[wplug] Linux 2.4 killed my system

[zman at charlie.angst-inc.com]

I've got a big problem here.  I decided to try the latest kernel release, 2.4.  I compiled it using debian's kpkp mechanism and it appeared to work fine.  I rebooted and when it attempted to mount the filesystem it said:

request_module[block-major-3]: Root fs is not mounted
VFS: Cannot open root device on "302" or 03:03
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel Panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 03:02

Scary huh.  I rebooted my system and used my old kernel and everything booted up fine.  I tried to install 2.4 once again.  This time when I restarted, both 'linux' and 'linuxOLD' labels were the broken 2.4 kernel.  Uh oh.  I popped in pocket linux... suck.. it can't mount the root partition, because of 'filesystem options'.  Hrm.. popped in my Mandrake 7 install cd.. back out to a shell.  Can't mount here either.. bad superblock error.  Put in my Mandrake 6.1 cd, back out to shell.  I can mount and everything is intact.  All of the kernels I've ever built are still in /boot.  This is a good thing.. I technically have a working kernel somewhere.  The problem is I don't know how to make lilo use that kernel.  By default lilo uses /vmlinuz.  I cp'd my linux-2.2.18 kernel image to /vmlinuz and rebooted, but it still booted the 2.4 kernel.  It's my guess that I need to re-run lilo to load the 2.2.18 kernel.  However, in the mandrake install shell... there isn't a lilo executable.  I can use the one on my existing installation, except it tells me 'Fatal: Cannot open /dev/hda'.  Mandrake's install does something funny with mounting.  I can't mount the cdrom from the shell, but if I go along in the install program until it reads the cdrom, df tells me this:

/tmp/hdc			/tmp/rhimage

At which point I can access the cd from /tmp/rhimage.  Thought that might help.. 

What should I do?  Is there another floppy distro that I could possible use to get lilo to use the old kernel?  How about any ideas to work through the mandrake provided shell?

Any help would be appreciated.

Later,
Zach
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