Re: [UUG/MLUG] upgrading kernel

[Tymm Twillman <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

I definitely recommend re-compiling yourself.  It gives you much more
freedom, and less of a chance it will hose.

Whenever I install a new box at work (an average of about once a day
lately), these are the steps I take for the kernel:

- ftp a new kernel from a kernel.org site (always wait a few days after
the brand new ones are released unless you want the cutting-edgedness;
I've splattered a filesystem or two even with 2.2 kernels by trying to be
way up to date :) )

- ftp Alan Cox's latest patch for that kernel (in /pub/linux/kernel/alan)

- rm /usr/src/linux (symlink)

- untar the new kernel source in that directory, then mv it to
linux-2.2.whatever

- make a symlink from /usr/src/linux to where I put the new copy

- cd to the directory; gzip -dc <alan's patch>.gz | patch -p1

- make menuconfig; do all that

- make dep; make bzImage install; make modules{,_install}

(this will re-run lilo in the process but with default rh install that
won't do much)

- edit /etc/lilo.conf; change the current label from "linux" to "safe";
add a new "linux" entry right above it, basically the same but without an
initrd line (unless, of course, you use initrd; otherwise it can really
screw things up), and changing the image line to "image=/boot/vmlinuz"

(I also add in stuff for having a terminal on ttyS0, but most people don't
need that)

- run lilo by hand

After doing this once, you don't have to worry about running lilo by hand
when you build another kernel this way (the new kernels will always be
pointed to by the /boot/vmlinuz symlink).... also having the safe entry
means you can boot to a working kernel if anything gets screwed...

I have had no problems on RH systems doing this, and rpm kernel upgrades
can sometimes get pretty messy, from my experience...

-Tymm


On Sat, 2 Oct 1999, David Lloyd wrote:

> So, anyone try out the kernel update rpms on Redhat's update ftp server?
> I'd like to get USB support sort of working (maybe I could get another
> keyboard and mouse for my laptop that way) and I was wondering if those
> rpms had it.  The kernel version is 2.2.5-20 or something I think.  If
> it's not in there, it's not going to boff my install to just go to
> www.kernel.org and install the sources from there, right?
> 
> Dave Lloyd
>