Desktop XxY Pixel ...
depth=N ... mit N Bit Farbtiefe
vsync=N Bildwiederholfrequenz N Hz
hsync=N horizontale Bildschirmfrequenz N kHz
vga=normal Standard-VGA-Auflosung beim Booten
alsa ALSA- statt OSS-Audio-Treiber
blind brltty=Treiber,Device,Table Betrieb mit Braille-Terminal (nahere Informationen unter [2])
Sonstige Parameter
noswap keine Swap-Dateien/-Partitionen auf der Platte verwenden
desktop=X Desktop X verwenden (kde, gnome, icewm, wmaker, twm)
2 keine grafische Oberflache starten (Runlevel 2)
home=/dev/X permanentes Homeverzeichnis von Gerat X lesen (etwa hda1 fur erste Partition der ersten IDE-Festplatte)
home=scan alle Datentrager nach permanentem Homeverzeichnis absuchen
myconfig=/dev/X gespeicherte Knoppix-Konfiguration von Gerat X lesen (beispielsweise sda1 fur USB-Stick)
myconfig=scan alle Datentrager nach Knoppix-Konfiguration absuchen
lang=X Systemsprache setzen (us fur amerikanisch, nl fur hollandisch und so weiter)
Spezielle Bootoptionen ohne weitere Parameter
memtest Speichertestprogramm
expert interaktives Setup, Kernel 2.4
expert26 interaktives Setup, Kernel 2.6
failsafe keine Hardwareerkennung, Kernel 2.4

even more pages at c't/heise for their special knoppix 3.4 edition

<a href="http://www.heise.de/ct/ftp/projekte/knoppix/ ">http://www.heise.de/ct/ftp/projekte/knoppix/</a>

Re:DVD edition download? (more current DVD editio

[bfree]

The DVD was never really publically distributed. It was created for a german conference last year sometime where it was distributed to attendees. Nobody ever seemed to have the desire and the bandwidth to put it online.

Re:lang=not_us

[glassesmonkey]

If you've ever used the Knoppix ISO then you'd know the en ISO has correct US keyboard and the de ISO has the german keyboard.

So when you boot this c't version up, you'll see a prompt and when you try and type "knoppix lang=us" you'll need to used the Shift-0

Re:lang=not_us

[Verteiron]

'lang=us' is what you type at the boot prompt to get US keyboard support in the OS. On the English versions of Knoppix, typing this at the boot prompt isn't a problem. On a German-booting version, typing 'lang=us' could present problems unless you know how to get the = sign.

Re:DVD edition download? (more current DVD editio

[calc]

It would probably run faster as well since DVD's go up to 16x which is ~ 20MB/s vs CD's 52x at 7.6MB/s.

Re:Gnome? [A: yup.]

[timothy]

Gnome is included, 2.4 I believe.

However, on my own system (not the one I'm typing from :), I run into problems when I try to run Gnome and specify lang=us -- I just get a blank screen. My German should be enough to let me muddle through, though, soon I will see what happens when I specify desktop=gnome without trying to do it in English ...

timothy

Re:Gnome?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, Knoppix does not include Gnome.

There are live-cds with Gnome (GNOPPIX, Morphix Heavy-Gui) but Knoppix doesn't have room for Gnome itself, just certain Gnome libraries and apps.

Re:Is there a CD distro like this for PowerPC?

[bfree]

Yep, the knoppix men in black privacy edition is a ppc knoppix derivative! You can find a list of mirrors for it here [bouissou.net].

Re:Upgrade HD-Install?

[adrianbaugh]

For everything except the kernel apt-get update;apt-get dist-upgrade should work fine. For the kernel you can use pre-built packages but you'll be better off to get the source for the version you want, untar it and cd into the source directory, optionally do a make menuconfig to set up all your options, then do make-kpkg binary. Then cd out of the source directory and dpkg -i the kernel-image and kernel-headers packages.

Re:Gnome?

[bfree]

The c't edition (the 3.4 version) has apparently removed a lot of software (like Lyx/Latex) so that Gnome (2.4) has returned!

Re:Knoppix!!

[zulux]

You can get Knoppix to work just fine with your A30p:

knoppix screen=1600x1200 xvrefresh=60

'nunthin like Celestia on a 1600x1200 screen that 15" large - the perceived resolution is awsome.

Re:Is there a CD distro like this for PowerPC?

[Tyrdium]

Try the Gentoo PPC LiveCD. It requires a bit of configuration (e.g. picking what WM you want), but it's not that hard. Grab it from the Gentoo site [gentoo.org].

Re:English Torrent? [Will take remastering :)]

[timothy]

The c't version is German centric, of course, because it's a German-language magazine ...

