- By avoiding the inclusion of bloatware, Zephix requires less resources to run, making it the ideal Linux distribution for old hardware.
- The project’s latest version, Zephix 6, uses the same base and most of the same package versions as Zephix 5, but introduces several improvements to the boot process.
- Zephix 6 provides an optimized boot sequence code for a cleaner and smoother boot process as well as a new boot option called maintenance mode.
Zephix is a live Linux operating system based on Debian‘s stable branch. It runs from removable media without touching any files stored on the user’s system disk. Moreover, when running from USB, one can make additional changes (configuration changes, add new software, etc.) and then save all the changes back to the USB device as a module. These changes will then become available on the next boot. This means that you will not lose your customizations and this is what makes Zephix a unique and highly portable operating system.
New features & updates
7 months after Zephix 5, Zephix 6 comes with new features and fixes. On Zephix 6, a new important feature is that it will, on boot, searches available media for modules inside a zx directory in the root of the media itself and if found, Zephix mounts them automatically. This feature removes the need to modify the ISO to include additional custom modules.
Here are more Zephix 6 changes:
- Fixed UEFI issue of not booting on specific systems and on the latest VirtualBox.
- Updated base to Debian 11.6 adding corrections for security issues, along with a few adjustments for serious problems.
- Optimized the toram boot option mechanism – to boot Zephix totally in memory, it now requires 1.5GB RAM (core, firmware, and desktop modules) or 512MB RAM (core module only).
- Updated module creation and manipulation scripts making it much easier to create new modules without having to reboot the ISO after creating a single module and also reducing the size of each module accordingly.
- Updated desktop and firmware modules; Optimised boot sequence code for a cleaner and smoother boot process.
- Added a new boot option called maintenance mode – Zephix will boot in single-user mode and, after entering the root password, the user can do some changes before actually continue booting the system.
In order to transfer Zephix to a USB device, Rufus is recommended if you will be performing the operation using Microsoft Windows. Using Rufus, Zephix should be copied in ISO mode, when prompted, in order to be able to use the persistence facility.
If you will be using a Linux-based operating system to perform the operation, you can use boot ISO and transfer the ISO using Mount-Rsync mode.