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i think i'm going to like debian, been using it for a few weeks now. With the exception of a few minors oops, it is great.
Anyway my question is that i keep reading all these threads about trimming ones kernel, and it sounds great.
I have read quite few " compile the debian way" howtos, articles, and tidbits. I would like to give it a go, as there is a sick amout of modules loaded when i run lsmod. But how do i know what i need?
What i mean is when the time comes, and run make menuconfig, there is ALOT of stuff in there. What info would i need or should i look for prior to doing this? I just don't wanna get ahead of myself and end up with a slim trim kernel with half my hardware working
Step 1. Make sure you keep your default kernel available through lilo/grub (as you use). (add a new entry with a copy of your kernel)
Step 2. When configuring, you can make sure if you need things using lspci and the lsmod of your current kernel.
Step 3. Hit '?' on any kernel option to see more information about it, including (usually) a reccomendation on what to do if you don't know. "If unsure, say Y" or "It is safe to include this even if you don't need it" (say Y) or "This may cause your system to randomly crash, delete your files, download child pornography and report you to the FBI, or beat you over the head with your own keyboard." (say N in that case, and wear a hard hat around your computer if you dare say Y).
Step 1. Make sure you keep your default kernel available through lilo/grub (as you use). (add a new entry with a copy of your kernel)
i have two stock kernel entries in there right now, latest being 2.6.8.2-686
Quote:
Step 2. When configuring, you can make sure if you need things using lspci and the lsmod of your current kernel.
i am assuming (i know baaaaaad thing) that when doing this X should not be running and i can switch (ctrl + alt + F( blah) ) to run these? or is it better to run then prior and record whats in there more as a reference?
will lspci give me all "pci" devices or all devices Sorry its an odd question, i just dont know
i am not at home right now so i cant check, i will definately check once at home..
I frequently recompile my kernels through X with no problem. In fact, you might want to try 'xconfig' then to give you a (somewhat) nicer user interface. LSPCI will, as the name suggests, list only devices on your pci bus. lsusb will list usb devices.
Also, if you list your hardware here, I'd be glad to help you figure out which driver/option you need for anything giving you a hard time.
Originally posted by Matir I frequently recompile my kernels through X with no problem. In fact, you might want to try 'xconfig' then to give you a (somewhat) nicer user interface. LSPCI will, as the name suggests, list only devices on your pci bus. lsusb will list usb devices.
Also, if you list your hardware here, I'd be glad to help you figure out which driver/option you need for anything giving you a hard time.
Great, thank you
as for hardware
p4 2.4 533 fsb
seagate and western digital ide hard drives 30/60 gig
asus p4p800-e deluxe has sata and scsi/ promise ata controllers, not currently used but eventually will
no floppy drive
onboard usb and firewire
onboard ac97sound
asus ti4200 nvidia video card ( i know i wil have to setup "nvidia" again)
lg cdrom 52X
lg ( cant remember model) dvd burner dvd-r +r and ram :/
generic keyboard 104 keyboard, has quick keys never used them though
logitech MX510 mouse
samsung 17" moniter ( have the synch ranges at home)
epson c60 printer.. (dunno if that matters)
off to attempt the compile in 2 hrs
Last edited by byte.chaser; 07-12-2005 at 06:58 PM.
Hey, I think I should be able to give you a bit of help with things, particularly your motherboard and on-board appliances, because, coincidentally, I have the same motherboard.
Wow, that IS a lot of modules. I'm not sure I've ever seen that many before, but then again, I always roll my own kernels and only modularize toys... or things I want to use without rebooting the system. And even then, I usually build the module, then rebuild the kernel with it built in for the next reboot.
hmmm cant seem to locate my audio in menuconfig. I did use the saved .config as a reference to start from. i kinda though it would say "ac97" or "1810 audio"
Under ALSA/PCI Devices: Intel/SiS/nVidia/AMD/ALi AC97 Controller
thanks, i see i it, theres no "AC97 Controller" but the reset of the line is there :/ . the one underneath is pretty much the same just "experimental" it says...
we shall see what happens its compiling now
Last edited by byte.chaser; 07-13-2005 at 09:54 AM.
And it looks like you built most everything as a module. A lot of that stuff, I would compile in (fat, vfat, ext3, jbd, ide_cd, cdrom, piix, ide_generic, ide_disk, ide_core --all the stuff you'd pretty much ALWAYS want). Not to mention you probably don't need eth1394 (firewire ethernet) hw_random (unless you DO have a hw RNG, I don't).
And it looks like you built most everything as a module. A lot of that stuff, I would compile in...
Good point...
back at it... thanks again. I'll get this eventually
i'm still trying to ge my head wrapped around the "module" part. Why would you want to load anything as a module? I kinda thought
module might load faster, but it makes sense to build it in as it doesnt need to load..?
i guess a module would be good if you had a piece of hardware that was only sometimes used... like an external usb/firewire<insert hot pluggable device here> ?
heh, guess i answered my own question
Last edited by byte.chaser; 07-13-2005 at 02:22 PM.
modules are also useful in some other circumstances: in systems with multiple network cards, you can control the ethX numbering by 'modprobing' their drives in the order you want them assigned numbers.
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