I'm just checking to make sure I don't shoot myself in the foot!

I recently got a new hard drive. Of course I had to reinstall Slackware from an ISO. In doing so I think I must have selected a generic kernel when I normally use the huge.

I have blocked the generic kernel in the /etc/slackpkg/blacklist file so I only get the huge kernel when I update. The generic kernel that was initially loaded was 5.12.10. I'm now on 5.12.12.

When the slackpkg upgrade-all is done loading the packages it tells me that I have more than one kernel. I read the /boot/README.initrd file and it says that you should have an entry initrd=/boot/initrd.gz in the /etc/lilo.conf file. I don't have this entry.

Anyway, I see in the /boot directory the following files:
System.map-generic-5.12.10
config-generic-5.12.10
initrd.gz
vmlinuz-generic-5.12.10

Just to tidy things up is it safe to remove those files?

Thanks.

Yes, if you use huge kernels, the initrd is not really needed

Hallo,
In future you might try this nifty method of migrating your currently installed
system to a new HDD. I found it years ago and it's really slick!
(Might need to boot with install disk and chroot into the 'cloned' system and re-install lilo, but it still saves a lot of time depending on how your system is set up).

https://www.linuxjournal.com/magazin...new-hard-drive

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks.

I thought that would be the case, just wanted to check.

I removed the files and rebooted. Everything is working fine.

Marking this as solved.

Just so you know, this wasn't something you chose. Pat made the switch a few years back to default to the generic kernel and autogen an initrd during the installation process. You're of course welcome to switch back to the huge kernel.

Thanks for that. I thought I wasn't paying enough attention.