Just installed, need some help.

[jordan]

I had a friends computer who wouldn't boot, so someone on IRC had suggested using knoppix to boot into the system and recover some very important files. I have been a windows user all my life so this is my first experience with linux. I have two problems: one, when I try burning CDs, it keeps giving me the same errors about the buffer, even when burning at 1x. Other times it gives me a general error.

#2, as a direct result from 1, how can I access my USB thumb drive on Knoppix. Being unfamiliar with the interface, I can only see the floppy and my main harddrive partition. Where would I go to access the USB drive?

Thanks,

Hamid.