Can get a very limited shell when booting from USB CD

[TecHunter]

I have an external cdrom connected to my TP with USB.
When I boot from 3.9 knoppix with this USB CDROM, i just can get a very limited shell after looking for all /dev/hd*.
But when I boot from 3.9 knoppix from internal CDROM of my laptop, I can boot normally.
What's the problem? Is it the problem of my hardware or knoppix?

[rwcitek]

What's the problem? Is it the problem of my hardware or knoppix?
Try booting with boot: knoppix debug -b 3 Using that boot command will cause Knoppix to pause at various stages in the boot process. Just type 'exit' at each shell prompt to move on to the next stage. You'll know you're at the final stage when typing 'exit' doesn't do anything. If you get that far, type 'init 5' to go into graphics mode.

How far do you get?

Regards,
- Robert
http://www.cwelug.org/