Best Linux OS bootable from CD/USB drive (no installation)

Is Slax the only viable Linux OS that is bootable from a CD/USB drive w/out installation? I am very interested in OSs like Ubuntu, etc., but at the moment am not willing to install a new OS and partition my HD; I am looking for an OS that allows me to explore Linux in greater detail, for it has piqued my interest immensley.

Is Slax my best option at this point?

 

Many distros are bootable from LiveCD's without having to install including Ubuntu, PCLOS 2007, Mint, Sabayon, and Gentoo (just a few I've tried and can think of off the top of my head).

Not sure which is the best, but my own choice would probably be either Ubuntu or Mint.

 

Wait (sorry, I'm really new to Linux, as I'm sure you can tell)...

I can boot Ubuntu w/out installing it? Should I just burn the ISO (w/ a Nero or Alcohol-like program) and boot from the drive? (e.g. this is what I have previously done w/ Slax)...

I'm confused, because on the Ubuntu site, it seems to indicate that you need to install it...

I'll be sure to check out Mint, too!

 

No, you don't need to install LiveCD distributions. Such Linux distros boot what they need to your RAM and run from there without touching your hard drive.

However, there are some distributions that are designed to run from flash drives, and they have much smaller size requirements, such as Damn Small Linux (a fully functional OS only 50MB in size) or Puppy Dog Linux. See www.distrowatch.com for a comprehensive list of all the Linux variations out there.

 

Thanks much! At this point, I'm probably going to be looking @ Mint, beause it seems like a powerful OS that is a bit more user-friendly than Ubuntu...

Thanks alot, once again!

 

From a quick Google search: Live CD's

 

I'm using Mint right now on a test machine. Download the full ISO and burn it to CD. You can boot and run Mint from the CD, and if you decide to install it, you'll find the install application right on the desktop.

 

What is the option to boot off the CD?

I tried the ubuntu option that says "Start or Install..." it seemed weird to me.
but i picked it anyway, but i seemed to get hung up on my camera (think it meant webcam) and just kept trying to initialize it or something

 

nothing unusual about that, some distro's have different packages and drivers...
it may pay to try another distro of linux...
I have tried and use many different ones(i'm a linux junky, and have to try the latest every time)..
you can get redhat kde live...ubuntu(which can be easy but touchy with some laptops)...sabayon(again has hiccups)...dsl is a little limited so not always a good start...
i have experienced problems with some acer laptops not being easy to run live, especially with the graphics side of things...installs usually work better and can be configured to suit the laptop...one distro tat is nice and easy for that is "Xandros" but its not a live distro...
Any of the debian distros are quite stable, and SUSE distros are very functional as well...
best of luck...

 

Touchy is a good term. I have an old GX150 tower that runs Mint from the CD and also from the hard drive, but I can't get it to work on my e1705. I ended up using Gutsy Gibbon, which is kind of odd since Mint is based on Gibbon. Oh well, I think it's for the better anyway - I have Gibbon running perfectly from a logical drive on my e1705, and I actually like it a bit more than Mint.

I had forgotten how much fun Linux is! At first I hated the dependencies and the package manager, but now that I jumped back in, I'm loving the "hands on" that Linux provides! Next up on the agenda: install Ubuntu 7.10 Server on that old GX150 and start my mini Linux network. BTW - I think my wife gets irritated when I start playing with new operating systems, since I spend quite a bit of time tinkering with the computers now!

 

now why doesnt it surprise me..
most males cant do more than one thing at once, so when they get on a pc, forget the conversations or gettin any attention...
alas, a bad subject to bring up...rofl...
and you thought only men used linux, sorry but there are heaps of us girls into linux too...
roflmao...

 

IMO you will not get the REAL experience from Live CDs.

If you have a Thumb drive that's around 8GB or a USB external drive. Then I would do a full install onto that.

 

I've heard good things about damn small linux...