Bootable Linux CD and other questions.

[Jimbo Mahoney]

I run a Smoothwall box and I'd like to become more familiar with the linux command line so I can become more self-sufficient in tweaking and fixing things.

My main machine is Win XP and I'd rather not dual boot as I've had nasty experiences of wiping data because of the different file systems.

I was looking at Knoppix as a way to boot from CD and play with Linux, but is it able to read my NTFS formatted HDDs without altering their structure? (I would guess yes).

Many thanks!

 

[Jimbo Mahoney]

Thanks. I've not used a VM before, but I'm familiar with the concept.

Any recommendations?

I'll soon be changing to Vista 64 if that makes any difference...