> i'm sure i'm going to regret asking this only seconds after i hit > ENTER, but at what point during the boot process does the kernel's > corresponding /boot/initrd.img file kick in and get used? When it says "RedHat Nash" near the beginning of the boot then goes away for a half hour (OK, maybe not that long :-) it is processing the init script from the initrd.img file (nash is the name for the shell-like program that interprets the script).