First of all I would like to thank everyone so far that has helped me with this install prep. I really appreciate the help. Still awaiting my Debian disks which is okay because I am still trying to clear up about 12 questions that I have written down that I want to ask before my first attempt at a Debian install.

I guess this is really a 2 part question. I realize that the 2.4.x Kernel is the default Kernel in the Debian 3.1 sarge release but I would like to install the 2.6.x Kernel during my initial install which is availabe thru the expert install from what I understand. I fell that this will save me some time down the road when I fell gutsy enough to compile a new Kernel. How much more difficult is the expert installation method for a Debian newbie?

Is it worth the "trouble"? Or is it any "trouble" at all? Also, do certain packages depend on a certain Kernel?

Just as an example does Gnome 2.10 depend of the 2.6.x Kernel?

Even though I do not believe, I just want to clear this up for myself.

Wow, I apologize, that turned into like a 4 part question!

Thanks in advance.

Rock_Wrench out!

by the way u just have to type 'linux26' at the boot screen, and that will install 2.6 kernel instead

Just to clarify, by typing linx26 at the boot screen, will not automatically put me into an expert install. If so, I misunderstood a reply from one of my other posts, or misunderstoond the handbook. Will have to go back and recearch that.

Thanks

Rock_Wrench out!

Thats correct. It just does a normal install with the 2.6 kernel. Nothing else is different

As far as I know, the kernel-type won't make a difference to most applications. They talk to the kernel through a layer of code like glibc, which does depend in part upon the kernel.

For example, the 2.6 kernel includes threading-support of a type that did not exist before. Therefore, the glibc version that provides support for that new kernel feature will not install on an earlier kernel. If you are running on that new kernel, then glibc can provide support for the new features as well as backward compatible support for the old. (The implementation may or may not be different but that's invisible to the application.)

When you move a system to a new kernel, the "bugaboo" is probably not going to be an issue with the kernel itself; it will be an issue concerning glibc or some other dependent, shared library.

you type expert26 and you will get a kernel2.6 in expert install... not more diffcult at all just more choices (like choosing your mirror)... and well if you don't know you just keep the default and it won't change anything compared to the regular install...
Good luck!
A.