Knoppix 3.6 download not running

I just downloaded KNOPPIX_V3.6-2004-08-16-EN.iso I burnt to CD with Nero and then attempted to use it to rescue data off a suspected corrupted HDD (SME -server) see forum post http://contribs.org/modules/pbboard/...87732ef3bbcf5f
As it turned out i discovered that my CDROM was faulty so after replacing the CDROM i attempted to boot up KNOPPIX however I received the following alert:
can't find knoppix file system, sorry. Dropping you to a (very limited shell). press reset button to quit
I made repeated attempts, with HDD connected and disconnected, in the end i ran the disk in another machine with same results...conclussion, faulty download??? or is it?

Well, your computer knew enough to look for Knoppix in the first place, so I would concentrate in one of two areas, both involving the use of boot codes ("cheatcodes"). First, test the CD to make sure you got a good burn (knoppix testcd). If that tests OK, then try some of the other cheatcodes, like noscsi and the like, to see if you can narrow down the problem.

jd

Is there a way to get my drives to configure themselves other than doing it myself through the forum? My writer, dvd, floppy, zip, and even my scanner don't want to work.

J.D
as it turned out the fault was in the CDROM, testing the CD in another machine knoppix booted OK. However i then place the very same CD with the very same CDROM (from the successful bootup) with my troubled machine and it failed to boot to interface, though it did get further then previous attempts. A testcd illustrated a possible fault.

KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX error processing KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX failed in buffer_read (fd): mdfile: input/output error FAILED

Any ideas how to fix/bypass?
How could my machine influence the CDROM in this way?

bj

ok im no expert. but if the cd & cdrom drive are good, look at other hardware... such as ram.

Just a thought anyway.