Well, I tried creating the boot disk using a brand new floppy, and the exact same thing is happening. I don't think it's the drive, either. It's saying that it doesn't recognize the CDROM before those mounting lines. Here's how it's looking to me between the installation (inst) screen and the log screen:

log: * looking for ide media
* looking for scsi media
* SCSI/2: sr0 is a NEC CD-ROM DRIVE:465
* looking for Compaq Smart Array media
* looking for DAC960
* unsetting automatic

inst: No CDROM device found. Ok [<-button. I press enter]
inst: Please insert the Additional Drivers floppy. Ok. [<-button. I press enter]

log: * have to insmod floppy
* needs floppy
* ...succeeded floppy
* /dev/fd0 type: H1440
* ...track: 0
* mounting /dev/fd0 on /tmp/floppy as type ext2
* mount failed: Invalid argument

inst: Floppy is not a Linus ext2 floppy in first
floppy drive.
Retry?


So that's where I'm able to get to. Is that any more usefull info?

*edit*
oh yeah, I also updated the BIOS. it went smoothly but now all the other components are complaining about out of date BIOSs. Some of them I can't find and some need to be run from inside Windows!