Ubuntu losing root filesystem on first boot

[eric©]

Installed Xubuntu 6.06 on my Thinkpad the other day, everything seemed to be
OK until I attempted to install the xmms-alarm package.  Wouldn't even
download, altho I could still browse the net.  In typical longterm Windows
user fashion, I just figured it needed a reboot.  Did so, and it wouldn't
boot afterwards, hanging on the "mounting root file system", and went to
"waiting for root file system" for a few minutes, and eventually telling me
that /dev/hde1 could not be found.  Attemped a reinstall of the OS, and it
refused to install to the drive, giving some error that I can't recall now.
Assumed bad drive (just bought it about 6 hours prior).  Fry's exchanged it
out no problem, and this time around I chose Ubuntu 6.06.  Same thing,
everything seemed to be OK until I rebooted, and it fails attempting to
mount the root file system, still trying to load on /dev/hde1.  It drops me
into a shell eventually, where I checked the /dev folder, and found that
niether hde nor hde1 exists. I tried creating the folder, still hung (altho
i really didn't expect that to work).

Altho I've been using Linux on and off for a few years now, I still consider
myself a newbie.  I THINK what's going on here is a configuration issue,
where it should be loading /dev/hda, not /dev/hde.  But I don't want to just
start changing configs around without really knowing what I'm doing and
digging a deeper hole.

I found I couldn't really do anything useful in the shell that it drops me
to (at least with my skills, or lack thereof :-P).  I'm thinking my next
plan of attack is to load up a LiveCD, and checking the fstab.   Yay or nay?

eric
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