Hey all. I'm trying to slim down my system, and realized I still have all of the default kernel packages installed -- including the entire source tree to 2.6.29.6. Since compiling a new kernel is one of the first things I do when using any distribution, would it be safe to remove all of the Slackware kernel packages and the old source tree to try and free up some space? This isn't to say I'm going to use only one bleeding-edge kernel and risk it all, I always keep at least one stable backup should one of my new experiments go awry. :P Just checking with you all about it before I do something catastrophic.

Sure, you can delete the stock kernel packages and sources. You seem to indicate that you understand that you should test your compiled kernel for several days before removing the stock packages.

I keep the huge kernel installed and a boot loader menu option available in case I screw up any kernel compile project. I also keep any previous version I have compiled as another backup option.

Do not remove the kernel headers package.

Yeah, it makes sense to keep at least the last stable kernel you built around, or just the stock huge Slackware kernel. The idea is that if you have a problem in the new kernel, you can fall back on a known-good kernel. Otherwise you would have to break out the install disc and boot up your system that way, which is sort of a hassle (especially if you don't have an optical drive installed normally...).

Of course this mainly applies during the time period right after a kernel upgrade. If you have been using your newly compiled kernel for awhile and there are no problems then you probably wouldn't need to drop back down to the stock one. Of course, for the few MBs it takes up, it is nice to have a backup.

But you don't say if the source package is the same as the kernel you have built, or if you downloaded the vanilla sources for a newer kernel release and built that. You should always keep the source tree you used to build your current kernel, as that can be required for building out of kernel modules (like binary video drivers, WiFi drivers not yet included in the kernel, etc).

Also keep in mind that you need to have the exact same source tree as the one you built the kernel for, not just the same release. In other words, if you built a custom kernel from the 2.6.29.6 source package, just reinstalling that source package in the future won't let you build kernel modules for your kernel.

I'd say keep the old kernel,just removepkg kernel-huge. Creae an entry in lilo.conf with the older kernel and keep it as "Fallback". That's what I do. You never know when things mess up.

i always remove kernel-huge and kernel-generic, and compile a new kernel from /usr/src/linux