Boot CD (3.0.23) and Dell 6650

[Ryan Tracey <ryant@thawte.com>]

Hi

I'm assisting someone with a Debian (Woody) installation on a Dell 6650. 
 The boot process crashes (the whole server freezes) when the kernel 
tries to find the device that corresponds to the CISS driver (Compaq 
Smart Array 5xxx)</HEARSAY>. The Dell does not have this controller and 
the kernel (bf24 -- required for its AMI Megaraid support) does have 
this driver compiled in.

What are my options considering that the person I am trying to assist is 
on the other side of the world and has no experience with Debian.

I have considered compiling a new kernel with only the needed drivers 
included and using that in the boot disk instead of the default bf24 
image. Are there any detailed instructions on doing this -- creating 
custom boot disks.

Would it be easier to let the guy boot with another standard kernel and 
then let him load the AMI Megaraid driver modules from a disk? What 
would I have to do to ensure that the module can be loaded into the kernel.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards,
Ryan