Knoppix not able to mount

[Xeion]

I have been working on customizing a HDD install of Knoppix 6.2.1 for the past several weeks. I have been running into a very specific issue of Knoppix not being able mount anything on a couple different systems that all have a similar setup which I will describe a little later. The output of when trying to boot my HDD install on the primary system in question is as follows:

Knoppix 6 found at: /dev/sda1
>>> Starting in Live-Mode.
>>> Please do not remove medium until shutdown!
insmod: cannot insert '/mnt-system/KNOPPIX/modules/cloop.ko': Invalid module format (-1): Exec format error
Could not mount /mnt-system/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX. Starting debugging Shell...
sh: can't access tty; job control turned off

This occurs when using a normal Live CD or my HDD install. I have tested my HDD install and a standard Live CD on over five different computers and they works on all but two. The two computers that have this issue both had Windows as the primary OS (one with XP and the other Win7 64bit) and Ubuntu installed in Windows. The curiosity is that I uninstalled Ubuntu on the XP system and now Knoppix Live CDs work perfectly fine (I couldn't test my HDD setup since it doesn't support USB boot), where before Live CDs would not boot.

Is this a known issue of Knoppix with Ubuntu installations within Windows? Is there a workaround? Thanks for the help guys.

[kl522]

The error loading the module is due to the kernel version mismatching with the module version.

The kernel is the file /mnt-system/boot/isolinux/linux, or /mnt-system/boot/syslinux/linux.
The module is the file /mnt-system/KNOPPIX/modules/cloop.ko.

You may be still wondering: why there is a mismatched ? The most common likely cause is that you are booting from a source ( say a LiveCD ) with one version of KNOPPIX, yet your harddisk or usb or other media has yet another previously installed (different) version of KNOPPIX. But of course, if you recompile KNOPPIX kernel, this issue can also happpen.

Whatever it is, it's a mismatch in versioning.

[Xeion]

I understand how that would be an issue, but I do not understand how it is possible then that it would work on every computer that I use either the Live CD or my HDD setup except the couple as I previously mentioned. I have no previous versions of Knoppix, or any Knoppix whatsoever on the machines in question. Is there a simple (or even not so simple) way to solve "mismatch in versioning"?

[kl522]

If you are fully convinced that there is no previous instant of different version of knoppix installed, then another possible mismatched could have happened due to booting off using UBUNTU kernel, but yet using KNOPPIX initrd ( ie minirt.gz ). Since your system is harddisk multiboot, I presume that you are using grub or something equivalent. It is possible that there is a mixed up in the grub setup.

[Xeion]

Is there a way I can specify exactly where the kernel is during the boot up, rather than have it search and, possibly, boot off some other kernel?

[kl522]

The kernel selection is not based on searching. It is based on FIXED configuration, as determined by the bootloader. The exact configuration varies according to bootloaders. If you are using grub, it's the file 'menu.lst'. If you are using syslinux/extlinux/isolinux, then it's yet a different file.