A comparison of Damn Small Linux, Knoppix and PCLinuxOS Linux Live CDs

Introduction

Live Linux CDs allow people to test Linux or try a distribution without any hard drive installation, or carry Linux around in their pocket to use on any computer. I have picked the top ranked Live CD from Distrowatch for each of these three tasks to review/compare. Knoppix 3.4 is the "test Linux" live CD, PCLinuxOS 7a is the "try before it before installing" live CD and Damn Small Linux is the "pocket Linux" live CD. It should be noted each of these live CDs can perform every task above and that there are many other equally good live CDs - these are just the ones I have picked.

I will try each live CD on an eMachines desktop with a 2.2 Ghz AMD CPU, 512 MB RAM and a USB wireless adapter and a Compaq laptop with a 2.2 Ghz AMD CPU, 512MB RAM and onboard network card. Specifically I will look for hardware detection (including my USB key), the time it takes to get to the desktop from boot, if I can get on the internet, the software included and the overall feel of the live CD.

To learn more about the basics of Live CDs see this page.

Knoppix 3.4

Knoppix is the "mother" of live Linux CDs. It has a reputation for excellent hardware detection and a huge selection of software. Knoppix took 3 minutes to get to the desktop on the desktop 3 minutes 10 seconds on the laptop (this included a pause where it gives the choice to remove the CD and shut down if you don't want to run the live CD - a thoughtful touch). During the boot process there is a nice splash screen and messages informing of the hardware detection progress. No password is required and you are taken right to a nice looking KDE (3.2.2) desktop.

The first thing I noticed was my hard drive and USB key had been mounted and icons created for them. Overall the hardware detection was excellent with the only pieces of hardware not found was the USB wireless adapter. Knoppix gets an extra point for auto-mounting both the hard drive and USB key but loses a point as I wasn't able to get internet access on either the desktop or the laptop. I'm not sure of this was a hardware detection issue or an issue with my home network setup. The variety software included with Knoppix is phenomenal: OpenOffice (1.1.1), Mozilla (1.6), Mozilla Mail, Konquerer, GIMP, WINE, Remote Desktop Connection, 9 different editors, over 30 games and a whole host of development and graphics applications as well as system utilities. Most applications also have a description by their name of what they do for people unfamiliar with them - another nice touch and extra point for Knoppix. Knoppix 3.4 also includes the 2.4 and 2.6 kernels.

Overall, Knoppix 3.4 deserves its excellent reputation and is perfect for demonstrating the capabilities of Linux to new users. I would give Knoppix a B+ grade.

PCLinuxOS 7a

PCLinuxOS could be described as Mandrake Linux on one (live) CD. Mandrake Linux being one of the most new user friendly distributions. It took 4 minutes to get to get to the login screen (the username and password (guest:guest and root:root) being provided onscreen during a brief pause at the beginning) and 25 seconds after that to get to the KDE (3.2.3) desktop and 4 minutes 25 seconds and 35 seconds for each stage on the laptop.

The hardware detection was good, it found and mounted my USB key but failed on the USB wireless adapter on the desktop. The partitions on the hard drive were also found and mounted however no icons were placed on the desktop as with Knoppix. Hardware detection was perfect on the laptop.

PCLinuxOS includes one of each application type and these tend to be generally the most mainstream ones (such as OpenOffice and Mozilla Firefox). Where as Knoppix shows the wide range of Linux applications available to people, PCLinuxOS doesn't force people have to decide which unfamiliar application to choose for each task. PCLinuxOS includes the excellent Control Centers for system administration - these are so intuitive that even my Aunt Jane could use them without help.

PCLinuxOS live CD really is designed for trying before you install it. So I also tried installing PCLinuxOS and must say it is the most "Aunt Jane" proof operating system install I have ever done. It took 6 clicks, 15 minutes and picked all the right defaults. The only thing I would say is that I really wouldn't run PCLinuxOS on a box with less than 256 MB RAM.

To finish, I would suggest PCLinuxOS to a brand new Linux user who said "I want to install Linux but would really like to give it a quick test drive first." It really is ideal for the first time user to run on their PC. I would give PCLinuxOS an A- grade.

Damn Small Linux 0.72

Damn Small Linux could be described as, erm, damn small! The goal of the project is to have a bootable business card CD with a desktop and applications in less than 50 MB of space.

The start up process took 1 minute 15 seconds on the desktop and 1 minute 10 seconds on the laptop. As it is starting up you are asked which xserver to use, if you have a USB mouse, your preferred screen resolution, color depth and DPI. There is no login. It did detect the USB key but not the USB wireless adapter, so once again I give a point and take another one away. It did not auto mount any drives however it does include a nice mounting application to help you do it.

The desktop Damn Small Linux uses is Fluxbox. When Fluxbox starts it opens an FAQ document automatically as it works slightly differently to most desktops. It doesn't have a "start" button, instead applications are selected by right-clicking and the multiple desktops are navigated with "VCR" buttons. Fluxbox doesn't take long to get used to and is really very nice to use. Its look can even be customized by right-clicking and going to Desktop > Styles. Damn Small Linux includes the Dillo browser, the Ted word processor, the Sylpheed email client, Xpaint, shells, editors, several different games as well as system monitoring tools.

All in all, Damn Small Linux is a nice live CD Linux distribution. If you take in to account its size it is very very good indeed. Given the questions asked during start up and the slightly different desktop I would recommend Damn Small Linux only to people that are already comfortable with computers and operating systems. I would suggest Damn Small Linux for running on older computers. I give Damn Small Linux a B+ grade.

Conclusion

All the live CDs I looked at performed very well indeed. I would recommend that you try any of them particularly since one of the huge strengths of live CDs is they don't touch your hard drive and thus are virtually risk free. I only touched the surface of all the live CDs available and what they are capable of doing. I would also suggest taking a look at MEPIS, SLAX or the complete list of live CDs at Frozentech. 

Barney Matthews