A live CD How To Make Your Own windows Live CD How To Make Your Own Windows Live CD Read More (or “live disc”) is a bootable CD, DVD, or USB drive with an operating system ready to run when the disk is inserted. While an operating system is most commonly found mounted on a hard disk drive, bootable media is pretty useful.
Whether for system recovery or merely a portable disk for guest devices, a live CD offers lots of functionality. Problems with boot records, lost passwords, and infections can be quite nasty. However, a live CD may be used to recover data, defrag drives, partition, and more.
For linux, it’s pretty simple to createa DIY bootable live CD. From third-party tools to officialLinux distribution The Best Linux Distributions The Best Linux Distributions There are many Linux distributions available for a number of different purposes, which makes it difficult to choose at times. Here's a list of the very best to help you decide. Read More live CDs, there’s an easy solution. Check out how to build your own bootable Linux live CD, from software to creating a disc and finding an ISO.
Linux Live CD Requirements
Let’s start with the prerequisites. While creating aLinux live CD 4 Reasons Every Windows User Should Have An Ubuntu Live CD 4 Reasons Every Windows User Should Have An Ubuntu Live CD Read More isn’t terribly difficult, you’ll need a few items first. Namely, an ISO file, burnable media, and a means tomount the ISO 10 Tools to Make a Bootable USB from an ISO File 10 Tools to Make a Bootable USB from an ISO File A bootable USB is the best way to install an operating system. Besides the ISO and a USB drive, you need a tool to set it all up. That's where we come in. Read More . I used FalconFour’s Ultimate Boot CD, but there are loads of tools available. Although I’ve got a spindle of blank DVDs and CDs, I instead opted to use a flash drive for my bootable media. You’ve likely got plenty ofUSB drives The Best, Fastest, Most Rugged USB Flash Drives You Can Buy Right Now The Best, Fastest, Most Rugged USB Flash Drives You Can Buy Right Now USB flash drives are some of of the coolest inventions for geeks. We've rounded up five of the fastest, most rugged, and overall best drives on the market. Here's what we've found. Read More lying around, and a major advantage is that you can reuse these over and over. Plus, it’s a great use for smaller drives, as most ISOs can be mounted on a 2 GB or smaller drive.
Choosing an ISO
There’s no shortage of available live CD software available for Linux. Here’s a list of top contenders:
Hiren’s Boot CDHiren’s Boot CD comes packed with goodies. There’s a MiniXp environment (a customized Windows XP), Linux environment for rescue, and lots of tools for defrag, partitioning, backup, and more. MBRCheck as the name implies checks the Master Boot Record (MBR), Tor Browser is a secure browser for surfing the internet, DRevitalize repairs bad hard drive sectors, there are removal tools from Norton and McAfee, and the list continues. Plus, it’s wrapped in a 592.5 MB ISO.
FalconFour’s Ultimate Boot CDFalconFour’s Ultimate Boot CD isn’t just dubbed ultimate for nothing. As it’s based on Hiren’s Boot CD, FalconFour’s disk has a comprehensive starting point. For this reason, Ultimate Boot CD is my Linux Live CD of choice. Like Hiren’s Boot CD, there are options to boot into Linux or MiniXP environments as well as a bevy of tools. However, FalconFour’s maintains a miniscule footprint. Moreover, it comes pre-loaded with lots of tools including CCleaner (one of my go-to tools on my Windows PC).
Trinity Rescue KitAnother excellent choice comes in the Trinity Rescue Kit. This Linux-based software can be used for recovery of Linux and Windows computers, and arrives stacked with a host of tools for data recovery and backup, antivirus scanning, password reset, and a slew of others functions.
SystemRescueCDSystemRescueCD boasts a hefty list of features. From rootkit and malware removal to data backup, partition repair, and lots of file system support, SystemRescueCD is a beefy live disk in a small package. It’s lightweight and versatile. For instance, you can boot into the command line, perfect for Linux, or into a GUI.
Ultimate Boot CDNeed help troubleshooting? Ultimate Boot CD is a stellar pick. Comprised of diagnostic tools, it’s a solid pick for data recovery, testing peripherals such as RAM and CPU, managing BIOs, and system maintenance. The DOS-based UI may remind you of searching for books at the public library, but hey, Ultimate Boot CD is a well-rounded tool in a tiny 624 MB package.
Boot Repair Disk If you’re merely looking to repair your boot, Boot-Repair-Disk is a solid choice. While it’s a