putting a better kernel on install CD?

[Gregory Kettler]

Hi all,
I'm trying to install RHEL 4 on a new Dell Precision 380, which uses
the Intel ICH7 to control the SATA disks.  On booting with the disks
in AHCI mode*, the installer complains that it cannot find any hard
disks and quits.
Not time to panic yet.  I see that the new kernel 2.6.9-11 adds ICH7
support.  I suspect it's not on the install disk I'm using.  So,
what's the quickest and easiest way to boot with and install this
kernel version from the beginning?  Do I have to modify the disc 1 ISO
to include 2.6.9-11?  Or is there already an updated ISO somewhere?


* If I switch to something called "combination mode" in the Dell's
BIOS, the disks appear as hda and hdb (SATA should be sda and sdb,
right?), and I can install and boot.  But DMA is disabled (ouch!) and
upgrading the kernel to 2.6.9-11 renders the system unbootable (it
can't find my LVM volume, which would make sense if the disks are
suddenly appearing with a different kind of interface).  I might be
able to boot by messing around with boot parameters in GRUB, but I
think using 2.6.9-11 from the beginning would be the cleaner solution.

Thanks for your help,
Greg