Shouldn't mounted filesystems be listed in "/etc/mtab" instead of "/etc/fstab"?
The LiveCD asks you for the root password even if you just type "su" in aconsole?
Perhaps, if your Windows-partition is formatted with NTFS the NTFS-drivers of your R.I.P cd are not up-to-date?
I usually use
Knoppix as a liveCD - might work better than your R.I.P..