A live CD or live DVD is a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM containing a bootable computer operating system. Live CDs are unique in that they have the ability to run a complete, modern operating system on a computer lacking mutable secondary storage, such as a hard disk drive.
Rescue and repair
Billix – A multiboot distribution and system administration toolkit with the ability to install any of the included Linux distributions
Inquisitor – Linux kernel-based hardware diagnostics, stress testing and benchmarking live CD
Parted Magic – Entirely based on the 2.6 or newer Linux kernels
These are based at least partially on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian:
CGAL LiveCD – Live CD containing CGAL with all demos compiled. This enables the user to get an impression of CGAL and create CGAL software without the need to install CGAL.[3]
gOS – A series of lightweight operating systems based on Ubuntu with Ajax-based applications and other Web 2.0 applications, geared to beginning users, installable live CD
PC/OS – An Ubuntu derivative whose interface was made to look like BeOS. a 64 bit version was released in May 2009. In 2010 PC/OS moved to a more unified look to its parent distribution and a GNOME version was released on March 3, 2010.
Pinguy – An Ubuntu-based distribution designed to look and feel simple. Pinguy is designed with the intent of integrating new users to Linux.
Puredyne – Live CD/DVD/USB for media artists and designers, based on Ubuntu and Debian Live
Qimo 4 Kids – A fun distro for kids that comes with educational games
GoboLinux – an alternative Linux distribution. Its most salient feature is its reorganization of the filesystem hierarchy. Under GoboLinux, each program has its own subdirectory tree.
Granular – installable live CD based on PCLinuxOS, featuring KDE and Enlightenment
Microsoft representatives have described third-party efforts at producing Windows-based live CDs as "improperly licensed" uses of Windows, unless used solely to rescue a properly licensed installation. However, Nu2 Productions believes the use of BartPE is legal provided that one Windows license is purchased for each BartPE CD, and the Windows license is used for nothing else.[5]
BartPE – allows creation of a bootable CD from Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 installation files
WinBuilder – allows the creation of a bootable CD from Windows 2000 and later
Systems based on the former open source "OS/net Nevada" or ONNV open source project by Sun Microsystems.
BeleniX – full live CD and live USB distribution (moving to Illumos?)
OpenSolaris – the former official distribution supported by Sun Microsystems based on ONNV and some closed source parts
Illumos-based
Illumos is a fork of the former OpenSolaris ONNV aiming to further develop the ONNV and replacing the closed source parts while remaining binary compatible. The following products are based upon Illumos:
Nexenta OS – combines the GNU userland with the OpenSolaris kernel.
OpenIndiana – since OpenIndiana 151a based on Illumos
This list is for operating systems distributions that are specifically designed to boot off a (writable) USB flash drive, often called a USB stick.
(This does not include operating system distributions with a simplified "installer" designed to boot from a USB drive, but the full OS is intended to be installed on a hard drive).