finding linux kernel in mandrake version
 

hi all........

i am a new user of linux-mandrake.
i m trying to find linux kernel in mandrake-10...............generally it is in /usr/src................in mandrake version i get a folder named RPMs/.

what is it.....is it the linux kernel............someone please help me to understand that . what is RPMS??

Thanks in advance...............
pooja

hi there

rpms stahnd for
redhat package manager

they work in varios distributions of linux say redhat,mandrake

basically they are precompiled packages say xmms-1.2.10-rh9.rpm
or xmms-1.2.10-mdk-10.rpm

rpm packages work on the system for which thwey are compiled and they get installed fast

but if u change ur operating system then u need a different rpm
also if u get urself a source say xmms.1.2.10.tar.gz/bz2 then u have to compile that and it takes some time but it is independent of thje OS u r using

and if the kenrel source rpm is installed from ur Mandrake distribution Cd it should be in

/usr/src/linux-2.6....

alternatively u can get the kernel source from kernel.org


regards

gaurav

You simply havent yet installed the kernel sources. Use the Control Center to select and install the correct sources for your current kernel (might be 2.4... or 2.6...). :)

the kernel & kernel source in Mandrake are stored in /usr/src. by default, Mandrake doesn't install the kernel source during the installation process, so you have to add it yourself from the CD's using the software management tool or urpmi (more on that in a minute).

to see what kernel you are currently running, open a terminal (or Konsole in KDE) & su to root. to do so, type su at the prompt (hit enter) type root password (hit enter) then type uname -a (hit enter). that will show you your kernel version & some other info.

RPM's are the format Mandrake uses to manage software packages. they are precompiled packages designed to work with Mandrake. it's sort of like .exe files in the Windows world. you install RPM's via Mandrake Control Center (mcc for short)->software management. you can also remove packages there, add RPM source repositories (the Media Manager) & get updates/security/bug fixes. you can also install RPM's via the command line using urpmi. that's a bit too long to get involved with here. see man urpmi for info. in a nut shell, to install a package via urpmi, you open a terminal as root & type urpmi (nameofpackage). it will search your sources & install the package. if it finds more than one package with the same name, it will show what it found & ask you which one to install. it will also look for & satisfy any dependencies needed. the software installer in MCC is just a GUI front end for urpmi.

about these sources i keep talking about.......... there are many ftp sites out there that keep repositories of Mandrake RPM's. these repositories are called sources. an excellent place to get these sources is Easy URPMI. unfortunately, the site has been down for the past week. i'm not sure why. keep that url & try periodically. when the site is back up, follow the instructions there to add the following sources........ main, plf, & contrib. stay away from cooker sources, as these are testing grounds for new versions of apps & Mandrake itself. cooker sources can be very unstable & break your install if you're not careful. you can use the software installer in MCC to get your kernel-source right now. it's on the CD's. go to install software & type kernel in the search box. just make sure you get the source that matches your kernel. IE: kernel-2.6.3-4 needs kernel-source-2.6.3-4.

i found an Easy URPMI site that's up. ignore the above link & try This Link instead.

finally, if you haven't done so already, i'd suggest going to MCC->software management->updates & install any & all available updates. when you click on the update module, you will be asked to search for update mirrors, then presented with a list of ftp sites. choose one, let it add that source, then proceed to get updates. if it tells you you can't connect to a mirror, use the media manager to remove the update source, then click add to add a new update source. when you get to the updates console, make sure you have all three update boxes checked (security, bugfixes, normal) to get all available updates. be warned, the total updates will vary between 300-600 megs, depending on what you have installed, so if you don't have broadband, it could be ugly. ;)

EDIT: oops...........i see while i was busy typing this, 2 other people replied. well, at least you know have the info you wanted. :cool:

otis

Like all the distros, you can grab the latest kernel from kernel.org and compile it. I'm currently running 2.6.9-rc2 which is working well... And yep, the kernel goes in /usr/src like other distros.

No, the kernel goes in /boot. The source code goes in /usr/src/linux-2.... and in symlinked to /usr/src/linux. Also you cant get a specific distro's patches and tweaks from kernel.org.

hi

i think i above post meant to be same(but is is good to specify the difference)

to be more specific

the "kernel-image" goes in /boot
and the kernel source in /usr/src/linux-2....

regards

gaurav

It seemed that he was talking about the source here as he was looking in /usr/src - but yes, the kernel source will be found (or put) in /usr/src and we put the kernel binary in /boot I was just a bit brief in my typing there, perhaps.

I never really considered that he might have been talking about the kernel binary if he was looking in /usr/src and figured he knew linux but not necessarily MDK very well.

You don't seem to really need any specific distro patches for mandrake. It goes well with the generic kernel, tho I tend not to use things like automount and framebuffer video, etc.