/vmlinuz /initrd.img links
 

Hi,

Does someone know reasons for the /vmlinuz{,.old} and /initrd.img{,.old} links (pointing to the actual kernel and initrd image under /boot) existence? In Debian there is a configuration file /etc/kernel-img.conf where I can set do_symlinks=no and those links should not be created and updated anymore. Can I safely set this option to "No" and remove those links? Should this prevent the machine to boot/upgrade correctly or interfere with other services of applications?

Thanks

Probably used by grub. What's in /boot/grub/menu.lst

#########################################################
title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.18-4-686
root (hd0,1)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-4-686 root=/dev/sda3 ro
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.18-4-686
savedefault
#########################################################

Here are the actual kernel and initrd.img versions, and not the links that lack version number in the filename. I think grub takes the path relatively to the /boot directory. Or may be I'm wrong?

The root statement tells grub which partition contains /boot. The paths are relative from there.

I always softlink the kernel and initrd files, so that I can use the shorter names in menu.lst.

eg ln -s vmlinuz<stuff> vmlinuz
then the menu.lst entry will be kernel /path/vmlinuz

Thanks for the explanation pixellany. The main question still remains. Is it save to remove /vmlinuz and /initrd.img links and change the /etc/kernel-img.conf file so that they should never be created again on update.

Thanks