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Re: Differences between binary images and compiled kernels - 5 min



hi ya 

On Fri, 17 Sep 2004, Silvan wrote:

> Configging a kernel is an arduous process of booting and then figuring out 
> what you got wrong.  It's a pain in the ass.

the pain can be minized by: 
	- always start from a kernel from kernel.org unless you know
	what they did to it from where ever you got your kernel sources

	- knowing that you need to know your chipset
	of your motherboard and hardware

	- lspci will tell you what you need to know
		- which ethernet driver
		- which svga ( dri/drm ) chipset
		- which scsi if you use it

	- assume that the default kernel options is typically good enough
	for a first pass starting point

	- turn off all the stuff you dont recognize at the top level
		- turn off scsi
		- turn off isdn
		- turn off apm or not
		- turn off sound
		- turn off whatever else you dont need at the top level

		- turn on modules
		- turn on security options at the end of the main config
		options

		- usb is a pin if you're not familiar to turn it on 2 or 3
		places

		- if you expect to print, you need to turn it on 2 or 3
		places

	- if you need ot setup a firewall, that its a major pain in the
	butt to figure out which iptables options to turn on or off

- it takes about 5-10 minutes to compile the kernel on a p4-2.x class
  itty-bitty-pc

	- compile the kernel on a p4-2.4 machine even if you plan to run
	it on a p-90 class 386 pc...
		just copy vmlinuz, System.Map and /lib/modules/<kernel>

> > > What basic procedure was that?
> >
> > make mrproper

make damn sure you knwo what it does ...

	- ie ... save your linux-2.4.xx/.config file in ~/config or
	some place safe so you can save your important kernel config file

	- otherwise, you might have to spend antoher 5min redoing 
	thekernel config or the next day or two to get back to where
	you were before you did "make mrproper"

> > make oldconfig

that option usually does not work "right" and creates more headaches
than its worth

> > make dep

    make clean  ( before or after make dep ) -- or you will be pulling
	your hair for days ...

> > make bzImage
> > make modules
> > make modules_install
> > "user fools with links and lilo"

you shouldn't need to play with any of those links if it was
complied/created/installed properly for the kernel compile process

    make install sometimes works correctly

c ya
alvin



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