I believe this problem is related with kernel 2.4.22. The same behavior is shown on many Toshiba laptops (I have one). The last knoppix to work well for me is 06-06. I have tried all versions after 06-06 with no success. While initializing the hard disks it says IDE: late registration of driver, and at kernel.org they say is something not yet considered an error and in need of a more detailed evaluation.