Member Avatar for flushing_ny

hi

i have Linux knoppix 5.0 on CD, but not installed on my hdd. I'm not sure how my wireless card would work with my pc, but then again, i haven't really tried.

I'm running the Linux platform from the CD itself, but I don't know if removing the Linux CD to insert the driver CD for the wireless card will affect the knoppix desktop.

How can I install Linux to my hard drive permanently, so that I can subsequently install the drivers I need for things like a wireless card, an external CD/DVD-RW, and so on?

thanks.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rubberman

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Context: is running Knoppix 5.0 from CD and wants a permanent install plus working wireless. Short, practical guidance follows that complements the replies from , and .

A live Knoppix session reads many files from the CD; removing the Knoppix disc while the session is running will often break programs unless the image was booted with the RAM-copy option (boot parameter toram or similar) or the live system was created on a USB with a writable persistent overlay. For driver CDs, copying needed packages or installer files to a USB stick is safer than swapping media in a live session.

Three practical paths to permanence and easier driver handling:

  • Full install to disk (recommended for ongoing use): use a distro installer (Debian/Ubuntu-family installers are straightforward and give access to package repositories and firmware packages). This ties into ’s point about mainstream distros easing hardware support and ’s note that DVD/live images can include more firmware.
  • Persistent USB live: keeps a live environment but stores changes across reboots; useful for testing before a full HDD install.
  • Knoppix-to-disk installer (if present on the DVD): some Knoppix DVD images include an installer; otherwise prefer a standard Debian/Ubuntu install media.

Useful diagnostic commands and workflow (run from the live session before any install):

# identify wireless chipset
lspci -nnk | grep -iA3 network
lsusb

# check kernel/firmware messages
dmesg | grep -i firmware
dmesg | grep -i wlan

# check radios and interfaces
rfkill list
ip link; iwconfig

Typical next steps: identify the kernel module, test it with sudo modprobe <module>, and inspect dmesg for firmware requests. For Debian/Ubuntu families, required non-free firmware packages are often available via package repos; offline installs can be done by copying .deb files to USB and installing with sudo dpkg -i package.deb then sudo apt-get -f install to resolve deps. ndiswrapper is a last-resort option for Windows drivers.

For troubleshooting, include chipset strings (from lspci -nnk) and any dmesg firmware errors when seeking help. ’s pointer toward Linux wireless resources is relevant for chipset-specific details.

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for DimaYasny

get a proper distro, like fedora or ubuntu. and don't hijack someone else's threads.

commented: idiot +0
Member Avatar for flushing_ny

I'll try that... and I had no intention of "hijacking" another person's thread. It's just that my situation seemed similar to this and just wanted some pointers, that's all. Sorry to inconvenience anyone.

Member Avatar for DimaYasny

good luck with that. for good HW support, go for ubuntu

Member Avatar for paimei

hey man, linux is nice. knoppix is one of the bests debian based...look,,, dont tell me what distro our friend need to use... each of us must be do this choice ok?!
man.. you can download the knoppix DVD version,,, the new version is better because is updated. You can view the link on the distro watch website. Best regards.
Mosh Fallhawks

Member Avatar for rubberman

Knoppix is a perfectly fine distribution. If you need help with your Linux wireless cruft, go visit - that is where I go when I have to deal with this cruft.

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