I suggest reviewing the cheatcodes - expert might be more "interactive" than you want. There's a copy of the file knoppix-cheatcodes.txt in the KNOPPIX folder, when looking from another OS, e.g. Windows. There are also copies posted on various websites - Google is your friend.

One quick option that will probably get you going enough to look at the hard drive is
Code:
knoppix nosound
- just type that (or expert, if you like) in before the big penguin goes away, early in the boot process.

Cheers!
Krishna