I echo all of the stuff below I had the same problem.  I rebuilt the
initrd file, and it still didn't like me.  I manually installed the old
kernel using rmp, and still no dice.  I finally tar'd my /etc /home and
a couple other important directories.  I reinstalled the system using my
local mirror of the installation sets.  I did not format the partitions,
so I had to do very little updating.  I did have to delete the contents
of /boot, so that the installer would recreate them.

On Fri, Dec ,  at 09:01:27AM -0600, Brian Densmore wrote:
> Well, ok. Just remember YOU asked for this rant! :)
> 
>    I opened up Mandrake Update, it went out and found all the security
> updates. One of those was kernel 2.4.8. I HAD (past tense, see below)
> 2.4.3. So I selected all the updates and installed them. Everything
> seemed to work right. I later rebooted, but the system would freeze
> right after putting out LILO. I pulled out an install disk, ran an
> upgrade. Switched over to virtual terminal 3 (a root command prompt),
> deleted System.map (a link) , because the upgrade couldn't install LILO.
> 
> [sidebar: It was at this point that I noticed there was NO initrd, put
> it was listed in the lilo.conf file. So the upgrade DID NOT install the
> initrd.img file needed for the precompiled kernel. That is the crux of
> the problem.] 
> I then booted into Linux 2.4.16, by the way I reconfigured the network
> from the install CD and it added the -h blah to the dhcpd commandline,
> so I think I am using dhcp now for my internet connection [interesting].
> 
> But wait there's more. I have recompiled the 2.4.8 kernel, but it panics
> because of unresolved symbols. 2.2.19 panics also, but to be fair, I
> suspect it has never worked. The 2.4.16 kernel, which I made the default
> in the upgrade process, boots fine. Although it is crashing on me every
> so often. I suspect it has to do with the mon daemon. I will have to
> recompile that kernel and check the logs.
> 
> Also when the Mandrake Update updated the kernel it DELETED all the code
> and binaries for 2.4.3! The directory is there but the code is gone. One
> possible problem here is that some time back, before I knew better, I
> had pointed the "/usr/src/linux" directory away from the 2.4.3 and to
> the 2.4.16 kernel sources.
> 
> I think my solution for this will be to delete the 2.4.8 library and all
> code and source related to it. pull down the 2.4.8 sources and
> recompile, woo hoo. Or maybe I'll try deleting just the library config
> files first and rerun the make modules_install.
> 
> Oh what fun it is to compile on a one Athlon PC,
> Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way,
> 
> Dashing thru the code, looking for the culprit code,
> crying all the way,
> Oh what fun it is to compile on a one Athlon PC,
> 
> 

-- 
JD Runyan
		"You can't milk a point."
			David M. Kuehn, Ph.D.