Can you provide a teensy bit more detail, Mark?

I downloaded Knoppix 6.2 Live Linux (691 MB), burned it onto a DVD disk .iso, changed my boot sequence in the BIOS, and sure enough, the computer booted into Linux.

I found a terminal emulator icon, got to a $ prompt and keyed in smartctl -a /dev/sda and pressed the Enter key, only to find "smartctl not found" or words to that effect.

My CD tray wouldn't open under Linux (driver?) so I had to restart back into the BIOS to change the boot sequence again in order to get back into Windows and the bbs.

Surprisingly enough, I used to be marginally competent in Linux [Xenix, actually], but that was about 30 years ago. What do I need to do now?

tanstaafl.