[TriLUG] Problem with Debian Etch

[Nick]

Hey everyone, I have been having a problem with Etch and was wondering 
if anyone else has run into this issue?

After updating the initial install, the boot process hangs at "Begin: 
waiting for root file system"

I have repeated the install twice with the same results. Upon searching 
for answers the only thing I found is the following:

        I edited the file "/etc/kernel-img.conf" to add the line:
        ramdisk = /usr/sbin/mkinitrd.yaird
        And then regenerated the initrd image.
        dpkg-reconfigure linux-image-2.6.16-1-amd64-8-smp
        And I could boot. It seems this is an error while creating
        the initrd image.

As this situation stretches my limited abilities I tried following these 
directions (dubious as they look to me) by using Knoppix but I was 
unsuccessful.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks

Nick