Booting with syslinux
Debian Live images boot with Syslinux by default on amd64 and i386.
Booting with Grub
Alternatively, Grub can be used on some i386 and amd64 image types.
Mounting root filesystem (squashfs image)
Debian Live CD and USB images use squashfs by default, a compressed filesystem for Linux. Mounting the squashfs image can take a little while, from a few seconds on a normal machine up to two minutes on really old and slow machines!
Standard
If neither the GDM nor KDM graphical login managers are installed on the Live system, the system automatically logs into a terminal.
GNOME
This is the default look and feel when booting into the GNOME Desktop Environment on Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 "Etch".
KDE
This is the default look and feel when booting into the KDE Desktop Environment on Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 "Etch".
Xfce
This is the default look and feel when booting into the Xfce Desktop Environment on Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 "Etch".