I downloaded and burned a Knoppix v3.3 CD.

I was able to successfully use it on several systems, however I run into a strange problem when employing it on my own system.

I have a Dell Inspiron 4500S with 40G HD 256M of DDr RAM filling one of the two memory slots.

The CD loads just fine and Knoppix appears to run without any sort of problem at all.

However, upon shutting down to reboot from the HD, the system fails to load. I don't even get the Dell splash screen. The diagnostic code lights on the back show yellow-yellow-green-green, according to Dell this indicates:

Memory modules are detected, but a memory failure has occurred.

The technician suggested my memory slot was bad since I was able to switch the memory to the other slot and start up just fine. However, upon reloading Knoppix I encountered the same error and switching back to the original slot solved the problem.

I am stumped by what could cause this behavior. The memory it appears is fine, as well as the slots. However, the system refuses to recognize them after rebooting from Knoppix until removed and reinstalled.

Any ideas or clues out there? Thanks for your time to help, I am getting into the Linux world and think Knoppix is an awesome idea.

Sincerely,

Phil MacCabe