Getting a kernel init error while trying to install 2.6.1

I downloaded the new kernel and I installed it according to the directions. I really didn't change anything with the configuration file from which it suggested. I installed it and it wrote itself to lilo. I tried to boot to it and I get something like a no init found error try passing init=[value] to kernel. I tried a few different things. I've installed it roughly 7 or 8 times. I don't know what would I need to configure for it to find init? The one time I got it installed (the 2nd time) but all I got was a text prompt and I couldn't get into graphical. I checked the configuration and it had the ATI Radeon drivers checked (which I have for my video card). I tried this on my spare PC as well and it uses grub as the bootup and I still got the no init found error. My main PC, the one I got it running once with text, is running Mandrake Linux 9.2 and my spare is running RedHat 9. Both worked fine with graphical before. Here's my install procedure:

1. extract linux kernel tar.gz file
2. switch to linux kernel folder
3. make xconfig (I've also used make menuconfig)
4. make modules
5. make modules_install
6. make bzImage (I might do this before make modules, I'm in Windows so I don't have the README file open, I usually follow that)
7. mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.6.1.img 2.6.1 (I didn't see documentation for this in the README but I found it on a how to website, it also configures lilo or grub. It doesn't even boot without this)
8. make install

I'm running on ext3 file systems and I don't usually configure it for it. I've seen it checked it might have been a module I don't remember. Also I do usually back up /boot and /etc/lilo.conf files/folders in case someone thinks of mentioning. I've tried a few things I just don't know what I'm doing wrong? I'm running a Pentium 4 but I also leave it on the i386 configuration. I've tried both though. VGA support as far as I can tell is also activated.

these are the steps to compile a kernel:
make menuconfig
make clean
make dep
make bzImage
make install
make modules
make modules_install

is there a chance that you might have missed the 'make dep' step in compiling? i've forgotten this before and it gives various odd errors when you do...

"make dep" is no longer needed in 2.6, so that's not the problem. HGene, could you post your LILO section?

Also, there are some other things that you will probably want to know, if this is your first 2.6 kernel. First of all, the module loader syscalls have been revised completely, so you will need to install to newer modutils, called module-init-tools.
About your ATi card, are you using the drivers from the ATi website? In that case, you'll have to check so that they have 2.6 drivers, or you'll have to go back to using the XF86 Radeon driver, which isn't as fast.
Concerning Mandrake, I know that they patch their kernels heavily, so I'm really not sure that a vanilla kernel will be be compatible with all their system modifications. That may well be your greatest obstacle. Most other distros, such as RedHat, patch their kernels only to the point before they become user-space incompatible with the vanilla kernels, so it's much easier to get a new kernel to work with them. I once tried to compile a new kernel for Mandrake (for my little sister - I don't use Mandrake), and I just gave it up at a certain point.

the ati drivers do have 2.6 support, once u boot into a 2.6 kernel, u can recompile them adn they compile differently to allow for 2.6

i havent managed to get the 2.6.0 mandrake kernel to work, although i didnt try very hard coz before i can run 2.6 i need my other box to do masquerading properly coz the modem drivers wotn work wiht 2.6

The vanilla kernels worked with all 2.4x kernels tho, u just loose automount and a couple other useful things.

Just wanted to add to this discussion that Fedora Core 2, which is planned to be released some time around April, will ship with a 2.6 kernel. I see a bright future ahead. =)