2.6.22-14-generic kernel distributed with Gutsy does not boot on Everex StepNote SA2053T laptop

I have an Everex StepNote SA2053T laptop. It will not boot with any 2.6.20 through 2.6.23 kernels (technically I have not tested 2.6.21). When the boot hangs, it is really stuck, and you can't even use SysRq keys.

This is not actually an Ubuntu-specific problem but a kernel problem -- it's the same with other distributions (and we've tried a lot of them).

We were able to make a kernel that would boot using the following steps:

1) In the build Configure menu, set up the "8139too" module so it uses only PIO access, and disable MMIO access (CONFIG_8139TOO_PIO=y).

2) Prevent the "sdhci" module from loading (either remove CONFIG_MMC_SDHCI from the kernel config, or use the Ubuntu "blacklist" to prevent the module from loading). No compile options or load options we have found have yet allowed this module to load without hanging the system.

Without these two steps, no 2.6.20, 2.6.22, or 2.6.23 kernel I have tried, including those distributed with Feisty and Gutsy, will boot. Also, after booting with SDHCI in the blacklist, using "modprobe sdhci" will hang the system (to the point of needing a hard reboot). I did get Feisty initially installed by downloading an ISO someone else had made with these two steps performed. Since then, I have just built my own kernels.

I have a lot of information about this laptop, its specs, and what I've done to get it working with Ubuntu Feisty/Gutsy on this web page:

http://poplarware.com/everexlinux.html

There is also a Laptop Testing page here:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam/EverexStepNoteSA2053T