status of current applications after kernel upgrade (2.4.x -> 2.6.x)

yangkuo · 01-17-2004, 01:12 AM

i am currently running all applications perfectly on RH9 (kernel version 2.4.20-8).

my concern is, if i were to upgrade my kernel to the latest stable release (2.6), do i have to re-compile/re-install/re-configure any of the applications that is already running fine ?

in addition to application eg. Mozilla, Gimp ... how bout system-related things like additionally installed drivers (eg. Nvidia display) ?

thanks for any response

ugenn · 01-17-2004, 02:13 AM

From my personal experience, the main incompatible components are modutils and binary-only hardware device drivers. You have to upgrade to mod-init-tools and fiddle with the modprobe.conf file a little. For hardware, you have to check with the hw vendor for 2.6 drivers. Other than that, as long as u have built the 2.6 kernel to be backward compatible (for eg, enable OSS or OSS emulation support, or your existing soundapps wouldn't work).

yangkuo · 01-17-2004, 09:15 PM

thanks for the info. so are you recommending that i install 'mod-init-tools' first, then install the new kernel and attempt to fix any incompatibilities from there ?

my only concern is not being able to boot up after the new kernel install

...

ugenn · 01-18-2004, 01:48 AM

yup. if u installed kernel first, then modinittools, you are going to see a whole bunch of error messages on boot and some devices will fail to work because modutils can't load the 2.6 style kernel modules.

yangkuo · 01-18-2004, 05:29 AM

ok, that's what i wanted to know !

btw, is it possible for me to keep my old kernel around just in case i want to boot to it later ? i am currently using LILO to dual boot into RH9 / WinXP

Crashed_Again · 01-18-2004, 06:20 AM

Sure just keep the entry in lilo.conf.

yangkuo · 01-20-2004, 02:04 AM

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I finally DID IT !

using latest RPMs from Redhat (Arjan's) helped a lot though - i suspect . basically i upgraded all the components as recommended in a few articles abt upgrading to 2.6.

everything seems to be working fine ... just some minor hiccups (now solved) after the new kernel installation :-
1) RPM was hanging (temporary fix - 'export LD_ASSUME_KERNEL=2.2.5')
2) No sound (maestro3 module was not loaded - modified /etc/modprobe.conf)

now i have WinXP, RH9 (2.4.20-8) and (2.6.1) bootable under LILO.

any one contemplating on upgrading and have queries .... i am happy to share my experience