DSL Ideas and Suggestions :: boot splash during hardware check
i tried alot of different ways to get that working, but it seems every time i do i get some kind of error, if you guys ever tried morphix or pilotlinux (deriviate) you most likely know what i mean, so adding an option, or if anyone else made this possible, pls let me know so i can do it aswell 
The bootsplash is a kernel patch. You've patched, recompiled, and inserted the new kernel into a freshly remastered DSL iso? If not, that's why you haven't been very successful. There's a fairly decent walkthrough on this Gentoo thread. Use the instructions for the 2.4.x series kernels and use the Debian equivalents for the Gentoo-specific commands and you should be set.
original here.