MEPIS is very good at providing a clean, easy-to-use, graphic 
environment for new-to-linux users, or for more experienced users who 
want a simple desktop system that "just works".  If you're looking for a 
system rescue CD, there are several options that work quite well:
1) SystemRescueCd (http://www.sysresccd.org/), as previously mentioned 
is specifically designed for the task.
2) Slax (http://slax.linux-live.org/) is an excellent small (Pocket CD) 
distribution based on Slackware, it's good
     for those who prefer a command-line interface, but still want the 
system to have some of the extras, besides
     it does a great job of automounting existing drives in the system, 
something that can be very helpful when trying
     to recover or restore a damaged system.
3) D*** Small Linux (http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/) is designed to fit 
on a 50M "business card" CD, and works
     great as a "always on hand" Linux system (you can get this 
pre-installed on a 128M USB pen drive too, too cool)


If you're more interested in a general Live CD for exploring or using 
Linux, here are some other options I've tried and liked.
1) Knoppix (http://www.knoppix.net/) is the most popular Live CD, and 
works very well as both a "system on CD" and
     as a Rescue CD.  This is a good CD to have handy at home or work, 
because it has some of the widest support,
     is available in a DVD version with tons of stuff loaded in, and has 
tools to deal with just about anything already
     loaded.
2) SimplyMEPIS (http://www.mepis.org/book/view/1462) is, as noted 
previously, a distribution for exploring Linux, and is
     most appropriate for users who want the system to "just work".  It 
includes a number of drivers and other components
     that are not "free as in speech", but are still "free as in beer".
3) Sentry Firewall CD (http://www.sentryfirewall.com/) is a complete 
secure Firewall/IDS system on Live Linux CD,
     Good for setting up a firewall using spare hardware.  This will 
even run on systems with no HD, making the firewall
     system even more secure.  Security settings can be stored to a 
floppy, allowing for a full restore to previous state on
     reboot.
4) GISIX (http://www.geomancers.net/gisix.html) is a complete GIS system 
on live CD,
     great for convincing local governments to look at Linux.
5) SourcePole GIS-Knoppix 
(http://www.sourcepole.com/sources/software/gis-knoppix/) is another GIS 
system on live CD,
     also good for convincing government bureaucrats.
6) Puppy Linux (http://www.goosee.com/puppy/) is intended to bring older 
systems to full use,
     and is great for salvaging that old boat-anchor in the garage for 
the kids to use.

vodhner@cox.net wrote:

>I just burnt a MEPIS CD for rescue purposes and have had the
>following problems:
>
>  
>
> 1. It can't grok my weird S3 video card, so I'm stuck at low rez.
>   I have to get rid of that board, but I'm just out of money.
>   Anyone got a nice vanilla SVGA card, PCI or AGP, that I could
>   buy off you cheap?  I'm not a gamer, so 3D and display speed are
>   not very important; but I do like 1200+ resolution.
>   I live at Thunderbird and SR51, and work at Raintree & 101 (Pima).
>
> 2. It can't open my network:  VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adaptor.
>
> 3. I can't see how to just get to a command prompt so I can
>   rearrange my partitions in prep for an install.  (Does a nice
>   job of presenting all the drives though, including my NTFS
>   partition.)
>
> 4. OK, so what I really need is a nice rescue disk that will put
>   me in command at a root prompt.  Don't need no stinkin GUI.
>   Would like a whole bunch of the usual command-line tools,
>   including parted and filesystem building tools.
>   Oh:  and even maybe some man pages for those things?   ;-)
>
> Yeah, I've got my XP pretty well settled down, but I don't
> like it very much.  And I *hate* that all my old apps are
> broken because the old registry is invalid.  Microsoft totally
> lost their mind when they went with that monolithic registry.
> So I'm eager now to build a new Linux environment (replacing
> my Red Hat 8) and start doing more of my work there.
>
> I set up Thunderbird and Firefox to keep their stuff on
> a Fat32 partition where I can share it from Linux.
> That will be a major step towards letting me stay in Linux,
> since I often had to switch back to Windows just to use
> my mailbox and bookmarks there.
>
> BTW, the CD I just made is SimplyMEPIS-2004.06.  I'm also
> interested in recommendations for other live CDs I should
> try as I move towards my new setup.  I'll have room to
> set up several distros, and I have become a Grub wizard.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Vic
>