Here's my kernel entry from the menu.lst:
Code:
title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.26-1-686
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.26-1-686 root=/dev/hda1 ro splash=silent splash=silent
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.26-1-686
Mine was automatically generated by my machine, but it also included "vga=791" after the first splash=silent entry. This caused my monitor to blank out with a complaint about "analog entry" or something during the boot up (it recovered when x was started). So I took out the vga=791 entry, and it works fine. The second line, the root entry, simply has this: "root (hd0,0)", and not the other stuff that you've put in your second line root entry.
[later edit...] Ah, just noticed that you've already solved the issue. I must resolve to read through entire threads, rather than merely reading the first posting, before responding. Anyway, congratulations.