* Roger Broadbent (roger_broadbent@yahoo.co.uk) [010915 16:59]: > It appears that the potato release (2.2r3) uses the Linux kernel version > 2.2.19pre17. However, I can only seem to find kernel headers for 2.2.18 or > 2.2.19 on the release CD. This appears to mean that to install any modules > without error messages (I need them for my video chipset & my [lin]modem) I > have had to recompile the kernel. I have these questions: > > 1. Have I done the right thing here, or is there a way I missed to add > modules without having to recompile the kernel? > > 2. Recompiling the kernel with different headers concerns me. I chose potato > as the 'stable' release. But now I wonder if that stability is being > retained? It seems to me that the 'best stable' kernel ought to have been > supplied, so moving to 2.2.18 or 2.2.19 should theoretically expose me > either to unfixed bugs or to a less stable kernel respectively. Where is the > flaw in this logic? This is a common misconception. 'stable' refers to the stability of the package list, not the systems running on those packages. No matter which of potato(stable), woody(testing), or sid(unstable) you run, your system will be VERY STABLE compared to other (non-Debian) systems. As to your direct fears: fear not. Moving to kernel 2.2.19 (or in general the latest kernel in your chosen kernel "series" -- i.e. 2.2.x or 2.4.x) will give you the benefit of more *fixed* bugs. The reason that potato is distributed with kernel 2.2.19pre17 is because that's the version that was the latest at the time potato was made "stable". You can upgrade to 2.2.19 with no problems. Also, do you have an Internet connection (at a decent speed)? If you do, you should be able to simply say "apt-get install kernel-image-2.2.19 kernel-headers-2.2.19", provided only you have valid source lines in your /etc/apt/sources.list Here's an example of a sources.list you might use: deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ stable main contrib non-free deb-src http://ftp.debian.org/debian/ stable main contrib non-free deb http://mirror.direct.ca/linux/debian-non-US/ stable/non-US main contrib non-free deb-src http://mirror.direct.ca/linux/debian-non-US/ stable/non-US main contrib non-free deb http://security.debian.org potato/updates main contrib non-free > > 3. Assuming I do need to recompile the kernel, and 2.2.19pre17 headers are > not on the CD, should I be using 2.2.19 or 2.2.18 headers? If you're recompiling the kernel, you don't need a headers package. Install kernel-package and a kernel-source package (i.e. kernel-source-2.2.19) and follow the instructions in /usr/share/doc/kernel-package/README.gz Good luck, and feel free to post any more questions you have on your way. -- Vineet http://www.anti-dmca.org Unauthorized use of this .sig may constitute violation of US law. echo Qba\'g gernq ba zr\! |tr 'a-zA-Z' 'n-za-mN-ZA-M'
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