Won't get pats pcmcia at startup - unless I hit keyboard.

Weird,

I have RedHat 7.1 and a PCI to PCMCIA bridge, into which I have an AirWay
PCMCIA wireless network card. My kernel is 2.4.17, and I am using the
built in PCMCIA drivers.

During boot up it gets to starting the pcmcia stuff and juts sits there!
However, if I move the PS/2 mouse, or type anything at the keyboard, then
it proceeds normally.
This clearly looks like an IRQ conflict, correct?

Anyone else seen this sort of problem?

I have read lots of issues regarding ACPI. My Mobo (PC100 M747) has ACPI,
but there is no way in BIOS to disable it.

Any help apprecaited.

Regards

Nick