Some people on the forums at knoppix.net have said they're working on (or at least thinking about) remastering this version, and I bet an English-default version will likely come out of that. So scan those forums, and an English torrent will probably appear in the coming weeks ...

According to predictions there, based on previous knoppix release cycles, probably a 2.6-based official Knoppix version will come out in March or early April ...

timothy

Re:Knoppix!!

[Ianoo]

It might be helpful to the Knoppix (and Kudzu) developers if you could send them the specifications of these machines that "don't work".

Re:Great tool

[MRoharr]

from the changelog, take a look at the second to last option

* V3.3-2004-02-09 (Updates)
- Kernel 2.4.24-xfs
- KDE 3.1.5 from Debian/unstable
- mozilla 1.6 from Debian/unstable
- fixed Knoppix-Terminalserver problem with new libacl
- XFree 3.4 from Debian/experimental
- removed prelink (caused memory leaks under certain conditions)
- removed for space reasons: kjots, kcoloredit
- added prism54.org drivers for wireless cards
- the usual apt-get upgrade

Re:Knoppix!!

[FreeLinux]

Are you sure that you are using a good CD? I have used Knoppix on at least 50 completely different systems, different brands, ages, hardware, peripherals, etc, and have had almost no issues at all. In fact I frequently have to rely on Knoppix to figure out what drivers and settings I need when I am trying to install other distributions.

Frequently, some distribution or another won't detect a piece of hardware. I simply boot Knoppix, make a note of the drivers and their parameters and then specify them manually when installing the other distribution. Most recently I tried installing SuSE on a Compaq Proliant 3000. SuSE loaded a Compaq NIC driver but it would not activate the card. Knoppix had no problem with the card, or the Compaq Array controller, DLT tape library, or anything else. But, in the case of the NIC card, Knoppix chose an Intel driver instead of the Compaq driver that SuSE had chosen. I configured SuSE to use the same Intel driver and it worked fine from there on.

Frankly I am most annoyed by the various popular distributions because they each seem to have their own problems detecting hardware yet, Knoppix repeatedly has no such problem. I am constantly asking why the various distributions don't use Knoppix' hardware detection instead. And yes, I've had issues with Slack as well.

Torrents for Knoppix 3.3

[hbmartin]

Torrent for Knoppix 3.3 availible here [uni-kl.de]

Re:English Torrent?

[SquadBoy]

English torrents for 3.3

http://torrent.unix-ag.uni-kl.de:6969/

Re:Kernel 2.6

[SharpFang]

Well...

1.2 Install updated modutils, binutils etc, which are incompatibile with old ones, so there's no easy way of return.
2.2 Go back to config and remove any modules that cause compile errors (I don't know about 2.6 but in 2.3 it was a real bane, every second kernel I tried was broken in this or that way. It took YEARS to get Amiga Fast File System fixed.)

If it doesn't work and i.e. panics on boot-up, go, get some liveCD to boot the system, because you're screwed (No old kernel - new binutils, remember?) and work out slowly what causes the error. May take several hours, sometimes including messing in the sources. Compile, install, reboot, liveCD, repair, compile, reboot... And finally start looking for old binutils to get your old kernel back to work.

Yeah, installing new kernel is an interesting and often pleasant experience. But that's not a morning coffee type task. It CAN go SERIOUSLY wrong.

Re:Boot from CD

[zulux]

If Knoppix won't work - try Slax at http://slax.linux-live.org/ [linux-live.org]

Re:Knoppix and slow CD drives

[SharpFang]

Have you ran the CD test on that drive?
I doubt it's matter of speed. More likely newer drives have better error recovery algorithms and can read the CD properly using data redundancy. Your old drive may be less forgiving on tiny scratches, fingerprints etc.

Re:Knoppix and slow CD drives

[SharpFang]

knoppix toram [other options]
at boot time.

Apt-get

[FreeLinux]

It's Debian. Use Apt-get. You can find sources here:

# Kernel 2.6.0
http://packages.debian.org/testing/base/ker nel-ima ge-2.6-686

deb http://www.backports.org/debian stable kernel-image-2.6.0-i386
deb-src http://www.backports.org/debian stable kernel-image-2.6.0-i386
deb http://www.backports.org/debian stable kernel-source-2.6.0
deb-src http://www.backports.org/debian stable kernel-source-2.6.0

To answer your question directly, I do not believe that upgrade functionality exists in the Knoppix distribution.

Re:Kernel 2.6

[pytheron]

1.2 Install updated modutils, binutils etc, which are incompatibile with old ones, so there's no easy way of return

Building source is your friend here :-

tar xvf modutils.tar.bz
cd modutils ./configure --prefix=/opt/modutils-2.6
make
make install

Pretty simple.

