> > Searching the archives suggested typing "linux all-generic-ide
> > pci=nommconf" at the boot prompt, though I am not clear what these
> > options mean.  This got past the freeze, but it seems that there is
> > also some kind of trouble with networking.  If the onboard network
> > socket is connected up, networking does not appear to work at all (the
> > machine is not pingable).  If the network card is connected up, the
> > machine is pingable but won't get past the "FTP Setup" screen in the
> > install process.  Using the http install option instead gave an error
> > message: "Unable to retrieve... stage2.img".
> > 
> 
> 90% of the time, when I have users that get this problem it is because 
> of the network setup.  Not the driver, but the IP address, gateway, or 
> netmask.
> If you have a static IP address, double check all the settings.
> If you have dhcp, check to make sure that you really are getting a dhcp 
> address, or even that you are on a network that does dhcp.
> If you were here at Fermilab, I would tell you that you probrubly are in 
> our DHCP jail, and that you have to register before you can connect.  I 
> don't know if your enviroment is the same where you are, but DHCP jails 
> are quite common.

Dear Troy,
Thank you!  It was actually a firewall issue which we shall now be
able to correct - I have a static IP address which used to belong to a
printer and was therefore blocked.  Your comment about DHCP jails got
me thinking along the right lines.
Eva.