Unable to open pseudo-tty with 2.6 kernel

Question

I put the 2.6 kernel in on a few boxes for fun.  One box at home, with Arch, has no problem, nor does a Slackware install on the same machine have a problem.
However, on a box at work, I cannot open xterms at all--if, for example, I do a start x with twm it won't open period. As root, I can open fluxbox and open an rxvt terminal.
As a user, I can open fluxbox but cannot open an rxvt terminal. Upon leaving X I see the message failed to open pseudo-tty.  (The terminal will flash on the screen and disappear in X).
I figured I'd left something out in my .config file, or that something was wrong with permissions.  However, checking it against the home boxs' .config and permissions indicates that this isn't the case.  I haven't tested another flavor of Linux on this box, to see if the issue is Arch specific or not.  I suspect it is not
The box in question is a Dell Dimension, a few years old, which, AFAIK has a standard Intel chipset.  I'm guessing it's sometihng to do with the hardware, but not sure what the next step should be.  Googling hasn't brought me any joy, the people with the same error messages are in different situations, (also from older kernels.)
Using the 2.4 kernel I don't have this problem.  Does anyone have any idea what I'm overlooking here?  It doesn't seem to be the obvious in filesystems or ptys in my .config--the only differences in configuration were adding a chipset for the ASUS board on the box at home and and different NICS.  Support for the Intel chipset is compiled in (directly, not as module). 
Thanks for any help.
Scott

Answer 1

This is embarrassing, but amusing enough to post, I thnk.
I went to add that information to a page I have up. I saw the info was already there.  Apparently I researched this a little more thoroughly last time, and not only found the answer but had put it on my page. 
Sigh.  They say short term memory is the first thing to go--I forget the second, I just heard it recently. 
Scott