Re:other 2.6 distros

[Al Al Cool J]

# Gentoo unstable, not the default kernel (2.6.2)

This is true for gentoo-sources or vanilla-sources, but mm-sources, which is 2.6 kernel maintainer Andrew Morton's patch, is marked as stable in Gentoo on x86 for 2.6.2-rc1.

SUSE as well

[jmt(tm)]

SUSE 9.0 can also be used with 2.6. It is packaged on the install media, but not the default, and you have to install the rpm from the CLI. Everybody who wants to use it should be able to figure out how to do that;-)

Re:Still can't install

[Anonymous Coward]

Boot Knoppix.

From Konsole run knx-hdinstall.
Answer prompts.
Done.

Re:Still can't install- actually you can

[Anonymous Coward]

After you boot the CD and have it running, you can
run knxinstall (ymmv, the name has shifted a bit)
to get a script that will install onto the hard
drive.

You can also install "halfway", and put the CD files
onto the HD, and use it from there as if it were the
CD. You really should see the knoppix web sites if
you want to make a permanent install. The original knoppix
was aimed at demo use, and the HD install was minimal.
There have been improved versions added.

Re:other 2.6 distros

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone of those supports 2.6 as the installation kernel ?

Re:The lineup is nearly complete...

[jasontheking]

>IMHO, the missing one is the "live server" CD. You boot from this and you get Linux servers, not workstation tools.

I'm doing this right now. I'm basing it off knoppix , just because that's what I've done before. Its a pain in certain areas, because /etc is read only , and stuff like ifup wants the /etc/network directory to be read-write. So I had no choice but to make a tmpfs filesystem , copy the /etc/files onto it , and use "mount --bind /newetcdir /etc" to trick knoppix into using it. (thanks to the guys on #knoppix for recommending this)

Unfortunately /etc/network isn't being handled properly by mount --bind, and I won't have a choice but to get someone to run a script to copy the files in the right place , and ifup eth0, so I can dhcp3-server. (/var isn't read/write either , so I had to make a leases file /etc/leases , and add "-lf /etc/leases" to /etc/init.d/dhcp3-server)

Apache runs fine, so pointing DocumentRoot to a place on the CD means you can load up local copies of web pages (even if they have flash animations - I've got the flash plugin installed so konq/mozilla can find it)

Re:Gnome?

[damiam]

Morphix is awesomely customizable (you can even apt-get install new programs while it's running, and burn new sessions on the CD with the additional software to be automatically installed on future boots). But, it's not quite as slick and easy as Knoppix, and I've had a trouble or two with the hdinstall. Still, it's an excellent distro.

Re:Knoppix and slow CD drives

[trouser]

Buy a new CD drive. They are not expensive.

Re:The lineup is nearly complete...

[MyHair]

KNOPPIX already has sshd, Apache, ftpd, tfptd, nfsd and dhcpd at the very least. Sure, they don't fire up automatically at boot, but I suspect that's for the reasons osmethnee mentions above [slashdot.org].

The KNOPPIX terminal server feature fires up dhcpd, tftpd and nfsd with a setup wizard, although it's set up for remote booting KNOPPIX.

To fire up the others, use the Debian-style init scripts like /etc/init.d/sshd start. But with sshd and some of the others you have to delete /etc/hosts.allow and/or /etc/hosts.deny and possibly restart inetd (/etc/init.d/inetd restart).

Since KNOPPIX already has the dhcp server working, I wonder what they're doing differently than you. I notice that you can delete (and presumably create) symlinks in /etc, so instead of mounting /etc perhaps you can symlink your config files from /ramdisk/foo.

I believe you can make your own init script that would automate the symlink operations and file copies and daemon startups for you without remastering KNOPPIX. I've seen it referenced in KNOPPIX forums somewhere.

TORRENT IS BROKEN! Here is a good one:

[drsmack1]

http://www.boegenielsen.dk:6969/

Re:Torrent problem?

[chickenmonger]

If you open the torrent file linked in the article in, say, Notepad, there's a message:

Hello,
there is Knoppix 3.3 in a newer version avaible, it seems to have
everything besides the 2.6.1 kernel (that is not without problems)
but is probably more up to date, here is a big list of _FAST_ ftp and http mirrors

there is also an ENGLISH edition

http://www.knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/

bittorrent is here:
http://torrent.unix-ag.uni-kl.de:6969/

Knoppix 3.4ct also has 2.4.23 or 2.6.1 both have the do_remap security flaw, the 2.4.24 in Knoppix 3.3 is ok.

