I've got a laptop on a version 2.4.20 kernel that is ACPI compliant, so I thought I would enable this when I recomplied my kernel, particularly as it was not entirely well behaved before; it froze when after the 'power down' line when shutting the system down. Using ACPI fixed that problem, but created another. Now it can't determine if I'm on battery or AC, so I never know how much battery life I have left. Thus when booting I currently have to decide: should I use my new kernel which shuts down properly but can't tell me my battery status, or my old kernel (2.4.18) that locks when trying to shut down.

And by the way, locking after the power down commend does not simply mean I have to push the power button myself (I can handle that), but having to hold the power button down for a full 5 seconds before the power is killed (which I have always understood to imply the system was quite unhappy and locked).

Any suggestion on a way to make sure both parts work in the same kernel?

check here for info on your laptop

http://www.linux-laptop.net/

Were you using APM before?

I am still on the quest to get any type of power management going right on my laptop. I use APM and the system shuts down properly but, just like you, I cannot tell the power left on my battery. I tried using ACPI before, but it lead my system to crash during bootup (2.4.20, I believe). Looking at peoples linux-laptop pages they say that most Dell laptops (I have a Inspiron 2650) are APM and not ACPI. Which leads me to believe that most newer laptops are still APM.

So check out APM if you haven't already. Post back if you ever get it working.