tried running it again using the dma code

Didn't get any further, but i got more information

here's what it said

Scanning for USB/Firewire devices ... done

Enabling DMA acceleration for hda [Maxtor 2B020H1]
Enabling DMA acceleration for hdb [ST3120026A]
Enabling DMA acceleration for hdc [ATAPI DVD-ROM 12X]
Enabling DMA acceleration for hdd [SAMSUNG CR-R/RW DRIVE SW-252F]

Accessing KNOPPIX CD at/dev/hdd ... insmod:error inserting '/modules/cloop.ko' : -1 Bad file number

I presume there is some kind of problem with my CD drive. It is the samsung drive that the knoppix cd is in.

I'm trying to get new firmware for the samsung drive. Do you have any ideas what else I can do?

Cheers

Edwin