Limited By Nothing

Have you ever wanted to try out Linux but failed to do so in fear of a complicated install or loss of data? If you have ever wanted to try out Linux without worrying then Live Distributions are your solution. Here is a simple how-to for anyone curious to trying out Linux worry free in five easy steps.

1. Download ISO or Tar
There are plenty of live distributions just waiting for you to try them out. You can find most of them on lists such as The Live CD List. The advantage of using a CD image is that it will be compatible with older computers, respectively the advantage of using a USB TAR or other compressed image on a USB stick is speed and the ability to still use the CD drive.

2. Burn Image to CD/DVD or Extract Tar to USB Stick
After downloading the image you will want to burn it to a CD or place it on a USB stick to be booted from. Burning images for CDs can be done using an ISO burning program such as Alcohol 120% or ISO Recorder (Free for personal use). If you are using a USB image then you will have to extract the image using a program such as WinRAR or WinZip (both are available for free trial use).

Before you can actually boot from the USB stick however you will need to make it bootable either by following the instructions on how to do so at WeetHet, or by simply using the HP Drive Key Boot Utility.

3. Insert CD/DVD or USB Stick Into Computer and Reboot
Turn on or restart your computer and insert your burned CD or bootable USB stick. You might have to restart after inserting your CD or USB stick if you take too long and miss your opportunity to enter the BIOS screen.

4. Enter BIOS
The key to enter bios setup will vary by motherboard brand and model, but most machines will have some support of booting from CD and most newer machines will have support for booting from USB drives. Enter the screen for selecting boot priority and set the CD drive to be first if you are booting from a burned CD. If you are booting from a USB stick then you might find the option to set it first at the booting priority screen, but on most BIOS you will leave the option set to boot from hard drive, but on a separate Hard drive priority screen, you will need to set your USB drive as the first and main drive. Save your settings and reboot.

5. Just Wait
The time it takes for your computer to finish the booting process will vary greatly depending on many factors. Generally speaking, newer computers will take less time to complete the process. Most live distrobutions will display the default log in information on either the log in screen or on their respective websites. Feel free to experiment with different live distrobutions as many have exclusive or diverse features, and many are geared toward specific uses and needs.