OpenOffice 2.0 seems to work fine for me also. Your mention of your machine clicking and grinding might be a clue to your issue. I have a notebook that has a drive that is incompatible with DVD-R. It makes all sorts of noise while trying to access the disc. It has random issues and runs poorly. If I burn a DVD+R, it works like a charm. Make sure that the media is not an issue. You might want to scan your completed disk with a Disk Inspection program such as the one from VSO to see if it is OK. Also, be sure to burn the disc at a slow speed to ensure correct function. 1X is certainly not too slow. It depends on your drive and the media that you are using. If you are using that no-name brand garbage media, you get just what you pay for. It is a frequent issue that such media contains defects that can even be seen with the naked eye. I now use them for target practice. If it's worth my time to burn the disc, it's worth the extra expense for known good media. Use media that is recommended by your drive manufacturer as compatible. They (Probably) made it, they tested it, and they probably wrote the firmware to make it happen. Speaking of firmware, make sure your drive is updated to the latest. It is a good idea to update the drive firmware since new media is put on the market all the time, and it usually addresses some issues with media types and variances.

Having the OpenOffice screen there might just be another clue for bad media. It was able to access and read part of the program, but was unable to complete loading it.

Underscore, those screenshots are awesome. I installed one as my wallpaper on a windows machine and almost got yelled at for running Knoppix. It could be a good way to wean someone off of Windows. Just install one as their wallpaper under Windows for awhile and then they will see something familiar when running Knoppix! They might not even notice the difference, except it doesn't crash and probably runs faster!