I changed the configuration of the system.

My configuration is as follows:-
/dev/hda1 Windows xp
hda7 Knoppix version 5.0 partition 8 gb
hda8 swap 600 mb
hda9 fat32 600 mb so that it will be accsible both from Knoppix and Windows.

I installed boot loader in hda7 and not in mbr. I did not install grub in the mbr because windows also may stop booting if something goes wrong.knoppix-installer ran successfully. I saw a dialogue grub is being installed.
After installing I made hda7 active but knoppix does not boot.

I tried to install Knoppix 5.1 on the hdd but the knoppix-installer script did not run susccessfully. It gave error "can not mount /mnt/hdinstall" read only file system.

I feel the problem is this:-
First I need to make Knoppix bootable from hdd without bothering about boot menu for XP and Knoppix.

I have to configure grub so that it gives me a menu to boot Windows from hda1 or knoppix from hda7.
If I install boot loader in mbr, will there be any problems in booting xp? How to restore boot partition of xp in case something goes wrong and I need to revert back?[/b]