Hi all. I have a server with a dual CPU mobo. I only have one CPU in it right now. I'm going to install the second one in it soon. I was wondering when I install Debian, will it detect the second CPU and install an SMP kernel? Or do I have to install an image? Thanks.

I don't know, but I know it is easy to install an extra kernel-image next to you existing, and dual boot between them. So I don't think you will have to worry...

Hmm, ok. Well I actuallty attempted to instal a kernel image, just to see if I could do it, but I messed it up. My machine doesn't boot properly after I installed the image. Thankfully I had made a boot floppy so I can still boot with the original kernel. Could you possibly point me toward the guide on how to install an image, step by step? Most other guides show you how to create a custom kernel from source, create the image, then install it. I just want to install one of the ones that Debian.org has for download. Thanks.

Sorry, bad advice from me... Good you had a bootdisk

It would be very usefull if you could post which version of debian you are using (woody=stable, sarge=testing or sid=unstable), what bootloader you use (lilo or grub, you can find that info in /boot or with the help of apt-get).

Oh ya, that would be useful eh? I'm running Sarge with LiLo. When I do install the second CPU I'd like to use the latest 2.6 SMP k7 Kernel image from Debian.org.
The one I tried to install before was the same Kernel but the non SMP version. I think all I did after I downloaded the image was:
# apt-get install kernel-source-2.6
# cp kernel-image-2.6.2-1-k7.deb /usr/src
# cd /usr/src
# dpkg -i kernel-image-2.6.2-1-k7.deb
I guess I ignored that bit about initrd in LiLo. I went on with the install and said Yes to whatever it prompted me about. I think it was about the symlink.
So ya, I know I jumped the gun and should have done more research, but I couln't really find any guides that were detailed for this sort of thing. Any help would be great.

check out newbiedoc (more specifically the kernel compiling part)

I checked out the newbie guide. Since I'm only installing the kernel image from Debian.org, I only needed to read and follow this page: http://newbiedoc.sourceforge.net/tut...el-pkg.html.en
I did what it said. When I reboot I get:

L9 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99
99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99
99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99
99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99

I'm not sure what I did wrong?

There's some confusion here: If you want to install a kernel-image you don't have to download the source: kernel-images are already compiled. You only need the source if you want to compile an image yourself. You also don't have to move your kernel-image package to /usr/src. It has nothing to do with installing a kernel-image from Debian.

Lilo reacts that strange (probably) because the lilo-configuration file is messed up (I think you gave some wrong answers when installing or something). You can read lilo's manpage, and basically what you should have in you lilo.conf is this:

The lilo-configuration on your bootdisk may help you to find out the right configuration. I strongly suggest you read the manpage of lilo.conf and take a look at that configuration: every computer is set up differently.

About a symlink: there is a symlink /boot/vmlinuz that points to you default kernel-image. The lilo-configuration normally points to that symlink, instead to the image itself: probably for update purposes. Lilo's config could also have pointed to the kernel-image itself. But now you want to boot between two kernels, so a symlink isn't a very good idea.


You already have 2 images installed, so I suggest you try to edit you lilo configuration file. After editing it, don't forget to give the command "lilo". This will update lilo to the new configuration, so it will be used too . Then reboot. You should get a prompt, which asks you which kernel to boot.

Succes and read the manuals some bettter ,

Corien

Yes, confusion is right. I made my lilo.conf look alot like yours, but it still continues to give problems.
This is what I have in my /boot/:
Do I have lilo set up correctly? What is all that stuff there?

You specified boot=/dev/hda1. That's probably wrong: this line must contain the device where lilo is installed. This is mostly in the master boot record of you first disk (=/dev/hda). If it isn't, there must be another bootloader in the master boot record or on a bootfloppy to chainload your bootloader, but in that case you would probably know. So I suggest you change that to boot=/dev/hda.
I see your new kernel has a initrd, and your old kernel hasn't: add a line initrd=/boot/initrd.img-2.6.6-1-k7 to the part for the 2.6.6 kernel.
You also have a map-file. You can add a line map=/boot/map to the global section (ie before the kernel-entries), but I don't thinks it's necessary: I have a map-file too, but I don't have it configured in my lilo.conf, yet my kernel boots fine.

That's all I can find, but it's enough to cause the problem... I think it caused lilo to install on the wrong device, so your new configuration is still not used. Try changing it and give the command "lilo" again.

The vmlinuz stuff in /boot are the kernel-images. The bitmaps are probably supposed to be backgrounds, nothing to worry about .
The config-2.6.6-1-k7 and the other config are the configurations of your kernels: it tells which modules and stuff is compiled into the kernel, which are compiled as separate module and which aren't compiled at all: especially usefull if you wish to compile a kernel yourself: you can start with a working configuration.
The initrd file has something to do with a boot-method: some kernels are compiled to boot with initrd, and others aren't, so it's not strange your old kernel doesn't have an initrd.
Rest of the files: no idea.

Hope this helps.

Corien

It worked!!! It's alive! Hehe, thank you very much! I made the changes that you suggested and rebooted. To my surprise a bright red Lilo box came up and asked me to boot either 2.2 or 2.6! I gladely chose 2.6. It took a while for it to get going, hopefully a first time thing, but it's up! Now I can install the SMP kernel when I get my second CPU. Thanks again!

Hmm, maybe I jumped the gun again. The system is up and running, but I can't seem to reach the web server, or any other the other services? SSH Samba aren't working. Does 2.6 setup a firewall or soemthing?
Nevermind that, I jsut tried 'apt-get update'. It would appear that my server cannot connect to the outside world. When installed Debian, I had it configure this via DHCP server. I guess I have to reconfigure that. How do I do that?

Nice your kernel boots . All the efforts and explanations weren't for nothing...

Hmm, no internet: I think you need to load the right modules, but I don't know how, can't help you with it. You can also try finding it out on the www (there's a lot on the www)