FreeBSD 5.0 panic on Gateway 400 using Distribution CD

[Bryce Alexander]

I just got a Gateway 400VTX Notebook and when I try to install FreeBSD I 
crash before the distribution CD can finish loading. The results will vary, 
but the most common failure is as follows:
FD messages
.
.
SIO messages
.
.
ACPI_CPU CPU Throttle enabled, 8 steps from 100% to 12%
Fatal Double fault:
         EIP = 0xc0440588
         ESP = 0xcce1a008
         EBP = 0xcce1bce8
Panic: Double fault

And the laptop hangs.

Sometimes it just hangs after the ACPI_CPU message.

Any ideas what may be causing this?
It doesn't have floppy drive, but it does have a "memory card reader 
reader" that is capable of reading various memory cards like microdrive, 
compactFlash, Memory Stick, Multimediacard, secure digital, and Smartmedia. 
I am wondering if it is choking on this reader, and if someone can think up 
a hack to get me past this.

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Bryce Alexander
bryce at xanthworld.com