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LiveCD

A LiveCD is an operating system (that contains as much of your software as possible) stored on a bootable CD-ROM that can be executed from it, without installation on a hard drive. Nothing is installed, and the system returns to its previous OS once you pop the LiveCD out.

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 too the information on internal and/or external harddrives, diskettes and USB Flash memories (i.e. to store data or to be used like rescue systems).

Most LiveCDs contain a version of GNU/Linux, but there are also LiveCDs for other operating systems, like FreeBSD. A LiveCD for Microsoft Windows is technically possible, and there are such projects, but they are all illegal. There is however TheOpenCD [1], a project to provide Windows users with a downloadable ISO that contains a bunch of easy to use free software.

Table of contents
1 LiveMove
2 List of LiveCDs
3 Debian based
4 Gentoo based
5 RPM based
6 FreeBSD
7 Others
8 External links

LiveMove

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

List of LiveCDs

Debian based

Gentoo based

RPM based

FreeBSD

Others

External links