debian: Can't get X-4.0.2 working with a 2.2.18 or 2.4.x kernel.

[Brendan Simon <Brendan.Simon@bigpond.com>]

I can't get X-4.0.2 working with the 2.2.18 kernel or 2.4.x  kernel on
my Apple Powerbook.  X tries to start up and then dies.  This repeated
about 10 times and then stops.  About a minute later the process repeats
itself.  The exact same X server works fine with the 2.2.17 kernel.  Any
ideas ????

I definately know that one of the problems with the 2.4.x kernel is the
devfs filesystem.  It wouldn't even boot properly because fsck couldn't
run.  It seems that /dev/hdaX isn't in the filesystem.  I managed to get
the kernel to not mount devfs at boot time by passing the devfs=nomount
parameter to the kernel.  This solved the boot problem but not the X
problem.  It seems X is having problems detecting the mouse.  I don't
know why because it seems to work fine with the 2.2.17 kernel.

I've just read something about devfsd needing to be run early in the
boot cycle to create the /dev/hdaX links.  This will solve the boot
problem but still the X problem remains.  If anyone can shed some light
on the situation, or better still give me a solution, then I would be
very appreciative.

Thanks,
Brendan Simon.