Re: Drop in kernel replacement?
On Wed, Jul 31, 2002 at 10:25:40PM +0200, Robert Ian Smit wrote:
> I have seen quite a few messages on this list concerning kernel
> upgrades. Since I have been using the bf2.4 kernel since
> installation time, I tried to install an optimized i686 kernel.
>
> I was hoping that after apt-get, lilo + initrd and reboot everything
> would be fine.
>
> It wasn't. I have yet to investigate what is missing. But I would
> like some general information about the process of selecting and
> installing a kernel.
>
> Why install initrd? To enable kernel selection at boot time (and get
> the old system back when something fails)?
>
> I have now /initrd on my system, but this directory is empty.
It should be empty.
But there should also be an /initrd.img, which should be a symbolic
link to the appropriate initrd image in /boot.
On my 2.4.18, SMP system, /initrd.img links to:
/boot/initrd.img-2.4.18-686-smp
> In
> /boot there is a initrd.img file. After I boot I get a selection
> menu? Is this all there is to preparing a system for a kernel
> upgrade?
You'd better make sure you change your lilo.conf file (if you are
using lilo, of course) to use initrd:
image=/vmlinuz
label=Linux
read-only
initrd=/initrd.img
> Is bf2-4 a kernel with everything imaginable enabled and will I have
> to load extra modules for my system when using the i686 kernel?
Weirdly enough, the initrd.img for smp i686 does not have the
ide-scsi module in it. I had to rebuild my initrd image to
include this.
If you are forced to muck around with your initrd image, read
up on:
losetup
mkcramfs
> Apart from the fun of trying out new stuff and learning, will there
> be a real world performance difference when I use an optimized
> kernel?
A little bit.
John S.
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