Patching a Kernel

["Jim Blake" <j__blake@hotmail.com>]

Sorry Guys...stupid newbie question, but I've been able to avoid doing this 
in the past...

Is there a good HOWTO available for patching a Kernel. I have a Debian 2.4 
kernel, running in a Shuttle, and have identified a patch which should fix 
the problem I'm seeing (""VDP error: cannot read Vdp Data" messages brought 
about by incorrect checksums in the Ethernet adapter) and now I need to 
install it.

As a side order...I maintain the system with Synaptic, but if I hack the 
kernel, is there a way that I can build the new kernel into a package so 
that maintenance doesn't become a series of kernel builds...again, pointers 
to a HOWTO would be nice


Thanks Guys
Jim Blake