1)I tried setting up a dual boot of Damn small with Knoppix HD-install.
2)I finally landed up resetting the mbr and restoing Knoppix.
3)How can I make knoppix work without using GRUB ??
4)I don't want to chroot knoppix and install grub . . .

5)Please help me folks.

TYVM in advance

Maybe I'm missing something here, never having used knoppix, but I thought its claim to fame was being a live CD Linux...

That's its claim to fame, but you can install Knoppix.

Guys , please try reading my post in detail.
That would give a better idea of what the actual question is ...

Sorry, can't agree with you there, as there is no detail to read....

No detail here.... what was the problem? Why did you have to "reset the MBR" (as opposed to reconfiguring your bootloader), and why did you have to "restore Knoppix" (if it was a dual-boot setup, there was perhaps nothing wrong with Knoppix per se, just with your bootloader)?

But OK, there's more, so maybe the question is still to come:

Indeed, that's a question, but not a very clear one:

How can you make Knoppix work without using GRUB? Use LiLO? Use the Windows bootloader, if you have Windows on the system? Use Knoppix from the Live CD instead of installing?

Knoppix doesn't work? But you "reset the MBR and restored [it]"! So what (in detail) is wrong? Have you checked the Knoppix forums? I recall having bootloader problems when installing to HDD with many Knoppix-based distros-- if this is a known problem, it's probably documented, and any workarounds listed.

What are you trying to accomplish? Linux needs a bootloader (so does Windows, btw). So you have to install one. Is a bootloader currently installed? Which one? Is it correctly configured? What happens when you try to boot? What distros are currently installed? Does DSL run? If you do have a bootloader that successfully boots one of the distros you have installed, what does its config file say (please post)?

We shouldn't need to "get a better idea of what the actual question is"-- we should know the question, the output of the errors you're getting, what you have already tried to resolve those errors, the specifics of the current configuration, and what you are trying to achieve.

I want to know how to config both distro's in linux. I had to reset becoz grub overwrote knoppix bootloader lilo. Its implied that Iam trying to setup both in lilo instead of grub.
There was a question if u had analysed a bit. Those first two sentences say it all.

Sorry, if it did not provide the clarity required.

The usual way to set up multiple Linux distros (as far as the bootloader goes) is to:

1) decide which distribution's bootloader you actually want to see when you boot;

2) install the other distro, installing its bootloader to the distribution's / partition rather than the MBR (you won't be able to boot this distro until the "main" bootloader is installed. Afaik, you can install either bootloader-- it doesn't have to be the same as the 'main' bootloader, but since most distros allow you to choose, I usually install the same one as the 'main' distro's bootloader to minimize problems);

3) install the 'main' distro, installing its bootloader to the MBR;

4) boot into the 'main' distro, load up the bootloader's config file and configure the second distribution to be booted from the main bootloader menu.

For example, I have both Gentoo and SuSE on my disk, and here's my grub.conf:

It's really pretty much that simple, except that I use a boot partition, so all the kernels are in the same place. If you don't, I think you have to either configure the bootloader so that it knows where the 'foreign' kernel is, or copy the kernel and subsidiary files to the /boot location of the 'main' bootloader, but it's been a while since I had to do anything like that, so I'm hazy on the details. Also, SuSE in particular is very complex and picky (probably because of the initrd), so I literally copied the bootloader information from SuSE's bootloader config to the one I was using, but other distributions can boot from a much simpler configuration.

This link might help you (I guess you're using LiLO):

Litt's Lilo Lessons, which basically says the same thing, except more LiLO-specific, and also Litt seems to prefer to install the 'best' distro first, whereas I prefer to do it last. But that's just preference; I think you can do it either way around and as long as you hit all the steps, you should be good to go.

You might also try

Multiboot Lilo

and

The Lilo Bootloader

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Thanks for the links, i will try and let ye know