diff --git a/why-linux-is-better.rst b/why-linux-is-better.rst index 38beafc..8b15bb9 100644 --- a/why-linux-is-better.rst +++ b/why-linux-is-better.rst @@ -117,20 +117,29 @@ Technical deficiencies of Windows. Live booting is lacking. ------------------------ -Windows LiveCDs, `though they`_ `do exist`_, +Windows LiveCDs, `though they do exist`_, are hampered by licensing restrictions and technical limitations. +.. _though they do exist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Preinstallation_Environment + For example, `until Windows 8`_, desktop versions of Windows could not boot from a USB. (And while running a live USB of Windows 8, it is still not possible mount internal hard disks.) -The BartPE LiveCD building program is 3rd party software that will run on any version of Windows, +.. _until Windows 8: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831833.aspx + +The `BartPE LiveCD building program`_ is 3rd party software that will run on any version of Windows, but it is `only able to make`_ a LiveCD for Windows XP or Windows Server 2003. -.. _though they: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE -.. _do exist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Preinstallation_Environment -.. _until Windows 8: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831833.aspx +.. _BartPE LiveCD building program: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE .. _only able to make: http://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22258 +There is also the `WinBuilder`_ project, +which is the closest to a fully-functional LiveCD of modern Windows versions, +but installing software and drivers is still `sometimes a challenge`_. + +.. _WinBuilder: http://winbuilder.net/ +.. _sometimes a challenge: http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/winbuilder-win7pe-se-tutorial + The absence of fully functional live versions of Windows makes it difficult to use for, e.g, determining if a bug is due to hardware or software problems, recovering data from a machine with filesystem corruption or bad disk sectors, @@ -153,6 +162,12 @@ There's no reason you can't mount an internal or external drive to store files, .. _Puppy Linux: http://puppylinux.org/ .. _running from a RAM disk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions_that_run_from_RAM +Very little hardware comes a `desktop version of Linux pre-installed`_, +so live versions of Linux tend to work very well, +since that is the most common method of installing it. + +.. _desktop version of Linux pre-installed: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuPre-installed + --------------------- Maximum path lengths. ---------------------