Kernel Compile Guide for 2.6.0

y0shi, how would shilo's tutorial be outdated when it comes to the kernel compilation and install? I think it says exactly what should be said.

Hello Everyone,
Thank you DaOne, this post and your previous post helped me to compile my first new kernel "2.6.7" with SMP support.

And following the post I was able to resolve my blank screen issue by adding frame buffers to the kernel console.

I would also like to throw out there that I use a ISA sound blaster "snd-sbawe" sound card in my server. After having issues with it not being recognized after a kernel compile, I added ISA PnP services to the kernel and recompiled, VWALA!!! ALSA works fine.
I did not need to change to OSS to get the sound card to work.
I did install the (module-init-tools) from my Slacware 10 disk 1 before I recompiled.
After I checked the old kernel to see if all was well before I recompiled, sound works under both kernels.

Great post DaOne!!!!!
Very important for anybody considering a new compile or recompile.
Thanks to all of you and DaOne, now I get to play with my new SMP server.
Thanks again for bringing this info. to LQ DaOne.
Sincerely,
Wolfy

I want to install the kernel as a slackware package.
It's easier to remove, install and keep. How to create such a package? I guess checkinstall won't be able to handle this, so it must be done in a "dirty" way.

i had a problem with my kernel and i cannot boot, i still have the 2.4.26 kernel installed and i'd like to know if i can make it boot the 2.4.26 image.

Hello all,

Here's my situation. I have a system with a SCSI hardware RAID. Right now, I'm running the raid.s kernel with Slackware 10. I'm trying to build a new 2.6.9 kernel. It builds OK, but I get this error when I try to boot to it:

VFS: Cannot open root device "801" or unknown-block (8,1) Please append a correct "root=" boot option Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(8,1)

The aacraid driver and filesystem support are compiled in, not loaded as modules. The entry for the new kernel in lilo.conf is exactly the same as the entry for the old raid.s kernel, which boots fine (except of course the old kernel has .old appended).

I must be missing something, but I can't figure out what.

To make matters more confusing, I've even tried taking the config file for the raid.s kernel as distributed, and using that exact configuration to compile a kernel from the 2.4.26 sources (the same version as the raid.s kernel). That doesn't even work. Same error messages as above. I'm at a total loss, and any help would be greatly appreciated.

jayare,
Are you loading the raid.s kernel "config" file from the install CD or are you trying to use the one currently on your system?
F.Y.I.
I'm running a Compaq Smart 2SL raid card in raid 0 and with SMP multi processors.
Although I am only running the 2.6.7 kernel at this time.
Tell me what steps your using to compile and I'll try to help you out.

Wolfy

Right now, the raid.s kernel is loading from /boot.old on /dev/sda1.

I've tried a number of different ways to compile a new kernel. At first, I just tried a clean source tree and ran 'make menuconfig', making sure to compile in the filesystem and aacraid support. Edited the INSTALL_PATH, ran 'make', 'make modules_install', 'make install', /sbin/lilo, and booted. I got the error message I reproduced in the message above. Then I thought, OK, I've been away from Linux administration a couple of years, I'm probably missing something, so I'll try compiling a 2.4.26 kernel exactly the way Slackware compiled the one I'm able to boot, except adding support for SMP and HIGHMEM (these are two of the three reasons I'm trying to build a new kernel in the first place, the third being support for a filesystem with POSIX ACLs). So I took the raid.s config file from the CD and a clean 2.4.26 source tree, and just made those few changes. Still wouldn't boot -- same problem with not finding /dev/sda1. Then I tried building a 2.4.26 kernel with the exact same config from the CD -- same problem. Here is the relevant portion of my lilo.conf, BTW:

# Linux bootable partition config begins image = /boot/vmlinuz root = /dev/sda1 label = linux read-only image = /boot.old/vmlinuz root = /dev/sda1 label = linux.old read-only # Linux bootable partition config ends

linux.old boots from /dev/sda1 swimmingly. I don't get it. /boot contains vmlinuz and System.map from the new install, plus boot_message.txt, and two files that are created when I run /sbin/lilo, map and boot.0801. Everything seems to be set up the same as it is in /boot.old. (I separated the two kernels into two directories like this just to minimize the possiblity of confusion between old and new versions.)

