Slackware updating to 2.6, quick question

crabber338 · 11-25-2005, 12:16 PM

Hi guys,

I recently got back into Slackware after a long time of just using other Linux Distro's. It's definately one of the best distros, but I was suprised to see that I was still running 2.4. I downloaded the kernel source off kernel.org and compiled a new kernel (2.6) for my machine, and I was able to boot of the new kernel fine... The problem is that I think my rc.hotplug is failing because the dependencies are not being pointed to correctly. When I run depmod I get an error that it cannot find a file in the 2.4 folder (which I tared a backup and deleted for the upgrade). Did I miss a step in getting depmod to look into the right directory in /lib/modules?

Here's what I did:

copied source to a folder in /usr/src/linux-2.6xxx/

backed up and deleted 2.4xxx folder in lib/modules

renamed /boot/vmlinuz to vmlinuz.old and made lilo.conf point to the new file name incase of new kernel crash.

Then the following commands in the source directory

make
make modules_install
make install

checked lilo.conf and saw everything looked in order.

typing modprobe shows this:

"modprobe: Can't open dependencies file /lib/modules/2.4.31/modules.dep (No such file or directory)"

Anyone know what I missed? Thanks in advance

-C

tobyl · 11-25-2005, 12:55 PM

did you 'make modules' before 'make modules_install'?

crabber338 · 11-25-2005, 01:02 PM

I think when I typed 'make modules', it said 'you don't need to do that anymore'. The README file seemed to imply that the latest version of 2.6 doesn't need individual steps anymore. Like 'make' basically makes the bzImage and the Modules. However, I think that maybe the depmod is failing because I haven't rebooted yet, now that I think about it. I'm not at home right now, so I cannot check this just yet.

But, I'm wondering if there's anything more I need to do to get everything running.

Any suggestions are welcome, I'll keep you guys updated on my progress. It might simply be a reboot, I think I remember from somewhere that depmod uses uname -r to find the correct module library.

-C

keefaz · 11-25-2005, 01:05 PM

Did you run lilo to take the lilo.conf changes in account ?
Are you sure vmlinuz is the 2.6 kernel and not the 2.4 ?

Also I never need to run depmod with the 2.6 kernels
(it is ran automatically with make I believe)

crabber338 · 11-25-2005, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by keefaz
Did you run lilo to take the lilo.conf changes in account ?
Are you sure vmlinuz is the 2.6 kernel and not the 2.4 ?

Also I never need to run depmod with the 2.6 kernels
(it is ran automatically with make I believe)

Yes, the vmlinuz that is inside of /boot is 2.6. Now the screen is coming up blank, and I cannot see anything when I boot the new kernel. I'm going to try and recompile and see if if it changes anything. I have a feeling something must've screwed up during compiling the kernel.

PS: I also had the terror of finding that 'make install' overwrote my original vmlinuz.old file with a backup of the currently running 2.6. I had to restore the whole 2.4 system off the Slackware CD! I'm going to have to remember and rename my vmlinuz to something else than vmlinuz.old next time.

-C

gbonvehi · 11-25-2005, 04:54 PM

Getting a "blank screen" is a common trouble when migrating to 2.6, check this out: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...461#post660461
You can compile that stuff or set lilo to use vga=normal (but it won't use framebuffer).

mrapathy · 11-26-2005, 09:11 AM

boot to your root partition with slackware cd1 then replace cd1 with cd2 go to testing/packages 2.6.x kernel directory and install the packages. is a alsa package you may not need.

I just had hell of a time with lilo after 10.1 and 10.2 installs. lilo would fail to install during setup. turns out right packages were not installed. once I figured out the 2.6.x packages for modules didnt get installed I checked the installed packages pulled the 2.4.x and installed the rest of 2.6.x.

then ran modprobe dm-mod[hit enter] ran lilo and newly built bleeding edge system is booting now.

need to run make modules before make modules_install
but a question is are you even using modules? havent seen structure of new kernels and options. going with package installs and they are running fine when all packages installed

rkelsen · 11-26-2005, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by crabber338
make install

???

Everything was OK up to that point.

