Okay - here's what you guys need to do. You are correct in assumping that the /usr/src/linux-2.4.7-10/configs directory are the config files. Those config files contain the same options that shipped with the RH 7.2 built kernel.
When building a new kernel, either 2.4.7-10 or a completely new kernel, like 2.4.17, load one of those config files by selecting 'Load Stored Configuration" after typing 'make menuconfig' or 'make xconfig'. From there, you can then experment and find out what works with your system and what doesn't.
Note: It normally takes dozens of compiles to learn what works with your system and what doesn't. Assuming you know it all from the beginning is usually a bad assumption, even when you using the help inside the kernel config. Things are not as they appear.
Now to answer the question of WHICH file to use... i386 will work on almost all systems now-a-days (386 and higher), but if you have a fairly new system (Pentium II and higher) i686 is what I recommend. I have a IBM Laptop PII366mhz which I run the i686 kernel on. Again, you can run i586, or even i386, but it will not be optimized for your machine.
If this is your first experience with kernels, give it time. Like I said, it will take dozens of compiles and errors before you learn what works and what doesn't with your specific system. Every system is different.
When compiling, be sure you have a symbolic link of /usr/src/linux pointing to your version directory such as 2.4.7-10 or something else. If you are not familiair with symbolic links type 'man ln' and start reading
.
Hope this helps you guys, I had to learn it all on my own..
BTW, SMP is for multi-processor support. You don't want that.