I run into this all the time since I boot off a 3ware escalade.  You need
an initrd image so your kernel knows which modules to load.  rtfm mkinitrd.
It's rather simple.  You just make the initrd image and then put an 

initrd=<initrd image name>

in your lilo.conf (in your kernel's config section).  So it will look
something like this:

image=/boot/vmlinuz
        label=linux
	initrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.17-14smp.img
	read-only
	root=/dev/sda2

To use mkinitrd, you'll need the loop-back block device module loaded
(loop.o).

HTH.

Gabe

On Thu, Mar 01, 2001 at 02:45:47PM -0600, Timothy Wilson wrote:
> Hey everyone,
> 
> I'm installing Debian on my brand-spankin'-new Compaq DL380.
> 
> The NIC and RAID controller aren't recognized on boot by the default Potato
> CD so right after configuring the keyboard, the Debian installer asks me to
> "Preload essential modules from a floppy."
> 
> Should I just make a ext2 formatted floppy and dump the *.o modules on
> there? There was no indication about what form the installer expected the
> modules floppy to take.
> 
> -Tim
> 
> --
> Tim Wilson      | Visit Sibley online:         | Check out:
> Henry Sibley HS | http://www.isd197.k12.mn.us/ | http://www.zope.org/
> W. St. Paul, MN |                              | http://slashdot.org/
> wilson at visi.com |   <dtml-var pithy_quote>     | http://linux.com/
> 
> _______________________________________________
> tclug-list mailing list
> tclug-list at mn-linux.org
> https://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list

-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gabe Turner				       |  	   X-President,
UNIX Systems Administrator,		       | Assoc. for Computing Machinery
U of M Supercomputing Institute for	       |    University of Minnesohta
Digital Simulation and Advanced Computation    |       dopp at acm.cs.umn.edu

"Happy Happy Happy!  Joy Joy Joy!!" 
				    - Stimpson J. Cat
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