UTHSCSA AccessGrid LiveCD

This CD was made with funding from the NSF and members of the Bioinformatics Core Facility.

This bootable CD will let you use the AccessGrid 2.3 software without installing anything on your computer. In fact, the bootable CD uses system memory and will not affect your current operating system. This CD contains a modified Knoppix Debian/Gnu Linux operating system, a sophisticated hardware detection system, drivers for most types of USB web cameras and Access Grid 2.3 software.

Using this CD is as easy as inserting the CD into your CDROM drive, rebooting your computer and pressing the RETURN key when it tells you to. It takes about 2-4 minutes to completely load the system. Several factors that determine the loading speed are CDROM drive speed and the processing power of the computer. A faster CDROM will increase the loading speed.

Also included on the CDROM is the Windows version of the Access Grid software if you desire a permanent installation.

Before you try this CD and/or the AccessGrid software, there are a few things you need to check first:

  1. Check your network connection for full-duplex operation.
  2. Check your network configuration for multicast capability.

Direct Software Download

Download the UTHSCSA Live CD

For further help and information, please see our Live CD Frequently Asked Questions.

System Requirements

Minimum - Intel PII 400 mhz CPU, 128 megabytes of memory, 8x CDROM
Recommended - Intel PIII 800 mhz CPU, 256 megabytes of memory, 40x CDROM

Complete Packages

In addtion to the LiveCD and Access Grid software, we can also provide the appropriate web camera and headset/microphone. We have purchased several Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000's (the recommended camera) and Logitech headset with boom microphone. We offer them as a package deal for $70 which can be paid for through an IDT or PO number.

Known Problems

There are several problems that can arise from using this LiveCD. We can not address all of the problems because they are symptoms that are computer specific. We are working towards fixing these problems in the future.

USB cameras with a built-in microphone - If you leave the camera connected while booting the LiveCD, the USB subsystem is detected before your soundcard, so the camera's microphone becomes the first sound device found. The LiveCD will try and use this as your primary sound device, so your audio will not work properly with the AccessGrid software. The only work around is to unplug the camera, boot the CD, then plug the camera back in when the Desktop comes up.

Low framerate per second. The Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000 will typically get about 10-15 frames per second with this LiveCD. On systems that have a USB 2.0 interface, the frame rate should go up to 25-30 frames per second.

Grey frame around the video window. This is more of a bug than a problem. This occurs because the AccessGrid software shows the video stream at a resolution the camera isn't made to do. The resolution the AccessGrid encodes is 352x288. The camera likes 320x240, so the grey frame you see is the difference between 352x288 and 340x240. This even occurs with the Windows version of the AccessGrid software.

On some systems which have built-in audio, we've had a problem with the LiveCD sound drivers not working in full-duplex mode. This means you can't talk and listen at the same time. The only way to fix this is to wait for a newer release of the audio drivers.