Some 2.6.6 kernel questions

["Roland Wegmann" <rowe_gnu@gmx.net>]

Hi all

I try to compile a 2.6.6 kernel with some patches (kernel-patch-powerpc-
2.6.6 and kernel-patch-debian-2.6.6). Until now I used 'export
PATCH_THE_KERNEL=Yes', that applies all patches to the kernel (as far as
I know).

How can I find out the names of all the patches a kernel-patch-package
contains, so that I can use the make-kpkg option '--added-
patches=foo1,foo2,...,fooN'?

I compiled my first 2.6.6 kernel with all the patches (debian, powerpc)
using 'make-kpkg ... kernel_image' and then I installed this kernel image
using 'dpkg -i ...'. Now, I can find in the directory '/boot' a file
'vmlinux-2.6.6.100704' (my kernel image) and a file 'vmlinux.coff-
2.6.6.100704'. What is the file 'vmlinux.coff-*' for?

Because my own kernel does not boot correctly, I installed the official
debian kernel image 'kernel-image-2.6.6-powerpc' in order to be able to
compare my kernel config with the kernel config of an official kernel
image. Now I can find in '/boot' the file 'vmlinux-2.6.6-powerpc' and the
file 'initrd.img-2.6.6-powerpc' (btw I had to modify my yaboot.conf with
initrd=...). What are the advantages of initrd kernels over non-initrd
kernels? What is the function of the file 'initrd.img-*'?


Thanks in advance for helping me

Roland Wegmann
rowe_gnu@gmx.net