Itching point of curiosity...

[Ray Parrish]

Hello,

Over the past few months I have read postings in this and other user's 
groups where someone has advised someone else to "boot from the Live CD, 
then install such and such application [with apt-get or whatever their 
favorite installation method was] then run it to examine your system". 
This most often manifestation of this has been the advisory to install 
an anti virus application, and run it's updates while booted from the 
Ubuntu Live CD, then use the anti virus application so installed to scan 
the hard drives on that system.

The thing that has me puzzled, is where exactly are these anti virus 
applications, and their updates being installed to? Is the Live CD 
arbitrarily picking a location on one of the hard drives to install to? 
Surely there isn't enough room in RAM to install all of those files and 
then run them as well? I know the CD isn't writable, so just how is this 
seemingly magical installation being accomplished?

If it does indeed install to one of the hard drives, what criteria is it 
using to select the location to install to, and does it clean up after 
itself by removing that application when you finish using, and close out 
the newly installed program?

Thanks in advance for any clarification, or other information you can 
provide me about this seemingly phenomenal method of installing software 
to an operating system that is running from a CD.

Later, Ray Parrish

-- 
Human reviewed index of links about the computer
http://www.rayslinks.com
Poetry from the mind of a Schizophrenic
http://www.writingsoftheschizophrenic.com/