Run Linux LiveCDs in Windows with MobaLiveCD

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Linux, Freeware

Run Linux LiveCDs in Windows with MobaLiveCD

by Brad Linder Sep 22nd 2008

Want to try out a Linux distro but don't feel like switching from Windows, rebooting your computer, or installing a virtualization application like VirtualBox? MobaLiveCD is a Windows utility that lets you run any LiveCD in Windows without installing a thing. Just download and run MobaLiveCD.exe (which is a 1.4MB file), and select the ISO you want to run. Thanks to the magic of QEMU, you'll be able to run the Linux distro as a LiveCD in a window on your desktop. no reboot required.

Now, don't expect spectacular performance here. You're essentially running an operating system inside of another operating system, so things might be on the slow side. And it won't necessarily work with every host machine or every LiveCD. But at 1.4MB and with no installation needed, why not give it a try?

MobaLiveCD can also be installed to your hard drive, allowing you to launch LiveCDs via a right-click context menu. And you can create virtual hard drives to save data from your LiveCD sessions.

[via Lifehacker]

Tags: livecd, mobalivecd, qemu, virtualization

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Lil ndn said 10:44PM on 9-22-2008

Please elaborate more on all of the above...been looking for more than just teasers to switch over to linux,but either the articles don;t generate enough reads to finish or authors tire of subject so it seems...I have an old laptop P3, 128Mb ram unit which I have been trying to convert from XP SP3 to Mandriva...while trying to become adept with the tech side to perform...So please elaborate!! Stuck here in duh'ville, Virtualbox was way i was headed till tonite's read..thanx & ftw, freedom thru wisdom.

Brad Linder said 10:52PM on 9-22-2008

If your machine has just 128MB of RAM you may be able to install Mandriva or another Linux distro on it, but I wouldn't expect a virtualization application like MobaLiveCD or VirtualBox to be much use. Essentially they let you run an entire operating system (in this case, Linux) inside another operating system (like Windows). And that takes a whole lot of RAM to do properly.

Your best bet is to download the Mandriva disc image, burn it to a CD and boot your computer from that CD. Even that might not work, because the idea of a LiveCD is that the operating system will be loaded into RAM. If your PC doesn't have much RAM, you might not have a lot of luck with a large Linux distro. You might want to try something lighter weight like Puppy Linux, Damn Small Linux, or Feather Linux.

Kenneth said 8:56AM on 9-23-2008

You may want to check out Nimblex. It is a very light Linux, and the website allows you to customize it with things that you will or won't need, essentially cropping it down to be as small as you would like. I've never tried bringing it all the way down to under 256mb, but you can get it down to around 200mb without losing much functionality (the basics such as browser and office applications are still there at that size). After customizing your build, an iso download is available for you for 24 hours (so dialup may be an issue), which you burn as a bootable disc, then boot from the cd. When you run it, there are various options such as running it from RAM, installing to the hard drive, running it from the CD etc. If your machine supports booting from USB devices, and if you want to keep this as cheap as possible, I recommend buying a cheap USB flash drive and setting up the OS on that, since CDs are more prone to damage and the odds are you will eventually have a need for your CD drive while you are running the OS (or you could just install on the hard drive).

Just something to keep in mind: most Linux distros are striving for forward compatibility, trying to support newer hardware (such as newer wireless network cards and graphics chips), so while the odds are you won't have any problems with your machine, you may find that some of your hardware isn't supported in any given distro, so you may have to hunt for drivers for a while.

Aniruddh said 8:57AM on 9-23-2008

Is it possible that we can run Mac in XP?

Lil ndn said 9:22PM on 9-23-2008

Thanx B & K, so very much for all of the insightful input...Now it's back to the drawing board for some studying and hopefully by Sundaze Dinner we'll be on our way to Tuxville to meet Mr. Linny, Thanx Again!! Ride Safe Ride Free & remember Freedom Thru Wisdom!!!

musubi said 1:24PM on 9-27-2008

unless you *really* don't want to install something, i would forgo the emulation (QEMU) route, which is going to be slow as hell, and use VMWare Player + LiveCD Player:
http://www.vmwarez.com/2006/02/livecd-player-virtual-machine.html

Virtualization is much faster than emulation.

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