Live CD

A LiveCD is an operating system (that usually contains other software as well) stored on a bootable CD-ROM that can be executed from it, without installation on a hard drive. The system returns to its previous OS when the LiveCD is ejected and the computer is rebooted.

One can use a ready CD or burn an ISO image downloaded from the internet. Because of the large size of the image files many people use a download manager for this.

Some LiveCDs come with an installation utility launchable from a desktop icon that can optionally install the system on a hard drive or USB keydrive. Most LiveCDs can access the information on internal and/or external harddrives, diskettes and USB Flash memories (i.e. to store data -home directory- or to be used like rescue systems).

For example, in Dynebolic the nest file is called dynebol.nst and it keeps all your home and settings inside (/home, /etc, /var, /tmp). The available space for your nest is found by dyne:bolic through your partitions on harddisk or USB storage devices (like USB pens, smartcards or even photo cameras). This approach doesn't require any change in the data structure of the partitions: just one file is created (dynebol.nst).

Most LiveCDs contain a system based on the Linux kernel, but there are also LiveCDs for other operating systems, like FreeBSD or Microsoft Windows (but most of the latter are illegal). The first LiveCD seems to be DemoLinux, in 2000.

The syslinux utility is used to boot most LiveCDs as well as Linux floppies. On a PC a bootable CD generally conforms to the El Torito specification which treats a special file on the disc (possibly hidden) as a floppy diskette image. Many Linux LiveCDs use a compressed filesystem image (often with the cloop compressed loopback driver).

Mini-LiveCDs

A Mini-LiveCD is a bootable business card Linux distribution, this is, small enough to fit on a CD-ROM that has been cut, pressed, or molded to the size and shape of a business card (designed to fit in your wallet or pocket). Mini-LiveCds are able to hold about 50 MB.

LiveMove

LiveMoves are the set of a LiveCD and a bootfloppy or USB key.

I.e. MandrakeMove is a new MandrakeSoft product that benefits from a Mandrake Linux LiveCD which doesn't need to be installed to run on a computer, and a USB key that automatically stores bootloader, hardware configuration and personal data. PCLinuxOS is an active example of the concept.

MoveKey

A MoveKey is a Linux mini-distribution in a USB keydrive, like Flonix

Emulation

There are number of emulators on the market that you can use to try a LiveCD without the need to burn it to a CD or boot it on the computer. Probably the best one for i386 platfrom is commercial VMware. For open source emulator you can check Qemu or Bochs.

List of LiveCDs

Distinguishing Features

• Is a gratis .iso of the live CD available for your hardware?

Some live CD by design run only on 32 bit x86 PC's, not on 64 bit PC's without emulation, not on PPC Mac's, etc.

• Do you want a live CD that does more than install a new operating system?

The software of some otherwise live CD actually do not execute without installation to a boot device.

• How old is the live CD?

Old live CD's maybe work less well and certainly don't demo .

Debian based

• DemoLinux
• Knoppix:
  • clusterKnoppix has openMosix support
  • Damn Small Linux for a business card-sized CD.
  • Feather Linux fits on a USB keydrive and mini-CD.
  • Flonix fits on a USB keydrive too.
  • Knoppix STD (Security Tools Distribution) is a variation on Knoppix that includes programs geared to security and network management.
  • KnoppMyth, a Knoppix-based distribution with MythTV for PVRs.
  • Morphix is a modular distribution with four basic variations and the ability to contruct your own variations easily using the module system.
  • Oralux, a Knoppix-based GNU/Linux distribution for blind or visually impaired people. Its user interface is based on Emacspeak, an audio desktop and soon Quantian is a scientific variation of clusterKnoppix.
  • Snal linux is a non-graphical Live CD with openMosix support.
  • INSERT is an acronym for INside SEcurity Rescue Toolkit. It fits on a Mini-Live CD and is focused on security and system repairs (e.g. contains the ClamAV anti-virus software).
  • Mepis: user-friendly Debian for newbies.
• Gnobian versions:
  • Gnoppix
  • LinEx

RPM based

• Mandrake based:
  • MandrakeMove
  • PCLinuxOS is a community based, non-commercial distribution designed to be out-of-the-box ready for desktop computing use.
• Red Hat/Fedora based:
  • Adios
  • Berry Linux
• SuSE Live-CD

Slackware based

• MoviX, eMoviX and MoviX² - specifically designed as a standalone multimedia player
• Slax
• Stux
• Gentoo based
• Gentoo LiveCD
• Jollix
• SystemRescueCd

PPC/ Mac Compatible

• PPC Gentoo LiveCD (in 2004, yes KDE and network after you learn how to reconfigure)
• Knoppix PPC (in 2003, no console scroll, no less)

(gcc and make not yet seen in any PPC live CD)

Other Linux

• dyne:bolic, for multimedia production (especially for media activists, artists and creatives). The nest file will be called dynebol.nst and will keep all your home and settings inside (/home, /etc, /var, /tmp).
• Puppy linux boots from flash memory, cd, floppy, Zip drive and network storage into ramdisk where it operates from.
• BSD derived Live CDs
• FreeSBIE (Based on FreeBSD)
• Frenzy mini-CD (Based on FreeBSD)
• DragonFly BSD
• NetBSD - unofficial livecd images made of [ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/misc/xtraeme/ NetBSD 2.0 Beta] and [ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/iso/1.6/i386live.iso.bz2 NetBSD 1.6].

Microsoft Windows based

• SkyOS