I'm getting ready to start my LFS build, this is the second time I've done this, but my first attempt was a number of years ago, and I find I have forgotten a lot of it. My box is a dually AMD MP1900, with both scsi and ide drives, my target drive is the ide drive. I was going to use the CD, but because of differences with the current book, I'm planning on using an existing install Mandriva 2008.1 instead. It seems to meet the host requirements outlined in the book. I have a couple of questions regarding sources. The book (current stable version 6.4) calls for;

Glibc (2.8-20080929) (have)
Linux (2.6.27.4) (have)
MPFR (2.3.2) (I can't find this version)

Either because of instructions to use the newer versions of the same series if available, or not being able to find those exact versions, I've have instead/also downloaded these versions;

Glibc (2.8-20090216)
Linux (2.6.27.9)
MPFR (2.4.0)

Is this acceptable, or desirable?, and how does this affect the following patches called for in the book?
glibc-2.8-20080929-iconv_tests-1.patch
glibc-2.8-20080929-ildoubl_test-1.patch

Thanks, any insight would be welcome.

You can always try different versions than those in the book, but it is at your own risk. Since the only thing you're missing is MPFR, this link should get you the version you need --> http://gforge.inria.fr/frs/download....-2.3.2.tar.bz2. I found it using Google.

Thank you for the prompt reply, and thank you for the MPFR link. The book says to use 2.6.27.4, or the latest 2.6.27.x kernel, unless the errata says otherwise. However, how would it be known if the newer version works OK, if it didn't exist when the stable book was published? I think I'll follow your advice and stick to the exact book versions, as I'm an advocate of K.I.S.S.