original language: english
last update: 13/11/2000

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Booting

    1. From Windows, DemoLinux doesn't boot when I clic on go640.bat (or go800.bat or go1024.bat)

    You have a compatibility problem between the configuration of your CD reader on DOS and on Windows, or your CD reader is not configured under DOS. Try another way of booting DemoLinux.

  2. Graphics

    1. DemoLinux boots, but never reach graphic mode. Instead of that, it oscillates between a black screen and error messages...

    Your graphic card is not supported. Read the manual to find a solution.

    2. You are using DemoLinux 2.0 on a i810 machine.

    Depending on the version, the device needed to boot in graphic mode may be absent or corrupted. If booting using an svga mode (1024svga, 800svga or 640svga) fails, then do the following:

    • boot using an svga mode, but without launching X. For example: 
                        boot: 1024svga 3
      brings the system up in text mode, but with all X files ready for 1024x768.
    • log as root, with no password
    • type 
                        mknod /dev/agpgart c 10 175
      this will create the missing device
    • launch X, with the command 
                        init 2

  3. Network configuration

    1. DemoLinux 2.0 boots, I tell it that there is a DHCP server running, but once booted, the network is not configured at all...

    Depending on the version, DemoLinux 2.0 may refuse to use the DHCP server information on a machine whose network card is not a PCMCIA card. If this is your case, there is a quick fix:

    • boot normally, say yes to DHCP
    • press Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get a text login screen
    • log in as root (no password)
    • run the dhcp client by hand, typing 
                      dhcplient
    • log off from the root account
    • go back to the graphical display by typing Ctrl-F7
    Now the network should be running.

  4. Professional support

    1. I want to develop a custom version of DemoLinux. Where can I find the necessary instructions for making Linux bootable CDs?

    DemoLinux is a modern evolution of what is known as a Live File System. General instructions on how to make a Live File System are available in many places(like LinuxGazette), but we would like to recommend the excellent HOWTO by Hans de Goede as a reference.

    You may not know it, but you already have all the sources, under GPL licence, of what we did write or modify: they are available in the /misc directory for 1.0 CDs and in the /.demolinux/sources directory for 2.0 CDs, so we did nothing to prevent you from reproducing (with due credits) our work, and you could try to do it yourself again.

    Nevertheless, it would be far from honest to promise you that without a reasonable deep knowledge of the Linux system, as well as configuration and customization of a distribution, you will be able in a week-end to make a DemoLinux CD: it is simply not that eas