Hi,
i want to install a debian based distr.
i want to find the most stable so can every person who have test both inform me who is most stable?
I have use knoppix but it is not very stable, so i prefer to go with other.
I have find good words for libranet, xandros and mepis, but any other debian based is welcome.
Thanks for the asnwers.
Regards,
Christos

Mepis is debian unstable based. I think Libranet Classic may be stable. Go to their website and see. If you really want debian stable, try the woody install.

Also, knoppix, libranet, kanotix and mepis are livecds that also allow for hard drive installation. You can try any of these distros through the cd first to see if it detects your hardware and works right for you before you go through the trouble of installing it on your hard drive.

Your question is a difficult one. Xandros, I've given to understand, has heavily modified Debian. It might be quite stable if you use only packages downloaded from Xandros' own repositories. Libranet and Mepis are more compatible with Debian proper, so you can download packages from the official Debian repositories and still maintain a considerably stable system. Knoppix uses lots of experimental packages, which means that updating the system with apt-get is more likely to break your system.

You should also understand that Debian proper has three main branches:

1) Unstable (also called Sid) is the branch where you can get the latest software, but this software hasn't yet gone through very rigorous testing so it MIGHT break your system. Many people use Unstable in their desktop systems and report bugs that they notice.
2) Testing (currently called Sarge; this will become the next official release) is the branch where software has gone through the testing done by many users and the reported bugs have been fixed. This means that Testing is more stable than Unstable but it doesn't have as new software as Unstable. Testing is good for conservative desktops who do serious work and want a stable system.
3) Stable (based on the current release called Woody) is the branch where all software has been rigorously tested so that everything is guaranteed to work together. This is the most stable branch but also has oldest software. This is very good for server use and some VERY conservative users prefer this also for desktop use. (Newer software is 'backported' to Stable but I don't see the point of choosing Stable and then making it unstable by using untested software.)

So, keeping this in mind, you can query whether the Debian based distro you like to try is based on the Unstable or the Testing branch of Debian and this might help you to decide how stable the distro of your choice is.

BTW, I've been told that there's a Knoppix-derivative called Kanotix where all software is taken from Debian's Unstable repositories. This means that after installing Kanotix to hard disk it should be more stable when updated with apt-get than Knoppix.

Libranet isn't a live CD. It's a Debian testing based distro that's quite close to raw Debian, just with the installation improved and a 'Control Panel' for system administration added and some decent documentation. It really helped me get started with Debian. They haven't come out with a new version in a while - hopefully pretty soon.

Xandros is descended from Corel Linux and is a much more customized Debian. It would be a good KDE desktop for someone who doesn't want to know much about Linux. You can install from regualr Debian repositories but you have to read up on 'pinning' to keep the customization from being upgraded over. It comes with CrossOver Office which I've found runs MS Office just as fast as on Windows. It's a bit pricy though - around $100 U.S.

I agree with Dead Parrot (?!) - Debian "testing" is really quite stable now. You shouldn't bother with "stable" - that's only for servers nowadays.

The best Debian-based distro is Debian! Why not cut to the chase and get the goods?