If you are in germany you can get Knoppix 3.4 easily at about every store in the c't. (http://www.heise.de/ct)
The HD install also doesn't work with 3.4 ct edition.

The real Knoppix 3.4 will be release in a few weeks.

The torrent was only for a few people in a small irc channel (not in germany), I don't even have a seed,
just a tracker because i have a tiny server for email and web.

Regards
Christian Leber

There is still http://debian.christian-leber.de/bittorrent-for-pe ople-who-really-really-need-it-otherwise-please-ge t-the-newer-knoppix3.3/ but no idea if it will ever finish, perhaps i have to close it. 30 seeds and more than 400 downloaders will not be finished in the next hours

P.S. there was also a link to an single http server with the complete iso, it's completly irresponsible to make such a thing public without asking before doing this!

Re:it comes with the ct magazine

[Cruciform]

The hard drive installer script for knoppix rocks.

Just type knx-hdinstall as root and off you go.

It's easy enough that the only technical knowledge you need to get up and running is how to use cfdisk, and there's lots of uncomplicated tutorials to be found on how to create swap and install partitions.

Want to upgrade apps?
apt-get upgrade.
ta da!

Want to set up a web server with php and mysql to do some web design testing? It's already there. Just look in the distro or on the relevant web sites for the docs.

Knoppix is a great learning linux, and being able to start the distro solely from CD gives a newbie the chance to become familiar with it before they commit to a HD install. Until they're ready they can always save their settings to the location of their choice.

I'm no Linux guru, or fanatical advocate either. I just like what I see.

Postscript: Any time I travel in the future, one of these CDs will be coming with me. If I need to check my bank account info or other sensitive data you can bet I'm not doing it from an untrustworthy OS on someone elses machine. No worries of infection with keyloggers or whatever this way :)

Re:What About....

[NEOtaku17]

SuSE is incedibly easy to use as a dual boot with windows. Pop in the WinXP cd and boot from it. Reformat your HD(warning this will erase all your data on the drive) and partition how much of the drive you want to be accessed by Windows and then install windows on that partition. Leave the rest of the HD unpartitioned. Then boot from the first SuSE install disk. From there it will hold your hand through the whole dual boot process where you will: 1.Choose your boot loader(lilo or grub) 2.Partition the rest of your HD for use with Linux. 3.Install SuSE on the Linux partition. After it's pretty little setup process when you boot up the computer it will greet you with a very clean and easy to navigate(press the up and down arrows) menu of what operating system you want to boot, and after you select what you want and hit enter it will promptly load the OS of choice.

Re:Knoppix and slow CD drives

[dilute]

Look at the cheatcodes - there is one specifically for this, I think, also one to create an image of the CD on the hard drive (NOT a normal HD install) and work from that, and the two can probably be combined - i.e., initiate the boot from the hard drive and tell it to load the CD image from the hard drive into RAM. Yes that would be quick.

Re:Still can't install

[Lothsahn]

Unless you select Reiserfs from the prompts, then the 2.4.21 kernel won't boot, as Reiserfs isn't compiled into the kernel that comes from Knoppix (it's compiled as a module on the Knoppix 3.3 CD)

I have to admit I haven't tried the new 3.3 cd yet... hopefully it works.

Re:Knoppix and slow CD drives

[UFNinja]

Be forewarned though, knoppix toram takes a LONG time to load, even on fast drives. But if you plan on keeping the system up for a long time and not rebooting, feel free to do it. Something about having an entire operating system complete with programs loaded into RAM just smacks of hotness.

Re:Makes no sense to me.

[berzerke]

...more important I guess, Knoppix 3.4 c't

Remember that before you get download happy with the c't version, it is a special version that does not have all the regular programs (and stability from what I hear; it's a testing version). It being in German rather than English is not the only difference. 3.4 is going to offically be released at Cebit, which is March 18-24 this year (2004). So we've got about a month to wait for the official release.

Re:DVD edition download? (more current DVD editio

[Anonymous Coward]

They sold the remaining DVDs after the conference.

Re:Kernel 2.6

[Dave2 Wickham]

Don't even have to do that; make moveold will move the old modutils to [filename].old, then you can make install and not have to worry about which modprobe to use - it automatically starts insmod.old etc when it detects a 2.4 module.

Knoppix = debian unstable

[muyuubyou]

It supports upgrade. Easy as pie. Check knoppix.net or knopper.net forums.

kernel upgrade question [knoppix.net]
hdinstall forums [knoppix.net]
Easy way to get Debian running in record time. Mepis is another possibility. I blame them for the renewed popularity of Debian.

Re:Great tool

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you mean something like this [suse.com] ?