[vox-tech] kernel questions (2.4.18)

[David Margolis]

Hello everyone.  I have a funny issue.

When I go to mount a cdrom (either /dev/hdc, Philips CD-RW or /dev/hdd,
El Cheapo DVD), my system tries to
mount the cd for a momemt, and then locks up to the point that nothing
short of the reset button gets me out of the situation.  This all started
happening when I recently upgraded to 2.4.18.  When I reboot into 2.2.19,
no problem.  Are there any known issues with 2.4.18 that would cause this
kind of issue?  I doubt _can't mount a cdrom_ is what you'd normally
call a known issue, so I suspect it's an incompatibility with the IDE
chipset or something on the motherboard (all VIA).  I would use 2.2.19
indefinatley, but the newer NVidia drivers don't like that kernel for some
reason (which was never a problem with older versions of the NVidia
driver), so now I'm kind of stuck.

Is there a lower-numbered 2.4.x that is more reliable than 2.4.18?
Is now the time to start shopping around for 2.5.x (I'm not
a very bleeding edge kinda fella).

I also thought about compliling a 2.2.20, seeing how I've always been
happy and confortable with 2.2.x, but I want to try and take advantage of
USB Mass Storage, which I believe (correct me if I'm wrong), is what I
need to get the pics off my new digital camera (a USB-interfaced Kodak,
which is supposedly supported).  Don't I need a 2.4.x for that?

Also, on an unrelated note, 2.4.18 pics up my soundcard differently.  It
finds it as an es1371, which it is, but calls it something differnt, a
Tritech TR28023, and the sound is a slight bit pingier.

I realize this is a lot, so help if you can.  I'm mostly concerned about
the cdrom issue, USB stuff and sound can come later.

Here's a relevant breakdown of the hardware involved:

Important stuff:
Celeron 1 ghz
Shuttle AV18E VIA VT82c694t/VT82C686B
DMA 100 ...

Less important stuff:
320 MB PC100 SDRAM
G-Force2 MX 400
SB 16 (es1371)

All of this is run by a fairly modified install of Slackware 8.0
which has been running fine for some time...

Thanks in advance for your input,
Dave Margolis