I finally discovered why I couldn't do cpu scaling on my Inspiron 6000. Apparently the default kernel for FC6 is an i586 kernel. It also doesn't work with acpi-cpufreq. It's broke. It no-workie. How do you make it work? Why, you install the i686 version of the kernel!

Simple you say? Oh sure, you just download the rpm, -ivh it, and run! Right? Nope. It sees it as the same kernel rev so complains. Ok, so let's whip out the --force. Great, it chugs along, and chugs along, and ... chugs ... and ... continues ... and ... no disk light ... and ... and ... and ... and? Hmm.

Apparently lvm.static doesn't like something about the stock LVM setup that anaconda gives you. It kept locking up in i/o wait trying to figure out what hte config was so it could do something with mkinitrd (atleast, I presume; it was in the post install for the kernel).

Well, because the lvm.static was hanging, rpm never completed ... and left me with an i686 kernel and an i586 initrd. Yeah. The bootup sequence doesn't like this and blows chunks all over the keyboard, the touch pad, my lap, and leaves the laptop in a brick-like state. Luckily, booting to the rescue shell off the FC6 install CD and doing the rpm --force -ivh from there worked.

On the bright side, I now have working cpu scaling on the laptop and have my regular battery life again.