ok im manually installing knoppix cuz im out of cds... i made 3 partitions one for sharing, one for knoppix, and oen fer xp.... knoppix files are where they should be now i need to modify boot.ini in xp so i can load knoppix... but i have no clue how, or where, it is.how did you put the knoppix files on the partition? I don't think linux can run on an ntfs file system. Also, linux needs a SWAP partition, so you'll have to MAKE a fourth partition.
I've never heard of the windows boot manager (boot.ini) working with linux OSes. You're best bet is to get wingrub and install the GRUB bootloader. An even better bet would be to wait until you get some cd's and you can do it the easy way and make sure it's right.
Boot.ini is in the root of your windows partition. It is hidden so if you can't SEE it, configure windows to show hidden files and folders.
There are guides on how to add a Linux bootloader to the windows bootloader. But I think most of them assumes you've already got a Linux distro installed or got bootable MEDIA to install from.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=linux+windows+bootloader&btnG=Google+Searchi found out it was hidden a bit after i posted this... already shown it and its not there... now where can i find wingrub? (dont answer that ill just google it)You will also need to untick "Hide protected operating system files" in order to see the boot.ini. Trust me it's there, else your system wouldn't boot at all. Which incidentally might also be the result if you edit boot.ini incorrectly.
right click on My Computer, click properties, go to Advanced, and startup and recovery settings, then Edit in the system startup section.
And don't forget to save a backup of the original boot.ini before making any changes. alright now whats the strand of code i add on to run knoppix? it is drive D:/ just fyiI think you'll have to find that out for yourself. I believe all who have participated in your threads have suggested you burn or acquire bootable install media. The method you've chosen to use is for power users to say the very least.
As I've mentioned previously there are guides available on how to call a Linux bootloader from the one for windows... but they assume you're either installing from bootable media or already have a distro installed.I don't think boot.ini is going to work the way you want it to.

It's designed for WinNT based kernels, that said it can be used to point to other kernels, like that of Win9x...so it might work, but I doubt it.