Hi Bob! :-)

 BB> Well, I used the KNX_-hdinstall thing and I do get a icon on the 
 BB> desktop for the floppy - not the zip or the CD drive though, but when I 
 BB> click on the icon, I get a message that says "Unable to run 
 BB> dir/file:/mnt/floppy"
I no next to nothing about Knoppix, but this has worked for me in a Red Hat
installation - I had some icons after installation, and they worked.

 BB> I've worked my way up the tree into root and see the /mnt section, 
 BB> has hda, and a couple of other things in it, no floppy, but when I
 BB> click on HDA I get zero files, zero (something esle.)  :)
Yes, because it's not mounted. This also means Knoppix doesn't run an
automounter, because then it would have been mounted as you clicked on it.

Depending on whether Knoppix has setup anything, mounting the disk might be
as simple as

    mount /mnt/hda

and then, once you're done,

    umount /mnt/hda

If Knoppix hasn't setup anything, the command to mount would very likely be

    mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /mnt/hda

You don't need to umount if you shut down the system properly. It will be
done by the shutdown scripts.

 BB> Yes, and that is a key reason for me to want to embrace this thing - 
 BB> but jeeze it's getting damn hard to do so!
Linux is based on different principles than Windows. Some things that make
perfect sense in Windows (single-user operating system) don't make sense in
Linux (multi-user os).

As for mounting, this should be set up by the distribution. If Knoppix
fails to do so, it's not Linux' fault, it's just that the Knoppix
developers didn't get it right.

 BB> But a point here:  I'm neither a Lx or Win basher, just a guy trying 
 BB> to get a system that's somewhat easy to use and as secure as possible.  
 BB> At THIS time Lx fails on point one - I can't get it to work at all other 
 BB> than getting the dialer, the mail reader and the browser to run - but 
 BB> then since I have no access to any storage device, what's the sense in 
 BB> surfing the web? :)
I get your point. If you do a real hard-disk installation of Linux, you
won't have that problem because then Linux itself obviously is on a
writable medium and you don't need to store stuff on the Windows partition
(which is undesirable anyway, because of FAT's security problems and
performance).

 BB> W98SE works like a champ for ME - it has some warts in the security 
 BB> stuff, and I'm aware of them but by running virus protection etc, have 
 BB> been able to keep from a major disaster.
No one denies that switching to Linux requires quite a bit of learning and
work - but most people seem to think it is worth it after they get over
their initial problems.

Ciao
Pascal

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