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LivePC Engine User Guide - Bare Metal

Running LivePCs

The LivePC Task Bar

Starting a LivePC

To start-up a LivePC™, make sure that you are in the My LivePCs view. You can do this by clicking on 'My LivePCs' under 'My Places' in the left side of the LivePC Engine™ screen.

This will display a list of your subscribed LivePCs on the right side of the screen. Choose which LivePC you wish to use by clicking on it once. The background for this LivePC will turn blue. Then click on 'Start' under 'LivePC Tasks' in the left side of the LivePC Engine screen. There will be a few second delay, and then your LivePC will start running.

Alternatively, double-click on the LivePC icon to start a LivePC. There will be a few second delay, and then your LivePC will start running.

Stopping a LivePC

While you are running a LivePC, you can use it just like you would use a normal computer. If you want to stop using the LivePC and return to the LivePC Engine menu, you use the operating system's standard shutdown option.

Suspending and resuming a LivePCs

Attention! Suspend and resume are supported by the LivePC Engine, but they are not as user-friendly as the other options. Also, there is a known issue where using the revert command that is activated for suspended LivePCs will delete some of your changes, even if you have the 'keep my changes' enabled. So use this functionality with extreme caution!

Attention Again! If you want to suspend and resume your LivePC, you must follow these instructions. Do not use the suspend, sleep, or hibernate features that may be present inside the LivePC! Doing so will not have the desired effect - most likely your suspended session will be deleted.

You can suspend a LivePC and resume it later, similar to the suspend and/or sleep options of a normal computer. Unfortunately, the normal suspend and sleep options of your operating system will be disabled in the LivePC Engine. To perform a suspend, you must press the following combination of keys. First, press left Ctrl, left Alt, and left Shift together, and then release them. Then press Ctrl and Q together, and then release them. You will be returned to the LivePC Engine UI and your LivePC will be suspended. The next time that you 'Start' this LivePC, it will resume the suspended LivePC.

If a LivePC has been suspended, then the 'Revert' command in the LivePC Engine UI will be enabled. This command erases the suspension information that has been stored for the LivePC. This forces the LivePC to perform a full restart the next time it is started.

When a LivePC is being suspended, you will be returned to the LivePC Engine UI immediately. During the time that it takes for the suspension operation to complete, all of the LivePC commands will be disabled except for the 'Stop running' command. 'Stop running' should only be used if the LivePC appears to get stuck and doesn't finish suspending. If you use 'Stop running', the LivePC Engine will keep the changes you made to the LivePC - but they may be corrupted. You can attempt to Start the LivePC again, but if it fails to start you will have to Revert it. The Revert command will eliminate the corruption issues - but in doing so it will remove all of the changes you made to the LivePC in your last session!

Removing a LivePC

Please note that when you delete a LivePC, you are also deleting all the personal user data files stored inside this LivePC. Please make sure it is OK to delete all user data files before you delete a LivePC.

Choose which LivePC you wish to delete by clicking on it in the 'My LivePCs' screen. The background for this LivePC will turn blue. Then click on 'Remove' under 'LivePC Tasks' in the left side of the LivePC Engine screen. A window will pop up to confirm your request. Click 'OK' and the LivePC will be removed from the LivePC Engine.

Uploading a LivePC

You can upload your LivePC files to a public web server and use the moka5.com library to publish a pointer to these files. This will allow anyone in the world with an LivePC Engine to subscribe to and use the LivePC that you have created! For details on how to upload your LivePC, please refer to the Bare Metal Hardware Packing and Uploading section in the LivePC Creator Guide.

Configuring a LivePC

Select 'Configure' to edit local storage and update settings for a LivePC.

If you want to use a LivePC while disconnected from the network, under "Local Storage Settings" select 'Let me use this LivePC while disconnected.' This will allow you to work within a LivePC environment when you can"t maintain a network connection.

If you want to have a LivePC automatically updated, you can enable this option by selecting 'Let subscription automatically update the LivePC' under 'Update Settings'.

If you want to make changes to a LivePC environment and have your changes saved, select 'Let me make my own changes to this LivePC'.

Creating a New LivePC

This creates a new LivePC in your local LivePC Engine. You can use this LivePC like a brand new computer and setup your own operating system on it. For details on how to create a new LivePC from scratch, please refer to the Creating A LivePC from Scratch section of the LivePC Creator Guide.

Importing a LivePC

It is very easy to make a LivePC using an existing LiveCD. The "Import a LivePC" command converts LiveCD"s ISO images or existing VMWare virtual machines to LivePCs. For more details, please see the Importing a LivePC section of the LivePC Creator Guide.