You screwed up somehow. Maybe you left out support for IDE hard drives? Maybe you left out support for EXT2 and/or EXT3? Did you run Lilo after compiling and copying the kernel to the right place? Don't use "make config." It's too much of a pain in the neck. I suggest "make menuconfig." It is easy to turn on and off options with that. A "*" shows an option being on and a "m" shows it as a module. Now, let me ask you this. Why are you compiling a kernel? Are you trying to patch in Festival support for Speakup or just trying to optimize your system? If it is the latter case, you should be turning off anything that doesn't apply to you. For example, if you are using a desktop, you don't need PCMCIA. If you have no USB ports, you don't need USB. If you have anything newer than an early 386, you don't need math emulation. Is this your first kernel build? Those first builds were really tough for me as I didn't understand a lot of what it was asking. I quickly learned what happens if you turn off PCI support when you have a PCI system. You lose your serial ports and will be lucky if you can log in. My point is this. Always make backups of your old kernel! Use the help a lot. Use "make menuconfig" and you will be able to back up and change things. Remember to run Lilo if you are using it after putting the kernel in the right place. If you want, send me your .config privately and I can take a look at it to see if you are missing something obvious.
