kernel compiling problem: can I use 2.4 .config file with 2.6 ?
 

Compiling the 2.6.10 kernel, can I use the .config file from my 2.4.27 kernel ?

I don't want to begin the kernel configuration from zero. It's not because I'm lazy but because I don't want to miss some important option or misunderstand something.........

No. There's a lot of changes. The 2.4 config won't work with it.

"Compiling the 2.6.10 kernel, can I use the .config file from my 2.4.27 kernel ?"

When 2.6 first came out Linus Torvalds said that using 2.4 config files on a 2.6 compile will cause problems.

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Steve Stites

thanks a lot!

where can I find a guide for kernel 2.6 options?

I don't mean a "compiling" guide, but a guide that explains all (or most) of the kernel options and feaures........
I really don't want miss some important option or misudersand some setting......... because if I wnt a working kernel of course I must understand what I'm going to do.........

Someone can help me?

thanks in advance

well....i did use the 2.4--- config-file as a start-point for the 2.6--- kernels.
it gives a lot of errors when starting " make xconfig " , but most basics will be set correctly .

but you need to take a good look at all of it anyway.
( but it's just as a start... )

egag

you could always go to slackware.com and get the 2.6 kernel out of current. get the kernel-ide-2.6.x (or replace ide with whatever you want).

instead of installing the kernel with installpkg, just unzip the .tgz file (tar -zxvf kernel-ide-2.6.x-i486.tgz) and use its config. It will have a file named config-ide-2.6.x copy that to your kernel source file as .config and run xconfig or meuconfig.

but where is this file?
I found linux-2.6.9.tar.bz2 and kernel-source-2.6.9-noarch-1.tgz, but not the file you say......

where is that file in slackware-curent directory?

Oops, its in the current-->testing-->linux-2.6.x directory named kernel-generic-2.6.9-1.tgz

using that .config file, after some tweaking I havde compiled and installed the kernel.

But, when rebooting, if I choose the 2.6.10 kernel I get the error

Kernel panic - not syncing: vfs: unable to mount fs on unknow-black (3,70)

what's the meaning of it? and how can I solve it?
I understand that the system cannot mount filesystem, but why?

Problem with your hard drive controler driver, SCSI or IDE or you did not enabled your root
partition filesystem as built-in but as module (more likely if you use the default config and did not
set a initrd).

To solves this, check and re-check your IDE or SCSI config and filesystem too

then recompile and reinstall the kernel and modules

you best compile-in the file-system you use. ( reiserfs or ext2/3 )
maybe you didn't do that... ?

egag

most of the time, i do not dare touch the ide and scsi sections, except for 2 obvious things: remove tape/floppy support (i'm on a laptop) and add scsi-emulation support.

I have compiled with built-in support for reiserfs (my / filesystem) and now the system boots.

but X cannot starts.

If I do startx I get a message saying: no configuration is good.......... Should I reinstall the videocard drivers? This can solve the problem?

or the configuration of xorg.conf for 2.6.10 differs from that for 2.4 ?

yes.

installing the NVidia driver I'm having some troubles.

If I install 6029 version, the install goes well, but my sistem always had problem with these drivers. A lot of things in kde are totally transparent, like desktop backgrounds, menu, bar and the system is totally unusable..........

I don't think it's a problem of kde, because there are no problem with driver version 6111

For this, with kernel 2.4 I use NVidia drivers 6111, but these drivers don't install with kernel 2.6.10
Trying to install I get the error:

ERROR: Unable to load the kernel module 'nvidia.ko'. This is most likely
because the kernel module was built using the wrong kernel source files.
Please make sure you have installed the kernel source files for your
kernel; on Red Hat Linux systems, for example, be sure you have the
'kernel-source' rpm installed. If you know the correct kernel source
files are installed, you may specify the kernel source path with the
'--kernel-source-path' commandline option.


The problem is that version 6629 installs without problem with both kernel and version 6111 installs with kernel 2.4, so I don't get because the drivers 6111 with kernel 2.6 give this problem..........

Any suggestion?