recently i downloaded the linux-2.6.15 kernel and tried installing it on my fc3 system....when i did make oldconfig
it didnt accept the default values, instead i was forced to the normal lengthy make config Q&A type procedure. So i just pressed enter for everything and next when i did make or make all its giving the following error.....

[root@localhost linux-2.6.15]# make all
CHK include/linux/version.h
CHK include/linux/compile.h
CHK usr/initramfs_list
/usr/src/linux-2.6.15/scripts/gen_initramfs_list.sh: Cannot open 'y'
make[1]: *** [usr/initramfs_list] Error 1
make: *** [usr] Error 2
cud u help me please.....

You really need to work on writing titles that make sense. HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!! is worthless to anyoe who wants to help you. Try a title like "kernel 2.6.15 install issue on FC3."

As for what went wrong, looks like you dont have automake installed or configured right, maybe.

Not an answer, but FC4 is currently running 2.6.15-1.1831. And FC3 has already been moved to "legacy" support in anticipation of the FC5 release next month. So you might want to consider upgrading to FC4.

what do u mean by saying thet automake is not configured properly.......i thought make is an built in command??? and moreover make worked fine for other installations for eg NCTUns and ndiswrapper and so on......
cud u please tell me the procedure to configure the automake....
and ways to detect the misconfiguration of automake

Well there's a big problem. How do you expect your new kernel to work if you do that?

Ok but its impossible to knw whether to press y or N or m for all the questions askd durin the process?????how to figure that out????

It is NOT impossible!
It's not even hard - but that may depend...
Do I need to tell you that quite a lot of people know - because they figured it out? ...there are many ways easily accessible...
Use "make menuconfig" for a different experience - and the ability to be able to read some help text included with each option.

-one question-mark is sufficiently identifying a question
-the first sentence was no question at all but your opinion

Or, try "make xconfig", a much happier enviroment, fully gui, easy options. If it is module, it is a M, embedded is a *. You can only make the modules which allow being modules "m" so it is MUCH easier.

It is quite easy, you just have to know a few things about your hardware.

...just visually different from menuconfig - a matter of taste really...functionally the same...

I didn't mean to say better than menuconfig, assuming that is how it reads, which I still don't see syntactically, but I can see how the confusion would be possible. What I meant was happier than CLI, which to me isn't happy at all. menuconfig and xconfig are both far superior in terms of user friendliness to the CLI, from there, personal pereference to which is better, but for me, xconfig fits it with your current menus and options and uses x, making it more cohesive in terms of use.