Can't find Knoppix filesystem...

**Jerry Linux** · 07-15-2007, 01:03 PM

I have the exact same problem as jonallen23. My laptop is an HP Compaq NX6125 (which is certified to run Linux) AMD 64 with 1GB. The boot failure only happens on Knoppix 5.1 DVDs or CDs. I have also verified that the Knoppix DVD boots on an Intel x86_64 2x2 (Woodcrest) system. Additionally, Knoppix 4.0.2 boots with no problem as does the Ubuntu and gparted live CDs.

I've used a number of boot options, such as failsafe, nosmp, libata.atapi_enabled=[0,1], debug, expert,...

I use Knoppix during Linux installfests as well as when teaching Linux at a local university. For that reason it is important for me to be able to boot a live Linux CD/DVD. The reason I prefer Knoppix to other live CDs is that Knoppix tends to find hardware when others cannot.

**thexx** · 07-18-2007, 02:16 PM

Same problem here using

knoppix 5.1.1 CD
Intel DQ965GFEKR Mainboard
Samsung SN-S082D CD/DVD RW drive

using cheatcodes like nousb etc. does not seem to have any effect at that early stage of booting.

In fact the only Linux CD I got to boot on that machine was a Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn install CD. Earlier Ubuntu versions failed to boot as well...

Still hoping for a guru to solve this mystery

Regards,
Alex

**nnigam** · 07-19-2007, 06:07 PM

Did you do checksum of the iso to make sure it was not corrupted?

**JPCMSUEE** · 07-22-2007, 04:10 AM

Hi all.

I had exactly the same problem, and having used Knoppix previously with much success, decided to contribute.

I'm currently salvaging a few Intel SHG2's with 2x2 Xeons that were getting scrapped at work and had the "can't find Knoppix file system" error with both 4.02 and 5.1. I suspected something more basic than driver incompatibility and started switching out hardware. Changing DVD drives did nothing, but switching actual physical IDE channels got it to come up (same cables as with the initial DVD drive, so not the cable either).

Sorry that this is no help for previous posters who are trying to recover laptop hard drives,

but an interesting result in my opinion.

Granted, I didn't do enough trials to rule out a large number of retry's being the fix, but it failed ~20ish consecutive times before (I made a lot of coasters suspecting a bad burn). The first attempt after switching ports resulted in a failed boot that got farther than any of the previous attempts, and the second attempt has me looking at KDE.

I'm using 4.02 and this SHG2 BIOS v1.05

Jonathan

**olenco** · 07-24-2007, 09:03 PM

Folks,

I have had the same problem and burned new CDs and CDRWs on different machines with no success. The original CD I was using had worked flawlessly for several months. Then today I successfully mounted a network share on a Windows 2000 server and was about to use gparted to create an image of my notebook drive. I could not quickly find how to unmount the share so I shutdown and rebooted to mount the share on another location in Knoppix but my CD would not boot again and exhibited the same symptoms and messages that several of you are having.

I even downloaded Knoppix again, checked the signatures, burned another CD, tested it, then tried to reboot with the same results. Suffice it to say that all Knoppix CDs boot fine on other machines but never again on my notebook. Other CDs will boot fine on the same notebook, just not the Knoppix CD (version 5.1.1 build date January 7, 2007.

If anyone finds way around this, please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you in advance!

Jorge

**xterm** · 07-28-2007, 12:44 AM

hi,

I think that you can try as boot option: knoppix nodma

Sometimes it solves the problem.

Regards,
Marcel

**thexx** · 07-29-2007, 07:35 PM

Thanks for the suggestion, but I think there is a common misconception regarding this parameter:
From the Knoppix FAQ http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Using_FA..._to_a_shell.3F:

DMA was enabled by default in Knoppix 3.4 through 3.7 and has been disabled in 3.8.x and up.

As I understand it, in the current Knoppix releases the nodma bootparameter has no effect whatsoever, since DMA is disabled anyway.

In any event, using it did not solve anything for me...

**Harry Kuhman** · 07-29-2007, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by thexx

DMA was enabled by default in Knoppix 3.4 through 3.7 and has been disabled in 3.8.x and up.

I think you'll find that the quote was true when written, but when the author stated 3.8.x up he didn't manage to obligate the Knopppix authors to keep it disabled. He would have been wiser to have written "3.8.x up to the current version" and stated what that version was. AFAIK, DMA is back on by default.

**wbatw** · 08-02-2007, 09:58 PM

A quick inspection of the code confirms that dma is on in 5.1.1
Behavior shows the same for 5.0.1 - the "nodma" cheatcode solves some boot failures.

In some of the cases of "cannot find knoppix file system" where none of the cheatcodes helped, we recommended a USB cdrom drive - we were able to boot in most of the systems that failed that way. We weren't able to open them up and inspect or change anything - strictly remote support.

Newer versions of the same model Dells that failed to boot 6 months ago now work fine - some change in hardware or BIOS probably.

Maybe check and see if there is a BIOS upgrade available for your system?

**sideburns** · 08-21-2007, 02:58 AM

I'm having the same problem with a knoppix CD I just burned, after checking the md5 checksum to make sure it was OK. Like the other posters, I find that nodma doesn't do squat, but I have another symptom nobody else has reported yet: I can't get the CD out of the drive until I power down and use a paperclip to eject it! Normally, my CD drive works just fine, TYVM, so I know it's not hardware related. I'd like to get knoppix working, as I'm currently using dual-boot Win98/FC6 and my sister's getting curious about Linux. It'd be nice to let her see how it looks on her computer without installing anything before she makes any major decisions!