no initrd.img after install of new kernel?
 

Hello,

I'm using Sarge(Debian) with a 2.6.7 kernel. I compiled a custom kernel using the debian kpkg programme (which works like a charm!). After installing the kernel, there suddenly is no initrd.img in /boot anymore! In / I find a (renamed) symlink initrd.OLD that points to the initrd image in /boot that belongs to the previous kernel. However, there is no initrd.img symlink in /

How can this be? Is there a way I can create (or recreate) a initrd.img for my new kernel? Any help greatly appreciated. If any additional info is needed: I gladly supply that for you.

Usually when you compile a kernel you have to also compile your own img file. An img file is a file with a filesystem in it ... the word I'm looking for escapes me. But to find out what I'm talking about. Do this...

cp img_file /tmp/img_file.gz
cd /tmp
mkdir blah
gunzip imp_file.gz
mount -o loop img_file /tmp/blah
cd /tmp/blah

You'll see nifty neat-o things in there, bin, dev, etc etc.

Normally you'd put a couple things in the lib dir namely, ext3.ko and jbd.ko
Some files in bin, etc. You'd get all of these either from a previous img file, or you'd get them from within the directories where you compiled the kernel.

When you're done you'd umount /tmp/blah, mv img_file img_file_new_kernel_# etc, then you'd gzip img_file_# them mv img_file_#.gz to img_file_# and move it back in to your /boot dir, or wherever you store your img files.

This little bit of info confused the hell out of me when I compiled my first kernel many years ago, took for forever to figure out why it wouldn't boot properly.

Anyway, probably only semi-related to what you're looking for, but take it as you will.