GRUB failing to bootstrap woody install

[Carel Fellinger <cfelling@iae.nl>]

[ first I tried the GRUB mailing list, but later thought that it
  might be debian specific, so I bugger you too                   ]

I am trying to bootstrap a Debian install with GRUB, but I fail:(
After some hours trying and reading I give up and turn to you guys.

I've put the necessary files in /debian on a fat32 partition on hda1.
If from a dos prompt I do:

   D:
   cd \debian
   dosutils\loadlin linux root=/dev/ram initrd=images-1.44/root.bin \
                    disksize=1.44

All's swell, but when I try GRUB menu's like:

   #Menu 1
   title   Debian GNU/Linux setup woody from mirror
   root    (hd0,1)
   kernel  /debian/linux root=/dev/ram
   initrd  /debian/images-1.44/root.bin disksize=1.44
   
   #Menu 2
   title   Debian GNU/Linux setup woody from mirror
   root    (hd0,1)
   kernel  /debian/linux root=/dev/ram initrd=/debian/images-1.44/root.bin \
           disksize=1.44

then the linux kernel barks that it can't mount it's root fs.   

Could some kind soul please explain to me what the heck I'm doing wrong?


Some background:

I've a mirror of the Debian Woody archive on a disk, I plan to go to
my brother with that disk to sanitize some machines of his.  This disk
is filled as it is, so no room to install a small linux version on it.
Maybe some of his machines won't boot from CD (I've a copy of the
woody net-install CD:), and I wanted to forgoo having to make a bunch
of floppies, so I thought of bootstrapping with GRUB.  I could put
those files in a small fat32 partition, boot dos and use loadlin.  I
guess I could also install grub on that disk and put those files in
the apropriate places, but being stubburn I want to understand why
what I tried didn't work.

GRUB is installed on a floppy, and works when booting my regular (non
initrd based) linux installations.  I have it also installed on
harddisk, working there too.  Some weeks ago it also worked with a
linux kernel with initrd ( a severe stupidity of mine -playing with
hdparm without safety precautions- lost that one ), but in that case
the root device was on the harddisk. Now I'm trying to have GRUB/linux
setup a ramdisk and mount that ramdisk as root.

I know of many ways to solve my needs, but I like to understand why I
can't get GRUB to play along.

-- 
groetjes, carel