Using Knoppix Live CD to Recover and Restore Older Computers
for the Classroom
Christopher Michaud, Nebo Elementary School, Dallas, Georgia

Old PCWhen our school refreshed all the classroom and lab computers two years ago, we were left with many older IBM NetVista machines that ran Windows 2000.  The school system withdrew support from these machines.  They could no longer boot Windows and connect to the school network or the Internet.  Because of the age of these computers, (Pentium II and III chips and 128 MB of Ram), these computers were not candidates for upgrading to Windows XP.  As a result of the upgrade, these older computers were taken offline and put in storage around the school.

My music classroom only had one computer for teacher use.  Our school also has one computer lab for 765 students. I have found that I could not get my music classes into the lab on a consistent schedule.  In addition, our school network and computers do not allow students to save files they created while working on the computer. I needed consistent access to computers where students could save their work from week to week.

I had experience with Linux in restoring and repairing my home computer with Knoppix 3.4. I also attended two workshops at the GaETC 2006 conference that dealt with Linux applications in an educational setting. One workshop was on using the Knoppix Live CD to recover and repair a Windows machine (Reviving Your Older Technology Using Linux Thin Client Software by Daniel Howard.  The other workshop dealt with setting up thin clients in a Linux network for students using the K12 Linux Terminal Server Project (Fixing Windows XP: An introduction to Knoppix, Adrian Godwin).   I decided to use Knoppix to install Linux and restore the old school computers for use as student machines in my classroom.

Knoppix is a live CD that can be used to demo Linux or rescue a non-booting computer.  I decided to employ Open-Source software in my classroom to provide my music students with computers for web research, access music tutorial websites, watch and listen to music through the internet, and use Open-Office to create presentations for research projects.

While Knoppix was designed as a live bootable CD, Knoppix also comes with "installer" scripts that will install a Debian type Linux to the hard drive.  This installer program runs very easily, copies the contents of the Knoppix Live CD to the hard drive, and establishes a multi-user Linux system.  I used the Knoppix Live CD to test the target computer to ensure that Knoppix would run in a stable fashion.  Then I used Knoppix to install Debian Linux onto the computer.

Through trial and error I have discovered these steps to install Linux onto the IBM NetVista, Dell 4300, and other Pentium II and Pentium III computers.  I have found that the older version Knoppix 3.4 works very well for these machines.

The basic steps are:

1. Set the BIOS to boot from the CD-ROM drive before the Hard Drive.
2. Boot the Knoppix Live CD.
a. Sometimes you must use the Knoppix cheat codes to make sure Knoppix works on the target computer. 
b. With the IBM Netvista machines, I found you must use "knoppix noapm" to turn the automatic power management off. 
c. Be sure you figure out all the cheat codes before you install Knoppix. 
d. The common ones manage monitor resolution and frequency, DMA, and APM.
3. Use QT-Parted to partition and reformat the Hard drive:
            a. Make a Linux Swap Partition of 256 MB
            b. Make an Ext3 partition for the rest of the Drive
4. Open the terminal program.  Use the "su" command to change to root. Then type "knoppix-installer" to run the installer script.
5. Select the "Configure Installation"
6. Select "Beginner"
7. Answer the questions as prompted by the installer.  You will need to pick a user name, user password (this is the one the students will use). You will also be asked for an administrator (root) password.  You will also be asked to name your machine.
8. Once the questions are finished, select "Start Installation" and Knoppix will install to the hard drive.

Detailed instructions for a hard drive install of Knoppix are located on Knoppix websites (www.knoppix.net and www.knoppix.org).  On the Knoppix websites there are discussion forums and other help documents to answer questions about installing and running Knoppix.

Once Knoppix is installed, reboot the computer and remove the Live CD.  You will be presented with a KDE Log in Screen.  Select the user name, type in the password and away you go.  If you are plugged into a network via an Ethernet cable, Knoppix does a fairly good job of using DHCP to acquire an IP address and connect to the Internet.  You can use the K-Menu (Like "Start" in Windows XP) and navigate to "Knoppix-Network/Internet-Network Card Configuration" to set up your Internet connection.

Once Knoppix is installed and running I have learned to fine tune the Mozilla Web Browser to meet the needs of my music class.  Knoppix 3.4's Mozilla does not have Macromedia Flash installed by default.  I have found the quickest way to install Flash is to copy the "libflashplayer.so" and "flashplayer.xpt" files to the Mozilla's "plugins" folder. (Located at /home/username/.mozilla/)  The Flash Player can be downloaded from www.adobe.com. Once these files are copied into the Mozilla plugins folder, Flash is active and many educational sites such as www.starfall.com and music sites like www.dsokids.com work very well.

I also set the Mozilla homepage to my website and use "Preferences" to block pop up windows.

Knoppix has many programs ranging from graphics, games, office software, multimedia software, and internet tools.  In my classroom I found that Open Office, Mozilla, and XMMS Media player to be the most useful software.

With the help of Knoppix and I have equipped my music room with a computer for every two students.  This allows my students to have a consistent place for research, productivity, and accessing multimedia through the web.  My 4th and 5th grade students currently use Open Office to create slideshows on musical instruments and composers for their spring research projects.  My students in my after school technology club use Mozilla Composer to create and edit web pages.  I also use a Knoppix computer to run PowerPoint slideshows for the school closed circuit TV announcement system.

Open Source Software and the Knoppix Live CD has allowed me to stretch school resources and make more effective use of computers that would otherwise go unused.  It has allowed me to more effectively use taxpayer dollars by providing students with computers for research and productivity.

Technology belongs in the hands of students. Using Open Source and Linux based operating systems frees funds and resources towards purchasing hardware for the student use.  In addition, more and more applications are moving towards web-based platform.  With a web-based platform, student hardware simply needs to have operating system, windows manager, web browser, and network card.  Linux based open source computers provide an economical alternative computing platform for public school students.

 

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