hi;
i may be misunderstanding what you need - but it seems you want linux to do what DOS cannot ? It seems perhaps something such as Barts PE Builder (or UltimateCD) might be suited for those tasks. I mean, if the end goal is to install windows, what do you need knoppix to do - a network boot ? I suppose you can just boot to the LiveCd and d/l the necessary files for win2k/xp (i386). I'm a linux newbie myself, but i know win98 pretty dang well