Tools for creating bootable Linux systems have improved quite a lot recently.
Because open source software can be pieced together and redistributed, individuals
are beginning to create custom bootables that include their own music,
presentations, or movies, along with a personal toolkit of software.
This chapter describes some popular and interesting bootable Linux distributions.
It also explores ways that you can customize some of these bootable
Linux systems to suit your needs.
If you haven??™t already done so, I recommend you try the KNOPPIX
distribution included with this book and described in Chapter 11.
It will help you get a good hands-on view of a bootable Linux system by describing
how KNOPPIX works, how to use different boot options to start it, and ways
of saving changes across reboots. You can also check out Appendix A for a list
of other bootable Linux distributions that come on the CD and DVD included
with this book.
Overview of Bootable
Linux Distributions
There are now dozens, and probably will soon be hundreds, of bootable
Linux distributions (also sometimes called live CDs). By stuffing removable
media (CDs, DVDs, floppies, and even USB flash drives) with a select mix of
NOTE
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IN THIS CHAPTER
Exploring bootable Linuxes
Choosing bootable Linux
distributions
Booting rescue distributions
Booting multimedia distributions
Booting tiny desktop
distributions
Customizing a bootable Linux
Running Bootable
Linux Distributions
open source software, bootable Linuxes enable you to bypass the hard disk completely (if you like)
and have a special Linux distribution running on almost any computer within minutes.
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