Live mode
From Granular Linux Documentation
What is Live mode?
In live mode, the whole operating system (OS) runs completely off the live CD/DVD. This means that when you enter a live CD into your CD drive and reboot, if the BIOS in your PC is set to boot from CD, the OS contained on that CD automatically starts and a boot menu is displayed with several choices. According to the choice you make, the OS boots and takes you to a login screen, where on entering the appropriate credentials, you enter into the desktop. All this process runs completely off the CD, without installing any component of the OS onto hard disk first. So, you get an option to test out a Linux distribution before actually installing it on your hard disk.
Remember, while using the live mode, your hard disk will not even be touched, unless you access the various partitions on it as you would normally do in Windows.
How to boot into the Live mode?
Using the live mode is very easy.
- Make sure that your BIOS has the ability to boot from a CD/DVD drive.
- In the BIOS settings of your computer, move the CD drive to the top of the boot priority list. [In most cases, the BIOS settings can be accessed by keep on pressing the Del or F2 key while the system has just started; check your motherboard's manual if this is not in your case]
- Insert the Granular CD/DVD into your drive and reboot your computer.
- On reboot, Granular should automatically start.
Important Notes
- Any changes made in the live mode are not saved implicitly anywhere on the harddisk. This means that when the next time you boot from the same LiveCD from which you had booted earlier, you would not notice any changes that you made last time, like change of wallpaper, theme, icons, etc.
- Any software that you install in live mode will not be saved permanently for any of your next session in live mode.
- If you want that your changes in live mode be made persistent (permanently saved on the harddisk), do one of the following:
- Install Granular on harddisk
- Follow this tutorial: http://www.granularlinux.com/forum/index.php?topic=101.msg233#msg233
