I'm sure I knew the answer to this at one point, but time always makes you forget these things.

I'm planning on upgrading Slack again, and I'm wondering how this process affects the kernel. If one follows the instructions in UPGRADE.TXT, what exactly is changed, as far as the kernel itself and associated files in /boot and the kernel sources in /usr/src? If I want to download and compile the new kernel myself rather than letting Slack do any upgrading, what do I need to change in the UPGRADE.TXT instructions? What slackpkg contains the equivalent of the linux-2.4.xx directory you get when you download and untar the sources from kernel.org?

It really depends on what you have "changed" since the original installation. Upgrading any package, kernel or not, will remove any files that still exist as the same name as the original installation, and then "lay down" the new files for the upgraded package. So, if all your kernel files, modules, and all dependencies are the same names as the original installation, an upgrade will remove them, and replace them with the newer versions, whch should still work. Other than that, you need to understand how the upgradepkg works and decide if it will work for you.

Cheers,
Eddie

Slackware puts the basic IDE kernel and modules in the A series. What I have done in the past is to upgrade everything except the kernel packages in the A series, which ensures my disks and other build-in drivers will work. (My last upgrade was 9.1 to 10.2.) The kernel is staticly linked (has to be since it starts before the library files are mounted) and your system will boot. The kernel sources are in the K series, so go ahead and install those. Slackware 10.2 ships with 2.4.31 as the default kernel source (2.6 is still in the testing tree). So basically follow the UPGRADE.TXT skipping the kernel packages in A, reboot and then config and build your new kernel.

Ok, a couple of questions then.

1. How can I skip just a few packages in the upgradepkg */* step? Since that doesn't seem easy without doing things one at a time, what will the IDE kernel package in A install, and can I just install it and then remove it without worrying about it affecting my current setup?

2. If you have the source, "make modules" builds all the modules, correct? So I can also remove that package as long as I'm doing that step manually to make sure everything is in place?

3. How does the source package in K place files? What do I need to do manually as far as removing/relinking /usr/src/linux, moving old files to a place where they won't get overwritten, etc.?

Step into each package directory you are upgrading. In the A package directory, run "upgradepkg a*.tgz", "upgradepkg b*.tgz", etc, being sure to skip the kernel packages in A. For the other package directories, step into them and run "upgradepkg *.tgz". Add the --install-new flag if you want to install any new packages with the upgrades.

The kernel-modules package in the A package are the precompiled modules for the 2.4.31 kernel that comes with Slackware 10.2. You want to skip installing this package so you don't overwrite the modules for your current kernel. You also don't want to remove the existing kernel-modules package since it will remove the kernel modules and you might not be able to reboot your system before you can build your new kernel. Once you you've got your Slack system upgraded, you can remove the existing kernel modules by using "rm -rf /lib/modules/<kernel-version>" before doing a make modules_install.

The kernel sources are placed in the /usr/src directory. If you use upgradepkg to install the new source, it will remove the old kernel source tree and take care of all symbolic links. If you want to keep the old kernel source tree, rename the linix-<version> directory so it won't be deleted when the new source tree is installed.

Sounds good. What about the kernel-headers package? How does that fit into this whole process?

That you do want to install, since these headers are needed for building software. They would affect the kernel or the modules that are already there.

Are those built and installed when compiling the kernel from source, or they're something entirely different?

Header files are program files that are used when building programs. They don't have to be built or compiled. The kernel source tree includes these files, but the kernel-headers package includes some extra links to ensure that those programs you build that need the header files can find the header files. If yu install the new kernel source (K) package, install the kernel-headers too.