Need some help: boot is missing modules.dep

["Bernd Prager" <bernd prager ws>]

Hi everybody,

I try to update my kernel on RedHat7.2 from 2.4.7-10smp (the dist comes
with)
to 2.4.18. Compilation works fine without any error messages,
but when I boot I get a series of following error message on the screen:

Can't open dependency file /lib/modules/2.4.18/modules.dep
(no such file or directory)

And automount complains later: "No mountpoints defined"

The system comes up anyway, but it is pretty messed up.
But the "missing" file is definitively there!
I have following messages in my syslog file:
----- snip --------
Mar 29 09:05:56 willy kernel: Mounted devfs on /dev
Mar 29 09:05:57 willy kernel: Freeing unused kernel memory: 252k freed
Mar 29 09:05:56 willy kernel: kmod: runaway modprobe loop assumed and
stopped
Mar 29 09:05:57 willy kernel: EXT3-fs: mounted filesystem with ordered data
mode.
Mar 29 09:05:56 willy kernel: VFS: Mounted root (ext3 filesystem) readonly.
...
Mar 29 09:05:57 willy kernel: EXT3 FS 2.4-0.9.17, 10 Jan 2002 on ide0(3,6),
internal journal
Mar 29 09:05:17 willy date: Fri Mar 29 09:05:05 EST 2002
Mar 29 09:05:57 willy kernel: kjournald starting.  Commit interval 5 seconds
...
Mar 29 09:05:56 willy kernel: kjournald starting.  Commit interval 5 seconds
Mar 29 09:05:18 willy fsck: /: clean, 16161/98392 files, 51732/393561 blocks
Mar 29 09:05:56 willy kernel: EXT3 FS 2.4-0.9.17, 10 Jan 2002 on ide0(3,3),
internal journal
Mar 29 09:05:18 willy rc.sysinit: Checking root filesystem succeeded
Mar 29 09:05:56 willy kernel: EXT3-fs: mounted filesystem with ordered data
mode.
Mar 29 09:05:18 willy rc.sysinit: Remounting root filesystem in read-write
mode:  succeeded
Mar 29 09:05:56 willy kernel: kjournald starting.  Commit interval 5 seconds
Mar 29 09:05:18 willy depmod: depmod:
Mar 29 09:05:56 willy kernel: EXT3 FS 2.4-0.9.17, 10 Jan 2002 on ide0(3,2),
internal journal
Mar 29 09:05:18 willy depmod: Can't open /lib/modules/2.4.18/modules.dep for
writing
...
----- snip --------
I can't find other significant error messages.
A bunch of devices are missing, like all /dev/tty's and 'mount'
instead of showing:
/dev/hda6 on / type ext3 (rw)
it does:
/dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part6 on / type ext3 (rw)

I do have "EXT3 journalling files system support" compiled into the kernel.

Can anybody give me a hand here? What am I doing wrong?
Do I miss to configure something? Anything else I can do to narrow that
down?

Thanks a lot for any help!
-- Bernd