I think I may have figured out how to do things from the virtual terminals to affect the X screen.
The vt for X is 6 so we can do:
chvt 6 to switch to the virtual terminal 6
Next we need to have a little delay, so let's add sleep 4 (you can also use 2 if you think that's a bit faster)
We also need to add "export DISPLAY=:0" to set the X display.
Then to change the user, we use "sudo -u knoppix "
So to do xrandr and change the resolution: (this is pretty useful when you mess around with screen resolutions that cause a blank screen)
Hit CTRL+ALT+F4 to switch to VT 4: then type
chvt 6; sleep 4; export DISPLAY=:0; sudo -u knoppix xrandr
chvt 6; sleep 4; export DISPLAY=:0; sudo -u knoppix xrandr --output HDMI-1 --mode 800x600
To launch terminator:
chvt 6; sleep 4; export DISPLAY=:0; sudo -u knoppix terminator &
To open the main menu:
chvt 6; sleep 4; export DISPLAY=:0; sudo -u knoppix lxpanelctl menu
Knoppix 9.1 Desktop Live Portable USB Flash Thumb Drive GNU Linux OS 64 Bit
$15.49
Knoppix 9.1 USB | Ultimate Recovery, Vast Tools & Easy Linux Exploration | PC
$15.49
Knoppix Live GNU Linux System 9.1 on Bootable CD / DVD / USB Flash Drive
$9.99
Knoppix 9.1 Desktop DVD Live Portable Disc Disk GNU Linux Distro OS 64 Bit
$10.49
KNOPPIX 9.1 LINUX INSTALL & LIVE DVD
$9.99
$12.00
Knoppix Linux Bootable OS v8.6 "Original Live Operating System" 32G USB Stick
$20.30
VINTAGE LOT Linux Format DVD Knoppix PC Gamer Gaming SUSE Fedora Mint RH Distros
$50.00
Knoppix 9.1 Desktop USB Live Portable Disc Disk GNU Linux Distro OS 64 Bit
$15.49
Knoppix 9.1 Live OS USB | Ultimate System Repair & Recovery Tool | PC/MAC
$15.49