Knoppix administration

Below you will find a compilation of tips and tricks that will help you to administer your Knoppix System.

It concerns the following topics:

1. Making changes in files within /etc

2. Making NFS-Mounts (as NFS-Client)

3. Giving Root a Password
   

4. Working as root under KDE
   

The administration of a Linux System is a bottomless barrel: there is always something to do. So take your time and take it light. The road is your goal.

The following topics are beyond the area of this tutorial:

• To place the home directory of a Knoppix user (/home/user) permanently on a hard disk, ZIP drive or  USB memory stick and binding (mounting) it automatically at boot time..

• To install Knoppix on a hard disk.

• Remastering Knoppix.

From the almost 300 configuration files in the directory /etc. half of it are so called soft links to the files in the directory /KNOPPIX/etc at the Knoppix-CD. This means that in reality these files are not physically on the directory /etc. but on the directory /KNOPPIX/etc at the Knoppix-CD. (Soft links are identical to aliases under e.g. Windows 98/NT/XP...).
However, files on the CD can only be read and not changed. But it can be so, that one must make a change in such a file. Then it is necessary to overrule the read only file from the CD and make a read/write version of the file in /etc.

This goes as follows (as example we take /etc/hostname):

Click at the Knoppix-KDE-Desktop at the bottom left with the left mouse button on the symbol with character "K" in a  (this is comparable with the <Start> symbol in Windows 98/NT/XP...).

Click in the menu that opened with the left mouse button at the entry "KNOPPIX".

Click in the sub menu that opened at the entry "Root Shell". A "Root" window opens.

Give in the root window the  command "ls -l /etc/hostname".

"lrwxrwxrwx ... /etc/hostname -> /KNOPPIX/etc/hostname" will show. This indicates that the file /etc/hostname is a soft link that points to the file /KNOPPIX/etc/hostname.

Give the command "/bin/cp -p /etc/hostname /tmp". With this you make a copy of the file /etc/hostname in the directory /tmp. ("In reality" you make a copy of the file  /KNOPPIX/etc/hostname, as /etc/hostname is a  soft link (alias) of the file /KNOPPIX/etc/hostname.)

Give the command "/bin/rm /etc/hostname". This will delete the file (the soft link) /etc/hostname.

Give the command "/bin/mv /tmp/hostname /etc". With this you move the file /tmp/hostname to the directory /etc.

Give the command "ls -l /etc/hostname".

"-rw-r--r-- ... /etc/hostname" will show. This shows that the file /etc/hostname is not a soft link anymore that points to the file /KNOPPIX/etc/hostname, but a "real" "own" "standalone" file in which changes can be made. (with the command "echo rocket > /etc/hostname"  you can now for instance change the name of your compute to "rocket".)

You made the file changeable :-)

When you give the command  "exit" the "root" window will close.

Remark: With the command "/bin/rm /etc/hostname" and "/bin/ln -s /KNOPPIX/etc/hostname /etc/hostname" you take care that /etc/hostname becomes again "only" a soft link to the file /KNOPPIX/etc/hostname.

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Click at the Knoppix-KDE-Desktop at the bottom left with the left mouse button on the symbol with character "K" in a  (this is comparable with the <Start> icon in Windows 98/NT/XP...).

Click in the menu that opened with the left mouse button at the entry "KNOPPIX".

Click in the sub menu that opened at the entry "Root Shell". A "root" window opens.

Give in the root window the  command  "/etc/init.d/portmap start" and "/etc/init.d/nfs-common start" and start with this the NFS services you need.

Give the command  "show mount -e nfs-server" (whereas for nfs-server you have to insert the name or IP-Address of the computer [NFS-Server], from which you want to mount a file system through NFS) and test if the NFS-Server has the suitable permissions to export file systems to your system.

Give the command  "mount ..." with the necessary options to mount the file system through NFS.

Mounten via NFS is now possible :-)

When you give the command  "exit" the "root" window will close.

Remark: with the command "/etc/init.d/nfs-common stop" and "/etc/init.d/portmap stop" the NFS services on your computer are stopped again.

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Knoppix has no root password set. Every now and then Knoppix asks you to give the root password. Hence it is necessary to set the root password for Knoppix.

That goes like this:

Click at the Knoppix-KDE-Desktop at the bottom left with the left mouse button on the symbol with character "K" in a  (this is comparable with the <Start> icon in Windows 98/NT/XP...).

Click in the menu that opened with the left mouse button at the entry "KNOPPIX".

Click in the sub menu that opened at the entry "Root Shell". A "root" window opens.

Give in the opened root window (shell) the command "passwd".

"Enter new UNIX password:" will show. Enter a password (that you can remember) and hit the <ENTER> key.
(A good password has at least seven characters, consisting of both capital and small characters, numbers and special characters. A good  trick is to make a sentence and remember the first letters of the words in the sentence. Such as: Knoppix = a d*mmed good OS!, which yields the password: K=ad*gOS!)

"Retype new UNIX password:" will then show. Retype the password and again hit the <ENTER> key.

"passwd: password updated successfully" will show if you retyped the second time the same password as the first time. If not you have to do the procedure again.

And root has its password :-)

When you give the command  "exit" the "root" window will close.

Remark: When you replace in the file  /etc/shadow in the line that starts with "root ..." all characters between the first and second colon (:)  by a star (*)  this makes that root has no password anymore.

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After booting Knoppix, you usual work as user under the graphical user interface KDE. If you want to work as user: "root" under KDE then proceed as follows:

• Boot with "knoppix 2" in Text mode. (Details on  booting  you'll find in  "Knoppix boot details".)

• When the prompt "root@tty1[/]#" shows then type the command "su" (switch user) to get into the root environment..

• Subsequently give the command  "startx" to start KDE..

  Now you work as root under KDE :-)

• You'll end working as root under KDE, by pressing the key combination <Alt> and <F2> simultaneously, at which the window Run Command opens. There you can give the command "shutdown -h now" , click at the button <Execute> and Knoppix shuts down as usual.

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