Live DVD vs Live CD

English Install/Boot/Login
1

Im new to openSUSE, coming from the Windows world.

I wanted to give openSUSE a try.
But first, what medium should I install? DVD? or CD?

What’s the difference between the 2?
Of course, DVD have much content compared to CD. That’ actually common sense thing.

What’s the advantage of installing openSUSE(with KDE) using Live DVD installer compared to Live CD(KDE) installer?

Are there additional software installed if I installed from DVD?

I just want openSUSE with KDE 32bit. Complete as possible.

I have tried running Live CD and installing from Live CD. Haven’t tried from Live DVD. I just want to know the difference.

2

There is no Live DVD. The DVD is just an install DVD. The RAM requirements are a bit lower for install only. Starting a live session before install takes up more RAM.

Other than the liveness and the type of media, there is no difference. In either case you have access to the exact same software, either from the media or from online repos.

3

Live CD Gnome is less than 700mb.
Live CD KDE is also less than 700mb.
Both 32 bit.

But 32bit DVD is 4.18Gig. Much larger than the total of both Live CD Gnome/KDE.

Are there specific software installed by default with DVD compared to installing from CD?

4

Yes, but not all the software on the DVD is installed. It’s just available.

I don’t know if there is any difference in the default package lists of LiveCD and DVD, I’ve never bothered comparing the two. If I want something that’s not there I install it, and it gets it from the DVD or an online repo.

A tip for people who want to save ISP quota: If you have free space on your disk, copy the DVD image into an ISO file (k3b can do this for you, choose Create image only) and then register this as a repo, and delete the repo that looks for the physical drive. Then YaST won’t prompt you to insert the DVD/CD when it wants a package. There’s no problem with versions; if the update repo has a more recent version, it will use that rather than the one from the ISO.

5

Cool.

Thank you very much sir for that quick reply.
And thanks for the tip. I just thought that repos are supposed to be online.

Im currently downloading the DVD installer. Guess i don’t have to wait and finish this as I already have the Live CD.

6

I prefer the DVD installer because it has a bunch of repair tools on it that really help me to fix the installed Suse (because I’m always fiddling with and modifying my setup and I often break it). If I had only the live CD to mount the on-disk installation in, these repairs would take a much longer time.

Then again I also use the Live CD a lot to manipulate partitions on the hard drive, and to fix small breakages.

7

Even I’m interested in the contents of DVD and CD. Is there any list somewhere of the packages included? Like they do for Mandriva.

8

The most important thing (in my opinion) is that the DVD version has the compiler and kernel sources on it, whereas the CD doesn’t.

This means that if you have to compile the Nvidia driver, or even a wireless driver, then you can do that straight away, you won’t have to download tons of packages after getting your Internet working.