IIRC it is NT that is fussy - it only likes to be loaded by the NT
After trying a few things, I've now 3rased NT. Running rh7/debian(potato) dual. Less blasphemous, thinks Lilo. Thanks, Steven.
(a.savory)
Ok, it's probably worth doing an upgrade anyway, especially if you installed off CD. Check the file /etc/apt/sources.list and make sure it has some sensible source servers in there - ... thru symlinks.(/usr/src/linux etc.)
thanks andrew, now compiling stuff like a dream. 'tis the problem with muzo/unix people sometimes, we just want stuff to work automagically. Apt-get works great.
d