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I'm running slackware 10 on the defaul 2.4.26 kernel. I was thinking about compiling the newest stable kernel, 2.6.10, but was put off by how complicated it looked. I have two questions:
How complicated is getting a new kernel up and running, from downloading the source to using the new kernel?
Is 2.4.26 > 2.6.10 a large upgrade? is it worth it?
i would suggest doing it unless you don't like tinkering around and getting your hands really dirty. the only other reason i would suggest compiling it is there's a piece of hardware not working on your box that you need to run.
its not complicated though, you just have to know what to and what not to compile in the kernel itself. what i would suggest doing is, compile your own kernel but make sure you also leave your entry for 2.4.26 in the lilo.conf file, in case you wanna go back. once you're finished compiling it, just add the entry for 2.6.x in lilo.conf
The 2.6 series kernels come with a really slick graphical utility for helping you to configure them. It can be time consuming, but as long as you know what you need, and what kind of hardware you have, it generally isn't too difficult.
Generally, everything will continue to function properly after a kernel upgrade. Do note that cd burner support changed completely from 2.4 to 2.6, though, and so you'll probably have to reconfigure any cd or dvd burners you use.
I find compiling your own kernel for the first time HIGHLY rewarding.. and 2.6.10 is GOOD. all the other 2.6 kernels I made were ditched a day or so later in favor of the latest 2.4 kernel.
I suggest you don't use a 'make install' on the kernel. it's far too likely that it'll just screw up your system and you'll need to use a boot disk to get your old configuration back.
I've never used it personally but I know exactly what it does and it's quite sketchy.. I recommend that you manually copy the kernel image and the system.map to your boot directory and update your boot loader accordingly.
It is pretty elementary so long as you read up. Like others I never bothered until it was needed to get some obscure piece of hardware working. If you're going to compile your own you might as well wait a week or so until 2.6.11 is released.
As for the make install thing, that sounds retarded and very bad practice.
make xconfig
make mrproper
make bzImage
make modules
make modules_install
The bzImage, System.map and .config files should be copied to /boot with the appropriate names and symlinks. Add entry to lilo or grub pointing to the new kernel image and you're done.
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