Folks,

I've had a quick trawl through the forums and don't see anything about this that immediately jumps out.

I wanted to ask a quick question.

Is there a reason why Knoppmyth is still only on a CD?

I have noticed several comments about how it's getting harder and harder to squeeze everything onto a 700MB disc - but no real discussion about whether Knoppmyth should move to a DVD iso download instead.

I know that with a DVD there may be a tendancy to include some superfluous bumph on there - and that this might increase problems and testing times - but it needn't. If it was tightly controlled, and each increase justified then I see no reason why the download iso couldn't be made into DVD size these days.

I know all the arguments about bandwidth etc. And I say this as someone who shares a single 2Mbit satellite link with 130 houses, so if I'm prepared to wait for the download, I'm sure many people would feel the same.

Are there other arguments why it should remain a CD-ROM download? How do people feel about the extra space required for a DVD and the download times?

If it's not an issue and there's loads of space left on a CD-ROM then let's forget it - it's just that I picked up on a few posts that there seemed to be a lack of space left these days... Wouldn't surprise me...

Knoppix comes on a DVD now too... (if you want it!)

Your comments are welcome. Apologies if I offend anyone - I'm not out to start a war, just some honest discussion.

Regards,

Bag.

Because everything needed to create your MythTV system fits on a CD? See http://mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic. ... vd+release

Slowtolearn,

I understand that you can create a useable system with the current iso download. However, any changes can cause real hassles unless you're semi-competent with linux.

For instance, I'm STILL struggling with recompiling lirc (that you were helping me on a couple of months back). I've downloaded source code for the kernel (which I would have hoped would have been on the iso) and tried but I still have to play around... There's hope though - I'm following an updated wiki howto...

The point is though, that fairly simple stuff like the kernel source shouldn't really be excluded just to make it all fit onto a CD. As was mentioned in the post you linked to, just upgrading the Nvidia driver then becomes a real issue for a newbie. The major thing about Knoppmyth is that it's supposed to make life easier for newbies wanting to install MythTV without all the configuration issues. Something that I haven't really experienced - although I have to say that even with my current woes, it has been FAR easier than trying to install and configure from working on my own.

Anyway - I just wanted to open (restart?) the debate to see if there's other good reasons why it has to stick to CD size rather than jump this minor hurdle in the goal to achieve what Knoppmyth is all about - a much simpler way to install and configure a MythTV box.

I know that apt-get is not difficult to use but still, some of the target audience for this distro may still be put off by this sort of command line work, however minor it might seem to some who've been playing with linux for a while now.

Regards,

Bag.

I guess there are still some of us out there who run CD-based boxes (backends, frontends etc) - so a DVD iso wouldn't be much of a step forward for me, at least until I refresh the hardware

From Cecil's point of view, I guess he wouldn't want to compile both CD and DVD iso's.

_________________
HP VL400 (PIII 866), Skystar2 2.6D, PVR350, Nvidia FX5200, 384MB, 200GB, KnoppMyth R5.5

Well, making only _one_ iso is still the goal. And, its expected to stay that way for "quite awhile".

Only one iso is fine.

It's just that IMHO, if it remains one CD iso then there will come a point when Knoppmyth starts to diverge away from the goal of a very much simplified installation for all... It works for most as is, but not everyone.

In my particular case, that time already arrived - since I needed to recompile stuff that apparently needed the kernel source. I bought hardware that was supported - but only by recompiling lirc...

Anyway, I've stated my $0.02 and got some answers.

Thanks everyone. Keep up the good work - as I said earlier, even with the difficulties I've been having, I believe that KnoppMyth has been an absolute godsend for me. Much easier than configuring on my own...

Cheers,

Bag.

Part of your problem is that you're following stale directions. You shouldn't need the kernel source to compile that. The kernel headers supplied in R5F1 work just fine for every module and daemon that I've built for various reasons. About the only reason you should need the kernel source is if you're recompiling the whole thing.

Cecil has also stated very clearly and without caveats that he has no intention to shift from a CD sized ISO to anything bigger. Since he's the KnoppMyth BDFL, and has good reasons for his decision, that's likely the way it's going to stay.