Unable to boot kernel on ANY Compaq system

[David Nedrow]

I have been unable to install or boot FC2, FC3T1, or devel using the 
default kernels on ANY Compaq system that I have access to. The Compaqs 
are DL360s, 1850's, and 4500s with SMART array controllers and 896 meg 
of RAM.

Scenario 1:

Simply booting the install loads anaconda, which then complains there 
is not enough memory.

Scenario 2:

mem=896M

Supplying the simplified mem parameter never makes it to anaconda, and 
errors out with the following:

md: Autodetecting RAID arrays.
md: autorun ...
md: ... autorun DONE.
VFS: Cannot open root device "LABEL=/" or unknown-block(8,3)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(8,3)

Scenario 3:

map=exactmap map=640K at 0 map=895M at 1M

Now, the system simply stops after displaying "Uncompressing Linux...
OK, booting the kernel."

Note also that regardless of what root= options I've tried, I still get 
a kernel panic in scenario 2.

I've also tried nousb, nopcmcia, noprobe, acpi=off, skipddc, in 
multiple combinations without any benefit or difference in errors.

Strangely, if I replace the kernel on the install disk with one I've 
built myself, I can get through the installation fine, but then cannot 
boot the kernel that is actually installed by anaconda. Presumably, if 
I were to boot via rescue and replace the installed kernel with mine, I 
would be able to boot the system OK.

This has me flummoxed. If you need more info from the boot process, let 
me know what items. Obviously, I'm not making it far enough in the 
kernel panic scenarios to switch consoles to get the output of the boot 
processes.

This is with the following kernels:
kernel-smp-2.6.5-1.358
kernel-smp-2.6.7-1.478
kernel-smp-2.6.7-1.509


David