many thanks for your response.

i've tried the remedies that you suggested, to no avail.

when i login as root from the kde login screen, i am receiving an error similar to:

'unable to create $HOME. directory /root is out of space'

when i login as knoppix, all is fine, all is good.

my goal is to simply require login through the kde login manager, and have the option of logging in as root or knoppix.

you mentioned your use of a knoppix.sh script.
would it be possible for you to post your script?
i'd appreciate it, as i've spent hours trying to 'fix' this last flaw of my remaster.

thanks.