Here's what I do:

Code:

# cp linux-2.6.14.2.tar.bz2 /usr/src/
# cd /usr/src
# tar -jxvf linux-2.6.14.2.tar.bz2
# cd linux-2.6.14.2
# make menuconfig
# make
# make modules_install
# cp ./System.map /boot/System.map-2.6.14.2
# cp ./.config /boot/config-2.6.14.2
# cp ./arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.14.2
# make clean
# cat << EOF >> /etc/lilo.conf
> image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.14.2
>  root=/dev/hda6
>  label="linux-2.6.14.2"
>  read-only
> EOF
# /sbin/lilo
# reboot

Substituting whatever version of 2.6 and whatever root partition you boot from, of course...

This way, there is no need to delete anything from the standard Slackware setup, and nothing gets overwritten.

rkelsen · 11-26-2005, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mrapathy
need to run make modules before make modules_install

Not with 2.6, you don't. This was a necessary step in building a 2.4 kernel, but for 2.6 it has been made redundant.

crabber338 · 11-28-2005, 07:27 AM

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the tips. I'll detail what I did, it wasn't too difficult.

All the module problems were caused by a misconfigured kernel configuration. Configuring the Linux Source is pretty involved, especially when so many choices have been added since I've last done it. I decided to take the configuration file directly from the Slackware Cd for the original 2.4 kernel I was using, and imported all of it's settings. I then tweaked that configuration until it was not too bloated. When I compiled it, I found that the whole console video mode swtiching problem was gone, Linux now was starting with a smaller font, and I didn't need to use 'vga=normal' as an option at the lilo command line. However, I found that I still didn't have internet. I have two network cards in this machine, so I unplugged the ethernet from one, and plugged it into the other. I found that my Dlink 'tulip' card works fine, but the Linksys LNE100 one doesn't seem to load up anymore. This is the opposite of what my system was like before, but at least it works. I'll have to look up what the Linksys LNE100 core is, so I can maybe get both cards working.

Now everything seems to work fine. Alsa is still not outputting any sound from my EMU APS, but this card has a history of issues with it I think.

So the key was to import the old configuration, and then turn off what I felt I didn't need. I think the default configuration was too sparse and I was missing something. Oh BTW, you only need to run 'make' to build everything that is needed. It will make the kernel and the modules in one shot

Finally, I was sick of typing in 'make dep && make bzImage && make modules && etc...'

-C

oneagainstall · 08-03-2006, 12:22 PM

hi everyone

i thought of asking in a new thread, but my problem is kindaaa lame.. and fits into that topic.
so, i used slackware for couple of months and i'm tough enough to migrate to 2.6.x

. but i'm facin a little difculty. everything is ok until modprobe tries to autoload modules at startup. i get that error:

"modprobe: Can't open dependencies file /lib/modules/2.4.31/modules.dep (No such file or directory)"

how can i make modprobe to use the new modules dir?

i tried with "depmod 2.6.16.27" without any effect...

please help a newbie in need

gbonvehi · 08-03-2006, 12:29 PM

Mmm does that appear when you're booting 2.6 kernel? Then you probably didn't run lilo to update itself. Check /etc/lilo.conf before you run it.

oneagainstall · 08-03-2006, 12:40 PM

wow.. that was fast

i didn't ran /sbin/lilo the very first time, cause my last try ended up with something like "kernel panic" and everyghin froze on boot. now i decided not to run lilo, cause in lilo.conf i had the image=vmlinuz, which is my 2.6.x image.
i knew i'll mess up somethng. that is, i gues, my fourth try to compile and install a 2.6 kernel.

gbonvehi · 08-03-2006, 02:13 PM

You don't need to recompile just to install lilo. But you need to update lilo if you change your kernel.

drkstr · 08-03-2006, 02:20 PM

Quote:

i didn't ran /sbin/lilo the very first time, cause my last try ended up with something like "kernel panic" and everyghin froze on boot. now i decided not to run lilo, cause in lilo.conf i had the image=vmlinuz, which is my 2.6.x image.

lilo didn't cause this, your mis-configured kernel caused it. Run 'uname -r' and see what kernel you are booted using. If you did not run 'lilo' then you arn't running your new kernel. This is a common point of confusion with people used to using grub. the lilo.conf does not have anything to do with how your computer boots, all it does is tell where/how to install the boot loader. If you do not re-run 'lilo' after anything is updated, nothing will change when you reboot your computer.

regards,
...drkstr