2.5.13 hangs with endless hda: lost interrupt

When I boot 2.5.13 it hangs at startup with endless
hda: lost interrupt
It seems to happen at the moment it wants to activate swap. At least, that's what I see when I boot 2.5.7 and compare the boot messages. (Note that I have to write those messages down, because nothing can be logged on disk at that point.)

I am clueless what to do next.

Kees