Smartmedia printer causes freeze on boot

[albertomolteni at infinito.it]

Hi all,

I've found similar threads regarding USB devices and
kernel panics, but nothing which fits me precisely, so
here goes:

I have a HP Photosmart D5160 printer connected via
USB, updated cups and hplip (1.6.12). Hplip is enabled
for runlevels 3 and 5.

The printer works great once the system is running,
but! If I connect it to the USB port *before* starting
the PC, FC6 will freeze while booting, just after the
[xen] lines. If I connect the device after booting,
everyhting is fine.

I tried this both with the stock 2.6.18 kernel and
with the 2.6.19-1.2895 one: same results.

These are the facts, now my (ineducated) guess: the
printer has several smartmedia slots, which I
understand are handled much like a USB pen. The fact
is, when the smartmedia is not inserted, the USB
device appears connected, but unavailable (like an
empty cd drive). Could it be that the kernel is
trying to access the media and hangs because it is
unable to do so? And if so, does anyone know a
workaround?

I had the same identical problem during FC6 install,
had to disconnect the printer or else I never got to
the 'check media' screen.

Thank you for your time
Alberto Molteni