Step 2--Making a Live CD


How Do I Try Out A Distro?

I think the easiest way to try out a Linux distro is by making a Live CD.  So what is a Live CD?

This is a boot disk that allows you to try out a distro without making any changes to your computer...kind of like the "try before you buy" concept. How the Live CD works is you download the distro you want onto your computer. Then you make a CD image of the file. Then, you reboot using the cd rom drive and it runs the operating system from there! You can play around with the distro, checking out the things you like (or don't) before you decide to install it. If you don't like it, you just eject the disk, restart the computer and nothing has been changed.

Now, let's go through the process of making a Live CD step by step.


What You Need To Make A Live CD


  • A blank CD-R disk---700 MB -OR- A blank DVD-R disk
  • A CD burning program capable of burning an image file (which has the extension .iso after the file name)
  • A CD burner or DVD burner
  • one felt tip permanent marker


Downloading and Burning


  1. Go to the website of the distro you want. I will use my favorite distro, Linux Mint for this example. So first I went to the Linux Mint website and picked the version I wanted.  The latest version (at the time of writing) was Linux Mint 7 and called main (as distinguished from kde or community). There is usually a link called download or download mirrors or torrent. I prefer mirrors myself so I click that link and choose the area closest to me. Depending on the distro, a download will either start right then or you may have to choose your file.  If you have to choose the file from a list, look to the right..most likely you will be looking for a file that is around 700 MB in size and in the filename it will end in .iso not checksum or md5.  It should also say the version number in the filename.  Make sure it's the right version for what you wanted.
  2. The file you want to download is an .iso file. This means the file to download will have a name followed by ".iso" This means it is an image file.
  3. Whenever you click on a file to download you are asked if you want to open it or save it, etc..choose save and then save it to the desktop. This is the easiest way to ensure you do NOT misplace that very important file!!

    4. Now the waiting game begins......when it's done downloading go to number 4.

  4. Now that you have the image file downloaded to the desktop (finally!), it is time to put it on a disk. Get a blank CD-R (not CD+R--Linux doesn't like these) or a DVD or USB stick if you are using one of those methods. Preferably use a blank, one time use CD-R disk rather than a re-writeable one. For some reason, the iso files burn better on a CD-R. Put your blank CD in the drive and open your CD burning program. Make sure you choose the image burning option.
  5. Choose a relatively slow speed to burn with; this works best for iso files. Be patient, it will take a little while to burn. When it is done, if you have the option, do an integrity check. This makes sure that there were no corrupted or missing files on the image file. When it's done, poof! you have yourself a Live CD!! Write on the disk what distro, version, and date of burning so you can reference it later.


Using Your New Live CD--Taking Linux For A Test Drive
 

  • When your Live CD is burned, make sure you have your important files backed up on removeable media somewhere..(for example, a cd, dvd or usb stick). You might decide to install Linux on your computer right then so if you do, it will wipe out all information off the disk!  Besides, now is a good time to get in the habit of periodically backing up your info.
  • Click on Shutdown.  When the shutdown menu appears, choose restart. Once the computer has gone through the shutdown process and turned off everything, it will turn it all back on again. If you have a DELL, like I do, when the Dell splashscreen pops back up on the restart, hit the F12 button to get the boot menu.
  • Put your new CD in the drive. Choose boot from CD drive (or similarly worded choice) and hit enter. This will boot the computer from the CD drive rather than the hard drive (no, it won't hurt anything or change anything on your hard drive)
  • Almost immediately, the boot screen for the distro you have downloaded will appear. Either let it run automatically or choose an option from the list presented. (If in doubt, let it run by itself) The distro will then load and you are all set to explore!  You won't be able to download anything while using the LiveCD but that's okay because you just want to test things out.  If you don't like it, go through the shutdown process like normal and remove the disk.  Then when your computer starts back up, everything will be as it was before.
                                                        ***Things to Remember***

  • This process can also be applied to creating a DVD boot disk. The advantage of the DVD is that the distro in its entirety can be put onto a DVD, rather than downloading additional items after using the Live CD.

  • Remember to use CD-R disks rather than re-writeable ones. The single use ones burn iso images better and the disk lasts longer.

  • When you decide you want a distro installed on your hard drive, there is usually an icon available on the desktop of the Live CD for this purpose.