Trying out a kernel e.g. 2.6.4
 

Hi All,

I would like to try out the latest stable kernel 2.6.4 on my Slackware 9.1 install, which is currently running 2.4.22. Not out of any dire need, but just getting to grips with life in Linux generally, and it seems that kernel compilation is a good thing to try and improve your setup.

Anyhoo, what I was wondering is, if I download the new kernel and go through the configuration, will it replace my old, currently working kernel or can they co-exist together and I can perhaps just have another entry in GRUB pointing to the new one as a boot option?

By the way, does xconfig exist in slackware?

Thanks in advance

Well, before you start compiling, head over to the Slackware forum here at LQ and read the sticky posts on compiling your own kernel.

But bascially, you can have as many kernels as you like, you just have to update your GRUB entries. If you follow the directions in the Slackware forum, your current kernel gets renamed to vmlinuz.old and the new kernel is named vmlinuz. The downside is that if you compile twice in a row, your original kernel is now gone. So what I do is make a copy of the original working kernel and name it something besides vmlinuz.old. Update LILO (or GRUB in your case) and then it will always be there regardless of how many kernels you compile


And yes, Slackware has make xconfig.

Cheers for that mate. I shall give that a whirl.....