frustrated with "kernel panic" message

["Peter Christensen" <kriste@sprynet.com>]

I've received the following error messages several times:

Partition check:  HDA:  HDA1  HDA2  <  HDA5  >  HDA3  HDA4
attempt to access beyond end of device
03:02:  rw=0, want=2, limit=1
ext2-fs:  unable to read superblock
attempt to access beyond end of device
ext2-fs:  unable to read superblock
minix-fs:  unable to read superblock
[ms-dos fs rel 12, fat 0, check=n, conv=b, uid=0, gid=0, umask=022, bmap]
[me=0x0, cs=0, #f=0, fs=0, fl=0, ds=0, de=0, data=0, se=0, ts=0, ls=0,
rc=0, fc=4294967295]
transaction block size=512
attempt to access beyond end of device
03:02:  rw=0, want=33, limit=1
isofs_read_super:  bread failed, dev 03:02 iso-blknum 16 block 32
kernel panic:  VFS:  unable to mount root fs on 03:02

I tried re-installing Linux and Windows.  The most recent time I went back
to fdisk and deleted all partitions, then used fdisk to create a primary
partition and an extended partition.  I used fips to divide the first
partition. When fips started it said something about the physical and
logical sizes of the partitions not matching, but said it was irrelevant.

After fips ran (successfully, it seemed) I got a message (from DOS, I
think) that said, "Memory allocation error.  Cannot load COMMAND, system
halted."  

I went ahead and installed Linux in the newly created second partition.  (I
held off installing Windows in the first.)  It booted OK from the floppy,
but when I tried to boot with LILO afterward I got the above messages
again.  

The first time I got the "kernel panic" message was after running a
tutorial in Wordperfect under Windows.  (The program seemed to go into an
endless loop, and I had to reboot.)  After that, I've had the same problem
over and over, even after deleting and formatting the partitions.  

So I have no idea what to do.  It's so tantalizing because I really liked
the little that I saw of Debian Linux.  Maybe LILO just won't work on my
computer.  And unfortunately I just can't do without Windows yet because I
need access to the internet for this discussion group.  

Help!!!

Peter Christensen