please help me with CD booting issues

i'm really new to linux, REALLY new. the reason i decided to try and get a CD bootable version was because i'm taking a mandatory UNIX introduction class right now, and it mentions Linux a bit along the way. i've always known that you could boot certain versions of Linux from a CD, so i decided to try it out.

i burned KNOPPIX to a CD by using nero and selecting "burn disc image" selected the .iso and burned it.

but when i restart my computer to have it boot from the CD, it will show a KNOPPIX image, tell me to hit F2 or F3 for help/options, or hit enter to start. when i hit enter it shows some stuf on screen real quick, the same kind of text that scrolls when you start a computer, the "ram check ok" type messages. after that stuf scrolls, it goes to a black screen and sits there, forever.

i have tried a live Linux CD boot with Damn Small Linux too, and it does the same thing, goes to a black screen and sits.

i dont know what any of the options mean when i hit F2, so i dont want to mess with them.

am i supposed to do something before i try to boot it from the CD? like add a file to a certain folder while still in windows, then reboot. because all i did was burn the CD, restart the computer, and try to load it.

kind of a long message, but i wanted to describe exactly what is happening, please help :(

try knoppix testcd at the F2 prompt. Then after that try some cheatcodes.
knoppix lang=us nodma noapci alsa .... ......for example.

i TRIED using some cheatcodes, but don't know if i did them right, i typed a couple of em in like

knoppix nodma
knoppix noapci

is that how you type them, because it didn't say it was bad syntax or anything.

which cheat codes should i try, and where can i find them?

well, i found the cheatcodes .txt file. but when i try to open it it says "cannot open D:KNOPPIX\cheatcodes.txt file, make sure the disk is in the drive selected" and it is...

i'm so close to being able to try out linux but i cant make it the last little bit >_< its annoying!

is there anything info about my computer someone here could use to try and figure out what my problem is and how to fix it?

hit F2 to get some of them. Fisrt try knoppix testcd to see if there are any problems with the cd. Then reboot if it does not go through and try some like this is how you enter them: knoppix lang=us nodma noapci alsa

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rrfish72

hit F2 to get some of them. Fisrt try knoppix testcd to see if there are any problems with the cd. Then reboot if it does not go through and try some like this is how you enter them: knoppix lang=us nodma noapci alsa

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so i just type my cheat codes in all at once with each one seperated by a space? lang=us is its own cheatcode? is alsa its own?

*goes to try*

i'll be back in a few minutes

All at once with just one knoppix. lang=us is to set the language to english and alsa is for a soundcard (I think it's optional)

i just tried it, i typed in a big string of em like

knoppix noagp nofirewire vga=normal noapm nodma nopcmcia noscsi nousb alsa noapci

then it said some stuf i forgot, then it said "Unpacking Linux kernel" and just sat there. i suppose that better than a blank black screen but it still isn't working

knoppix testcd all by itself and hit enter. It might be a bad burn.

i also tried that, and it just went straight to the black screen

does it take several minutes or something? am i not waiting long enough? cause i waited a little longer than the standard windowsXP boot time for the last few tries.

That forces a check on the cd to see if all is in order with the cd. That might mean it's a bad burn. Do you have an older computer or a newer model?

It sounds to me like a bad burn if you can't even access the cheatcode.txt

You might want to reburn. Also md5sum the iso file (go to where you downloaded the iso and there should be a .md5 with the same name) You can use this program. http://md5summer.com/

After you burn agian, type knoppix testcd at the boot prompt.
It will md5sum the files on the disk to see if they are correct.

Also for some reason knoppix would get stuck on boot.

Just kill the power and try again. It has been happening less though, so it might just be my machine.

it did say "burn process failed" when i burned it, but i shrugged it off cause it does that every time i burn that brand CD, i'll try another and see how it goes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by econobeing5

it did say "burn process failed" when i burned it, but i shrugged it off cause it does that every time i burn that brand CD, i'll try another and see how it goes.

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What size cds are you useing?

The software may be trying to overburn and thats causing the errors.

they are 700MB

._.

i wish i would have noticed that...

do the cheatcodes for KNOPPIX work with Damn Small Linux?

That should be okay. Try slowing down the burning speed.

i know this isn't the right forum, but (if anyone knows) how do the cheatcodes in DSL start? i know in KNOPPIX it goes knoppix <insert cheat codes here> but for DSL i dont know.

i'm burning a new copy of it on a different brand CD-R, i slowed it down from 40x to 12x

ok, i figured out the cheatcode to make it so the screen doesn't turn black, its vga=true

but when i type knoppix vga=true testcd it says Uncompressing Linux... Ok, booting the kernel and hangs there. maybe i'm impatient, but how long should i wait before restarting my comp?

if it helps i got a 1.6Ghz AMD athlon something or other, and 1GDDR RAM

might it take longer to boot off of a CD?

The testcd takes alittle while. But you should get something telling you that it is checking the cd. Is this the reburned iso or the same one from before?

its the new copy, i checked the cheatcodes file and it opens good.

i'll probably do the test CD and watch a little tv or something, heh.

when i used the testcd command it just says the normal Uncompressing Linux... Ok, booting the kernel"

i gave it a good 15 minutes and still nothing, so i'm guessing either something else screwed up, or it froze. i'll take the first because of the fact that it isn't telling me that its testing the CD.

._. woh, i started up DSL, but it put me in the command prompt (command line? w/e its called) an anyway, wow... this is, old lookin, i thought DSL was supposed to have graphics. maybe it was the video thing

Now its probably a bad download. What version are you trying out? Check out Kanotix BH7.

I am using an amd laptop (1.8 ghz).

I get the same black screen using normal modes, but works in failsafe.
i tried using noapic noagp etc (i used 12 in conjunction) but it still didn't work.
If i use a ps2 mouse, it moves in which ever direction and up at the same time.

1) any idea how to failsafe with usb included (for my usb mouse)
2) any idea what is wrong with the ps2 mouse?
3) any idea how to get a normal configuration?