find out If distro is running in live mode using terminal based tools

tank junior · 05-10-2011, 06:44 AM

Hi,

I searched and found several solution but those are distro specific. I need to find out if distro is running in live mode (from CD, USB) instead it's installed on hdisk. The solution should be independent of distribution.

Cheers

Prashant

sycamorex · 05-10-2011, 06:48 AM

I might have misunderstood you but what you are saying is a bit of a contradiction. You say you want a distro, but it should be independent of any distro?!

Perhaps, you'd like to clarify it.

tank junior · 05-10-2011, 06:51 AM

How do yo find out if distro(ubuntu, fedora, opensuse, debian etc.) is running in live mode?

sycamorex · 05-10-2011, 07:00 AM

Before you download a distro, you can check on their website whether such a capability exists. Sometimes the installer disk has such an option. Sometimes you need to download a separate 'live' cd.

If you are asking about a current session - whether it's running from a live cd or from an installed system, I guess you should know whether you've installed it or not. Have a look at this: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1597963
Alternativelly, I might be wrong but you could try df -h and see where the system directories are mounted. I haven't used a live cd for a long time, but it seems to be that most of the stuff there is mounted on some tmp filesystems. As I said, I might be wrong here.

masterclassic · 05-10-2011, 07:34 AM

I understand that you want a distro not just to see how it looks, but a live cd/dvd containing appications and tools to work with.

If so, I have to remark that older versions offered more applications that late ones. I remember Knoppix versions 4.x or Ubuntu around 7.x. They had a lot of software included, not just basic system tools.

As for Ubuntu dvd, it just contains the language packages, but no more applications than the cd.

Mr. Bill · 05-10-2011, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tank junior

How do yo find out if distro(ubuntu, fedora, opensuse, debian etc.) is running in live mode?

Simple-- If you need the CD/DVD/USB stick to boot it, then it's not installed on the hard drive. It's also running "live" if you can unmount all the HDD partitions.

tank junior · 05-10-2011, 07:59 AM

Well guys I think you have completely misunderstood the title, partly my mistake. The title says "Is distro is running in live mode".
What I need to know is when distro is running in live mode, how do you find it using terminal based tools or similar.

Prashant

sycamorex · 05-10-2011, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tank junior

Well guys I think you have completely misunderstood the title, partly my mistake. The title says "Is distro is running in live mode".
What I need to know is when distro is running in live mode, how do you find it using terminal based tools or similar.

Prashant

Sorry, I can't think of any other way I could understand: "Is a distro running in a live mode?"

Some suggestions were given in posts #4 and #6.