I've tried with a symlink from /usr/src/linux to the new source tree (just in case), and I've tried without that. I've tried appending root=/dev/sda1. Not sure what else to try. I'd really like to get a 2.6 kernel built, because I want the support for ACLs, but right now I'd settle for a 2.4 kernel with SMP and HIGHMEM that actually boots.

jayare,
It's just my opinion but you may be trying to hard.
Try this;
Put in CD 1 of slackware, mount it, then copy the raid.s directory to your /usr/src directory.
Then instead of make menuconfig use make xconfig from within your GUI.
From the top menu options select "show all options".
Then select load and point it the raid.s directory you just copied and select the config file, then click okay.
This will give you a duplicate of the kernel options you currently have running. Select the options you want to compile in or as modules as you think you need, be moderate at first. All you want to do to start is to get the kernel to boot.
Then make clean,
then make bzImage,
then make,
make install,
then make modules,
then make modules_install.
Now if you altered your make file to export to your /boot directory, then you will have to go there and change the new vmlinuz and System.map to your new kernel discription i.e. vmlinuz-2.6.9 and System.map-2.6.9.
Then don't forget to manually update lilo [/sbin/lilo].
****EDIT 11/24/04@ 10:47pm**********
Before you update lilo make sure to make the correct changes to the lilo.conf file itself with the correct names and directories of your kernels and System.map's
****END EDIT**********************************
At which point you should see the new kernel being added as with your old kernel.
What I saw from your lilo file is that you don't have them properly seperated. This is what my lilo looks like:
Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.7-SMP
root = /dev/ida/c0d0p1
label = Linux-2.6.7-SMP
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends <=== these don't matter because of the #
# Linux bootable partition config begins <=== these don't matter because of the #
image = /boot/vmlinuz-orig
root = /dev/ida/c0d0p1
label = Linux-Original
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

Now my System.map's follow the same idea i.e. System.map-2.6.7-SMP & System.map-orig.
Now yours may be different, because I'm running SCSI drives on a true dedicated server with a SCSI raid card.

Comare my lilo to yours and you'll see there is a difference in how I seperate the two kernels, both kernels exist in my /boot directory but with differnet names.

Hope this helps, let me know if you need more help, and I'll do my best.

Wolfy

hi,
i happen to do all tha req for copiling the 2.6 kernel , my present 2.4 kernel is fine. but when i try yo boot into he 2.6 kernel it stops saying

kernel panic give correct root=

something of that sort,
ut when i boo my 2. it's fine.

My boot device is /dev/hda6 so i my grub.conf i have

root (hd0,6)
kernel /kernel2.6 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb


and others this is the same line in both the 2.6 part and 2.4 part of the grub.conf, but i don't get why it says unknown root device only while booting 2.6, can any sugges a solution.

Thanking You,
Satish

Hello all,
I'm using Slackware 10 with 2.4.26 kernel and all works fine.
I compiled the 2.6.9 kernel with DaOne's instructions and also with readme
instructions and many other ways but i have some problems.

First of all i had the framebuffer in lilo.conf at 1024x768. The old kenrel
(2.4.26) boots fine, bu the new(2.6.9) boots either in normal mode or the monitor shows nothing until the login KDE login screen..

When the system boots if i use use 'man' command i have this prob:
'man useradd'

Error executing formatting or display command.
System command (cd /usr/man && (echo ".ll 9.1i"; echo ".pl 1100i"; /bin/gunzip -c '/usr/man/man8/useradd.8.gz'; echo ".\\\""; echo ".pl \n(nlu+10") | /usr/bin/gtbl | /usr/bin/nroff -S -mandoc | /usr/bin/less -is) exited with status 256.
No manual entry for useradd

Also i can't use my modem. It seems i don't have access to /dev/modem and i can't install the drivers.

These are the problems i found, i suppose there are many others i haven't find yet
As i already wrote i used many ways to config the kenrel(oldconfig,menuconfig,xconfig) all have the same result.(i also used the 2.4.26 .config file)

This is the process i use:
The src is in /usr/kenrnel/linux-2.6.9/
make O=/usr/kenrel/build xconfig (i use a different dir for the build)
make O=/usr/kernel/build
make O=/usr/kenrel/build modules_install
make O=/usr/kenrnel/build install

Every time i'm going to recompile the kenrel i use make mrproper and i begin the process from the begining.
Thanks in advance and sorry for this long post, i tried to make the problem clear enough.

