I wrote:

> I am having difficulty installing SL4.4 on a new machine.  The
> relevant hardware details are:
> 
> Motherboard + processor: Intel D965SSCK Core 2 Duo 6300 2MB cache
> Hard disk: 160GB - ST3160811AS -  7200rpm Serial ATA Seagate
> Network card: Intel PCI 10/100/1000MB Ethernet card (the motherboard
>     also has onboard networking)

This is the Intel Pro/1000 GT Desktop Adapter
(http://www.intel.com/network/connectivity/products/pro1000gt_desktop_adapter.htm).

> When I boot from the boot CD and press Return at the boot prompt, the
> install hangs at
> 
> PCI: Probing PCI hardware (bus 00)
> 
> 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".
> 
> I also tried installing SL305 on this machine as I have installed it
> on several Dell Optiplex GX620s with no trouble in the past.  There
> was no freeze early on (and no need for special options) but I had
> much the same networking problems - not pingable using the onboard
> networking, "Failed to connect to FTP server" using the PCI network
> card.

The networking trouble turned out to be a mistake in our firewall
setup.  Once this was corrected, the install appeared to work fine
until the reboot, when it froze at "Uncompressing Linux... OK, booting
the kernel."  This happened whether I booted the SMP kernel or the
other kernel.  Perhaps there is something I need to do from GRUB to
get the kernel to boot with the all-generic-ide and pci=nommconf
options every time?
Eva.