Upgrading/Adding/Removing Packages to Knoppix on USB Flash

Hello,

I am running Knoppix 5.01 off a bootable USB key. I want to add and remove packages using kpackage. I was able to download a new package list although it said that the package registry was not available. When I clicked through for the packages I wanted to add, again, everything seemed to work fine. However when I went to apply my changes, the interactive script said that it was upgrading 'tzdata' and appeared to get hung up. FYI I am running a LivePC with 512MB ram and no hard drive.

Is my problem:
1) I didn't wait long enough for my computer to do it's thing?
2) I don't have enough RAM to do this update?
3) I should have done it another way?

What is the best way to update/add/remove packages from a live USB version of Knoppix?

Thanks for your help.

LZ