Is there any live-disk distribution that allows access to all the software from a major repository, e.g. debian, without requiring a full installation to the hard drive? I do not want to risk corrupting the Windows installation, yet I would like to try out some software that is not available on live distros.

Live CDs use RAM for storage. If you did not have any hard drive space available for the live CD then you would lose any software you downloaded whenever you booted. I have never heard of any distribution which does exactly what you are asking for.

The closest I know of is a network install. In that case the installer installs a minimalist software set on the hard drive from the installer CD and then downloads the rest from a repository. That is how I installed the Debian system I am running now. As I remember it the installer did not boot into the hard drive Debian system until after everything had been downloaded and installed from the repository. It is not a very large step from the Debian network install to installing software in the live CD's RAM file system but I have never heard of anyone doing that.

--------------------------
Steve Stites

I'm not sure about kanotix
http://kanotix.com/index.php?&newlang=eng
but it has klik, which is very similar to apt but does not install

Knoppix is probably what you're looking for, though. I know you can add new software, if you don't touch your hdd at all I believe it can still install and you lose it each time you boot.

I don't find Linux dualboots disruptive of Windows but it has happened. If you set aside part of your windows drive for knoppix to save software installs you haven't risked much, but MS's ntfs is somewhat tricky so if your really cautious you may choose to add an external drive formatted with fat32 to save knoppix's software and settings.

Steve

I'm going to try to clarify the bit about Kanotix. apt get will normally often try to put libraries and configuration files throughout your disk, in many different folders. It can be done, but klik is this innovative system where the software runs without doing so. Knoppix is definitely the answer to your question, though. Just wish I knew more specifically what you need to do.
Actually Knoppix.net has a great forum, and here's a link about klik (works there too I guess)
http://knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.p...28b4189cadc52d
(I clicked on forum and then klik on the knoppix.net site and this was the second "sticky")

Knoppix and Puppy allow swapfiles and session freezes to a USB flash drive, so there is room for extra stuff. But their repositories are limited.

I don't think the network install idea will help, since I want to avoid writing anything to my primary hard drive. The risk of corrupting my system outweighs the benefits of trying out some new software.

Knoppix has an apt-get (actually "synaptic") but the repository menu seems to include only things that are already on the disk. So you can upgrade, but can't add new applications.

klik is probably good for commonplace applications, but exotic ones are not likely to be available. Apart from the question of whether you can access them without a full hard-drive installation.

I'm interested in things like the gfortran compiler, which is buggy enough to require frequent upgrades, and other esoterica that you can find only in a big repository like debian or fedora.

I didn't think the chances were good of finding what I asked for, but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Why don't you stick in anothe HDD and install to that?

You're right, Knoppix is what I was looking for. I just had to hit the "refresh" button in Synaptic to see the full package list.

Thanks. Problem solved.