[dihhuit]

Blech. Ok, so I did a full sequential exercise of the disc, and timed it this time, and it took 6:43 (give or take). That's hours. Removed the SE and the TRAMs from the MXE to reduce possible graphics problems (I figure I can "upgrade" my graphics once I have a working system), and ran into the same panic. Next I'm going to try booting to the serial console as suggested, and see where that gets me. I have a couple other graphics permutations to try, so if it turns out my SSE board is bad, then I at least have an SSI and an SE board and 2 TRAMs for a different combo. Will keep the thread posted for posterity...

Here's hoping I get a usable system back. Wish me luck!