How to Trackdown a Hardware Failure with Knoppix?

[Coffee Grounds]

Hello, 

I believe I've had some form of hardware failure and I wonder if there
is a way to track it down with Knoppix.

My Knoppix HD install simply will not boot (hangs when X attempts to
launch) and booting off the CD is unsuccessful as well.

I can boot Knoppix off the CD in failsafe mode. The question is, what do
I do after that to figure out what's causing the failure?

Thanks, 

- CG, not a hardware guy.