Related articles

• On The Fly: Boot Knoppix Linux, Keep Windows Installation

  Given Linux' growing use and acceptance, many users want to try Linux out, but want to keep Windows installed and unblemished on their PCs as a backup. So is there a way to play with Linux and still keep Windows intact without damaging your existing OS configuration?" The Knoppix Linux distribution was created a few years ago to solve that problem. Linux newbies can use Knoppix to play with Linux, without touching their precious hard drives. Hackers will find Knoppix extremely useful, because it contains awesome security auditing and system imaging/recovery tools. Knoppix is a great Linux tool for all skill levels, and can benefit all users. Knoppix can be downloaded for free from KNOPPIX , and is available in either English or German language versions. After you download the ISO image, just burn it with your favorite CD Burning program (such as Ahead Nero). If you have a slow Internet connection, then you can order the CD from vendors (same link as above) for about $3 to $5 USD. In this article, Knoppix Linux version 3.3, which was released Feb 9 2004, is reviewed.

• Change your directory focus to the directory into which you downloaded the archive, and copy its entire contents into the newly-mounted USB volume. This screenshot shows what we saw as we followed these instructions. Listing of the DSL-embedded directory Copy the entire distribution directory onto the USB flash drive. 5. Unmount USB Key Unmounting the USB device is crucial before undertaking the next step. Take the USB volume offline by issuing the umount [sic] command as shown in the following screenshot. You must unmount the volume, and take it offline before proceeding to the next step. 6. Create Syslinux Configuration Create a syslinux configuration to make the USB flash drive bootable. The simple command line sequence required is depicted in the next screenshot. Modify the USB flash drive to boot from the new distribution. Feather Linux version 7.5 was not available in a USB version as we wrote this story, but creating one using the latest ISO is trivial. Most of the files that reside in the boot/isolinux directory must be relocated to the USB root directory path, except for boot.cat and isolinux.bin. For the USB key to work properly, boot.cat must be moved into the Knoppix/ directory on the same USB key, and isolinux.bin may be deleted entirely. The resulting directory structure appears in the next screenshot. Creating the Feather Linux USB flash drive directory structure for version 0.7.5 Other Knoppix installations may be tailored using the same approach, but of the course the details for each will vary slightly in structure, configuration, and operation. DSL Linux also works using these same procedures, as we verified for ourselves using the latest CD-ROM ISO version.

• As hard drives get bigger, you would think it’d become easier to collect all of your digital information without running out of room. The trouble is that the size of media files is growing right alongside of the hard drives—an .iso of Transformers consumes more than 42 GB of space! Nevertheless, it’d be ideal to store all of your entertainment in one place, right? Reader ravenware asked about eliminating the stack of DVDs that most people have to manage, and this is a project that I considered integral in my own HTPC endeavors. Not having to touch another disc (read: scratch another $30 Blu-ray) would be a huge convenience, at the very least. The problem itself is straightforward enough. The solution, it turns out, is not so simple. While there is software available to read a Blu-ray disc, circumvent its AACS copyright protection, and copy the file structure (or create an .iso), that middle step is legally looked down upon, even if the copyright protection is put back into place. You see, it has to be side-stepped in order for the copy to take place—a no-no. Nevertheless, the AACS LA has made it difficult to do this any other way. Managed Copy, a requirement of the Blu-ray format facilitating a backup of a disc you purchase, is still in the works. When it is enabled, you’ll likely have the distinct pleasure of paying to make a copy of the disc you’ve already purchased. Now, call it a difference in philosophy (and I certainly understand the concept of licensing versus ownership—that’s another can of worms entirely), but this still sounds like a bum rap. Making A Media Server So, we’re going to operate under the assumption that you want to do this now, rather than wait, and that you want to archive full discs rather than audio/video transcoded to save space. Naturally, you’ll need to start with plenty of storage, and it’d probably be best if it wasn’t localized to your HTPC. In our hypothetical environment, we’re going to use a five-drive Thecus N5200 Pro set up in a RAID 5 configuration with four 1 TB disks. Gigabit Ethernet is a necessity. We’ve experimented with streaming Blu-ray quality content over an 802.11n wireless network, and it’s just not quick enough. From there, you’re looking at a relatively simply process involving SlySoft’s AnyDVD HD software (79 €), a PC with Windows Media Center functionality, Daemon Tools (a free download), and the My Movies 2 movie collection management software (a free download). In essence, My Movies 2 is able to recognize AnyDVD HD and Daemon Tools and use the former to write an .iso of the disc while the latter automatically mounts the Blu-ray images when you click “Watch” in Windows Media Center. Of course, this is all in theory, as the legality of going this route is debatable. However, I have read a number of first-hand cases where configurations set up as described are working well.