[root@localhost linux]# make oldconfig

HOSTCC scripts/basic/fixdep
/bin/sh: line 1: gcc: command not found
make[1]: *** [scripts/basic/fixdep] Error 127
make: *** [scripts_basic] Error 2
[root@localhost linux]# make
Makefile:461: .config: No such file or directory
/usr/src/linux-2.6.9/scripts/gcc-version.sh: line 1: gcc: command not found
/usr/src/linux-2.6.9/scripts/gcc-version.sh: line 1: gcc: command not found
CHK include/linux/version.h
HOSTCC scripts/basic/fixdep
/bin/sh: line 1: gcc: command not found
make[2]: *** [scripts/basic/fixdep] Error 127
make[1]: *** [scripts_basic] Error 2
make: *** [include/linux/autoconf.h] Error 2
[root@localhost linux]# make xconfig
HOSTCC scripts/basic/fixdep
/bin/sh: line 1: gcc: command not found
make[1]: *** [scripts/basic/fixdep] Error 127
make: *** [scripts_basic] Error 2
[root@localhost linux]# make config
HOSTCC scripts/basic/fixdep
/bin/sh: line 1: gcc: command not found
make[1]: *** [scripts/basic/fixdep] Error 127
make: *** [scripts_basic] Error 2
[root@localhost linux]# make config
HOSTCC scripts/basic/fixdep
/bin/sh: line 1: gcc: command not found
make[1]: *** [scripts/basic/fixdep] Error 127
make: *** [scripts_basic] Error 2

can someone please explain why make command is giving me an error msg?

thanks

srinis,
My suggestion is recompile using [make xconfig] and make sure you have show all options selected from the top menu, then go through you selections at least three times to make sure that no new option appear that give new options.

done,
I am confused as to why your using the [build] command?
According to DaOne's how-to he says to use [make].
That's what I use, and I got everything to work fine, after some trial and error.
I suggest this method;
code:
make xconfig <== selected show all options from the top menu, then select load and select the [config] file of your existing kernel from the Original CD.
make clean
make bzImage
make modules
make modules_install

Make all neccesary changes to the lilo.conf file and update lilo via [/sbin/lilo]

jsolanky,
Why are you using [make oldconfig]?
DaOne's how-to does not use that approach.
check my previous posts for a guide on how I do it and got it to work.

Wolfy

thanks for your reply. I had to install gcc, because I didn't have that. Now I am at make command and it's taking forever, nunch of files are being installed or something I see CC LD etc etc files.. I hope this is normal?

thanks again

I am getting BLACK Screen, what should I do?

jsolanky,
Yea, it takes a while to do the first compile. It gets somewhat faster on recompiles.
I had to recompile a few times till I got everything the way I wanted it.
Black screen?, I had that problem too.
You need to compile into the kernel frame buffer support for the console.
Not as a module, it needs to be compiled in the kernel.
On a boot with black screen, wait till all disk activity is done.
Then type in your username <enter> password <enter> and then startx.
That should work if you had x configured in your previous kernel, and if you don't have any "other" issues with your kernel that would keep it from booting completely.
That way you can recompile from within X of your new kernel.

If all else fails, reboot with your original kernel, recompile, update lilo every time you adjust your kernel and/or lilo.conf, then you should be good to go.

Oh' don't forget to rename your first kernel compile attempt to something like vmlinuz-2.6.9.bak
or something like that anyway, that way you won't get confused as to which kernel and System.map you want to boot.

Hope this helps,

Wolfy

I install Mandrake 9.2 all over again.. but when I enter my username/password and type startx I get a msg that says:

giving up. ( )
Xinit: No such file or directory (errno 2): unable to connect to X server
Xinit: No such process (errno 3): Server error.
[Leo@localhost leo]$ start
-bash: start: cp,,amd mpt fpimd

etc.. etc..

execve failed for /etc/x11/x (errno 13)


any ideas what I should do?

thank you