I recently compiled kernel 2.6.33.2 on a system running Ubuntu. I think I used xconfig to config the kernel options, but I basically didn't change anything from the default because there was nothing that appeared to need changing. I have only compiled a kernel once before (2.6.33.1, I think) on an xubuntu system and it worked fine. I have no problems getting grub to load the new kernel, but on this latest build (or whatever you call it), I run into two problems: my wireless doesn't work (wlan0 doesn't show up and I don't think the rndiswrapper module loads) and the nvidia driver doesn't load. While I can get the nvidia driver config gui to load, it won't save changes. Further, even if I ask grub to load one of the older kernels, my wireless still fails now and so does the nvidia driver.

I'm a bit confused just because the last 'custom' kernel compile I did was only a few days before (it was my test run) and it all worked fine, though - of course - I did it on a different computer so the hardware is different. As far as I can tell, I might be able to resolve the issue just by figuring out how to get the 'missing' (?) modules to load into(?) the kernel. I'm new to the kernel compiling thing so I'm not all that familiar with the terminology. What I'm wondering:

(1) How does the install media set up the kernel? Everything works great (of course, nvidia is not set up with install media, but it's trivial to load it) after using the ubuntu 9.10 install DVD, so is there a way I can use a script or something to configure kernel build options as set by the install media when I'm manually updating a kernel?

(2) I compiled 2.6.33.2 but even when I ask grub to load a previous kernel, it's clear that the new options are loaded with the old kernel, which makes me think that the kernel was built and loaded fine, but it's just a matter of loading the correct modules at boot time. Are there backup descriptions of my computer's boot process somewhere that I can revert to?

(3) I'm wondering if I might be able to just pop the missing modules into the initramdisk by making a new initram? I've had to do this for ext4 support in Slackware - though I don't seem to have the same command line tool that offers support for building an initrd with modules that I desire.

I kind of jumped into the process by finding a simple kernel guide for newbs and tested it out, so I have a feeling that some of the terminology I'm using may not be quite right or what I'm saying may not make perfect sense, so please forgive any errors but pointing out my mistakes is also appreciated. I'm not necessarily looking for a "quick fix" but my guess is that people must run into problems like this often enough that someone can suggest something.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

PCP

You might want to look at this to get an idea of why the Ubuntu/Debian tools are recommended. There is a link at the bottom to use a kernel.org package, but it's pretty old.

Personally I've never bothered using one of the "mega" distros to try my own kernels. Too much grief for minor gain.

Edit: Forgot.
We'll need to see that guide you used to comment on your problems using the previous (shipped) kernels.