in reply to (OT) Redhat ES 3.0 and MySQL 4.0

I would not install the RPMs. I use MySQL 4.1.4gamma on RH ES3 (32bit) and I have had absolutely no problems installing from the binary. Personally, I don't trust RPMs - I prefer compiling my own from source or using binary installs. Tarballs rule, imho.

I'd try that before doing too much more.

Being right, does not endow the right to be rude; politeness costs nothing.
Being unknowing, is not the same as being stupid.
Expressing a contrary opinion, whether to the individual or the group, is more often a sign of deeper thought than of cantankerous belligerence.
Do not mistake your goals as the only goals; your opinion as the only opinion; your confidence as correctness. Saying you know better is not the same as explaining you know better.