On Sunday 30 January 2005 16:18, Max wrote:
Dear All,
Is it possible to change the Linux kernel in a Debian installation
without having to do a complete reinstall?
You can easily upgrade the kernel without reinstalling the whole operating
system - a very common thing to do. I don't know what version of Debian
you are using, but if you do;
apt-get update
apt-cache search kernel-source
you will get a list of 'debian-ified' kernels. Choose which one you want
(if your after functionality go for a 2.6.x...) and do
apt-get install kernel-source-2.6.xx
This will install the kernel SOURCE into /usr/src
Install 'quick steps' (as root), make sure you have mkinitrd tools
installed, and if you want to use your Knoppix config, find it and put it
in /tmp. I would suggest you don't use this as it compiles modules for
all sorts you probably don't need. A better solution would be to use the
config when you first installed Debian, which is in /boot/config-x.xx.xx.
Also, this assumes a 2.6 kernel;
cd /usr/src
tar xjvf kernel-source-2.6.xx
ln -s kernel-source-2.6.xx linux
cd linux
make mrproper
cp /boot/config-2.xx.xx .config (or your knoppix one?)
make menuconfig (add/delete modules etc then save & exit)
make
make modules_install
cd /boot
cp /usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot/bzImage linuz-2.6.xx
cp /usr/src/linuz/System.map System.map-2.6.xx
The 'make modules_install' will place your modules into
/lib/modules/2.6.xx
mkinitrd -o initrd.img-2.6.xx 2.6.xx
Note the space before the last '2.6.xx'. This is looking at
the /lib/modules/2.6.xx dir created earlier
Next you need to update your boot manager (I only know grub - if using
lilo then maybe someone else can help)
edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and add the required fields, something similar to
this, but every setup maybe different, read up on grub if required;
title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.xx
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.xx root=/dev/hda2 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.xx
savedefault
boot
Good look
Steve
I have e version ok Knoppix to hand so I'm feeling quite brave. I read a
vague report that the kernel is just an ordinary file in some specific
location, and it's possible to copy the old kernel to a backup directory
for safe keeping, put a new kernel in said specific location, reboot and
presto!
Finally, is there anything I should be aware of before changing the
kernel? The only reason prompting me to change the kernel is that I have
a bit of software the documentation of which states that the kernel
should be v2.4 or later. For instance, does a change in kernel usually
go hand in hand with changing some other part of a system?
Regards,
--
Muggles