2.8 install hangs - i386

["Irwin R. Naumann" <irwin_(_at_)_thinkage_(_dot_)_ca>]

I attempted to install 2.8 on a machine with the following hardware:

Intel VS440FX motherboard
Primary IDE master WDC AC28400R disk (8063 MB)
Secondary IDE master WDC AC38400L disk (8063 MB)
Secondary IDE slave Toshiba CD-ROM XM-5702B
Intel Pro 100 PCI ethernet card
128MB RAM
ATI Rage Pro graphics card

The boot sequence identifies both hard drives as 8063 MB capacity.
The boot then stops with "wd0: no disk label" and hangs in excess of 30 minutes.
The disk light is constantly on during the hang. I have to hit the reset or 
power button to have the box restart.

How can I get a copy of dmesg's output in this situation?

If it's of any importance, this machine used to run Windows 2000.

I've installed 2.8 successfully on a PII-550 with an IDE 8063MB disk
and an IDE CD-ROM. The installation was smooth.

Suggestions?

Thanks,

    Irwin