[linux-sh:03165] HP 620LX (SH-7709) Problems

I've recently come into possesion of an HP 620lx. I've grabbed the
precompiled kernels from dodes.org and it merrily boots in 2.5.24. 
However when put the system into halt, my entire /etc gets blown away. 
The file system is one giant ext2 filesystem on a 256MB CF (along with 
32MB swap and a 6MB FAT16)

Since I didn't like rebuilding my system every time I wanted to boot, I
decided to compile my own kernel. I grabbed crosstool and compiled
gcc-3.3.2 w/glibc 2.3.2. I applied the nessecary patches and used the
config file I got off of dodes. The kernel compiled fine. (2.4.24)

Now, onto my main problem. I loaded the kernel onto the CF, edited my
shlo.txt to boot the kernel and ran shlo.exe. The WinCE dialog box shows
up, I hit OK... and nothing. Screen never blanks, kernel never boots, 
and I have to hard reset the system to get it responsive again. Upon 
reset, all my settings are kept, so the RAM never gets blanked.

OK, so I have the following questions:
        * Any idea why my /etc keeps disappearing?
        * Is there any kerenel specific options in shlo.txt that 
might 			  be causing my problem?
        * Are there any more up to date resources I should be using?
        * Is there any more active development on the SuperH port od
          Debian?
        * Is there a better forum for these questions?

Cheers and thanks!

                                ~Ben

(In case anyone is in the same boat as me, you can view my progress at:
http://www.innismir.net/projects/hp620linux/ )