The problems I originally encountered with knoppix slow boot were caused by using a high write speed when moving the .iso to CD. Try halfing your write speed. After this the hd install went smooth. I am using and upgrading the install without problems. I am already utilizing Knoppix to the same extent I was utilizing XP. The apt-get update, and upgrade went smoothly as well, except Open Office upgrade. I love Knoppix with the swap space on reiserfs. I loaded a distro to and extended (ext) and it was like a turtle stuck in mud. As a newbie, i would discount the advise to not use the hd install of Knoppix (for other newbies). Learn command line, relax and work out your bugs.