[Help-autogen] installing problem--386 version

[forrest curo]

        I get everything working with the compact kernel, and then around the
middle of booting I start getting "modprobe: modprobe: can't open
dependencies file /lib/modules/2.2.19prc17/modules.dep (No such file or
directory)"
running repeatedly over the screen on all ttys.

        Sometimes I can log in, but then when I send a command the screen gets
covered with "modprobe:..." as above while I wait for it to execute.
Sometimes the results remain on the screen and sometimes they're
overwritten and scroll away immediately.

        When I do "ps -e -f" there is NO process listed that I can identify as 
the
cause of the modprobes. Some of the listed processes seem to be unkillable,
but none of the killable ones are involved. The rescue disk I made seems to
be infested with the modprobes also, but soon after it loads the "root"
disk I see on tty4 that something called "kmod" has stopped a "runaway
modprobe loop."
        Trying to put in a fake modules.dep file just changed the message to a
complaint about the file; configuring the system to not look for the modem
made for two alternating messages including one saying that modem initation
wasn't supposed to be happening-- And <cntrl-alt-delete> wouldn't TOUCH
these two messages; it took the National Guard and the reset button to do it.

        Suggestions?

Forrest Curo
San Diego