I am stumped. I thank you for your suggestions about media frailty, but I don't think that is really the issue. Any suggestions on how to get OpenOffice 2 to load? BTW, I have a few computers, but I am trying this experiment on the fastest - and I only have one DVD drive.
Let's just make the assumption that your files and discs are good. Since you mentioned excessive/abnormal noise during disc access, the discs were a likely cause for the concern and may still be a clue to the root cause of your concern. The best way to go from here is to see if the disc works properly in another machine. If it does, then there is something unique with your hardware in the system that is giving trouble. It could be anything from faulty memory (Which is usually random) to issues with the drive controllers/chipsets. You mentioned that that this was your fastest system. Does it have chipsets or video controllers that have compatibility issues with Linux/Unix? You might want to explore some of the cheatcodes and see if your hardware might need some special configuration. I would start with DMA settings and go from there. Also, Is the system reporting the proper amount of memory when booting up? Verifying the basics is a good way to start.

I just tried my disc on four machines between yesterday and today and was able get OpenOffice to load and work on each one without any issues that I could see. These are older systems that are about two or even three years old. Athlons and P4s. None of the chipsets or video controllers were nvidia or nforce types. I have had a few minor issues with those chipsets in the past.

Maybe someone that is more experienced with Knoppix might have some further input, or may have had similar experiences as yours. Someone might also know of an alternate way to load the program or with a command line. I doubt there would be much of a difference in the results but it might be worth the try.