Moka5 Engine Startup Guide - BareMetal

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This BareMetal startup guide contains instructions on how to quickly obtain and install the Moka5 Engine™ software, run your first LivePC™, and subscribe to other LivePCs.

The methods described below require you to reboot your computer once after the installation is done. After your computer reboots, this guide should be accessible by clicking on the 'Documentation' link in the Moka5 Engine UI, if you would like to refer to it further. You may also print a copy of this guide for your reference.

Before you start

Important: Please back up your computer before installing this beta release of the Moka5 Engine!

Hardware requirements

1 GHz Pentium III processor or better
Minimum 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended for creating LivePCs)
Video display that supports a resolution of 1024x768 or higher
A network connection with DHCP and access to the Internet
An internal hard drive with at least 12 GB of free space

Installation types

The Moka5 Engine can be installed in three ways:

Normal install: The Moka5 Engine is installed as the primary operating system. This replaces the operating system currently on your computer. All the information on your computer is erased. Choose this option to dedicate the computer to running LivePCs.
Dual-boot install: The Moka5 Engine is installed alongside other existing operating systems on your computer. This requires partitioning your hard drive and erasing all data on the three partitions devoted to the Moka5 Engine as well as overwriting your master boot record. Choose this option if you also wish to continue using the existing operating system on your computer.
USB install: The Moka5 Engine can be installed onto a USB drive. You can either boot to the Moka5 Engine on the USB drive and use it without changing your existing system configuration, or you can use it to install the Moka5 Engine on other computers.

Installing the Moka5 Engine onto an internal hard drive with an install CD

Download the install CD image and burn it to a CD. You will need software such as cdburn or Roxio CD Creator which can burn a CD image. Drag and drop burning in Windows does not support burning a boot disc and you should see a 'Confirm Stream Loss' warning if you attempt it.
If you would like to do a dual-boot install, you should create three empty partitions on your hard disk. You may need to resize the existing partitions on your disk using partition manager software (such as PartitionMagic or GNU parted, NOT the partition option in Windows) in order to create the linux partitions for the Moka5 Engine. The partitions are:
1. 1 GB for the LivePC Player software
2. 256 MB for the Moka5 Engine's swap
3. At least 10 GB for the Moka5 Engine's cache
Insert the install CD into your computer's CD drive and restart your computer. If your computer does not start from the CD check your manual for the method to force start from the CD drive (on some systems press F12 while booting).
Pressing the 'Enter' key will allow you to scroll down and read the Moka5 license agreement before accepting it.
Choose the type of install and the install hard disk. If you chose a dual-boot install, the installer will list the partitions on the install hard disk for your reference and prompt you to specify which should be used as the sysroot, swap and cache partitions.
CAUTION: If you selected normal install, all data on the install hard disk will be erased. If you selected dual boot install, all data on the install partitions will be erased, and your master boot record (MBR) will be overwritten. Please cancel the install process at this time if you do not wish this to happen.
After the installation is successful the Moka5 Engine will be installed onto the hard disk partitions you selected. Remove the install CD and reboot the computer. NOTE: If the installation fails for any reason, the installer will prompt you to try the install again.

Installing the Moka5 Engine onto a USB drive

Download the installer executable (.exe) and run it.
Agree to the Moka5 license agreement.
Choose the drive to which the Moka5 Engine should be installed.
The installer will write the files to the USB drive.
- If you want to boot the Moka5 Engine directly off the USB drive, you don't need to make any changes.
- If you want to use the USB drive to install the Moka5 Engine on other computers, create a 'Moka5/autoinst' directory in the root directory of the USB drive. To automate the install process, refer to Automating the installation process in the Managing the Moka5 Engine section of the Moka5 Engine User Guide - BareMetal
- If you want to change the default configuration of the Moka5 Engine when it is run off the USB drive, create files corresponding to /sysroot/config configuration keys in the 'config' directory found in the root directory of the USB drive, as described in the Managing the Moka5 Engine section of the Moka5 Engine User Guide - BareMetal
Unmount the USB drive.
Insert the drive into the computer on which you wish to use it, and boot the computer, making sure that the BIOS is set to boot off the USB drive.
- If you are using the USB drive as an installer, follow the instructions for installing the Moka5 Engine on an internal hard drive, starting after the 'burn the CD' step.

Run your first LivePC!

The first time it is booted startup will be slow. The Moka5 Engine initializes its cache partition which can take a few minutes.
At the end of the boot process, you will see the main Moka5 Engine and the demonstration LivePC which comes with it. If you are on a wireless network see the notes on using a wireless network connection to finish installing the LivePC.
Run the demo LivePC by clicking on its logo and then clicking on the 'Start' command under 'LivePC Tasks' on the left side of the screen.
Use the LivePC the same way you would use a normal PC. When you are done using it, shut it down like a normal PC. This will bring you back to the Moka5 Engine's 'My LivePCs' window.

Subscribing to other LivePCs

Once you've gotten comfortable running the demo LivePC, you can download other LivePCs from the Moka5.com LivePC Library.

Click on 'www.moka5.com' under 'My Places' in the Moka5 Engine's sidebar.
This takes you to the Moka5.com LivePC Library, which lists a number of publicly-available LivePCs.
Choose a LivePC that you want to use and click on its 'Subscribe' link.
You will be returned to the Moka5 Engine's main screen where the new LivePC has been added.
Run this LivePC by clicking on its logo and then clicking on the 'Start' command on the left side of the screen.

Where to learn more

For more detailed information on using Moka5.com and the Moka5 Engine, see the Moka5 Engine User Guide - BareMetal.

For information on publishing your own LivePCs so that they can be used by other users, please refer to the LivePC Creator Guide - BareMetal.