I am running slackware 9.1, and just downloaded the 2.6.3 kernel (I realize that 2.6.4 is out--but I wanted to use bootsplash), and patched it for bootsplash. I then installed it, and got bootsplash to work.

I upgraded from 2.6.1, and didn't make a whole lot of changes in the .config file. I added acpi (I already had apm, but I wanted to use features from both). And for bootsplash, I added "VESA VGA graphics console" and "Use splash screen instead of boot logo" and I also enabled "Initial Ramdisk support"

I read somewhere that ramdisk can slow things down, but apps in KDE (including KDE itself) are taking a LOT longer to load (like 3 or 4 times as long). I can't tell if the boot itself is taking a lot longer (I suspect it might be), but I checked the process table, and artsd is using 40%, but nothing else is really using any resources.

So why is artsd using so much cpu?

Is ramdisk the culprit?

Can I fix this and still use the bootsplash?

Thanks for the help

I recompiled my kernel once and forgot to add support form my chipset so my system seemed a lot slower. For instance when I ran
hdparm -t /dev/hda before the recompile I was getting about 40 MB/sec or something similar. After the recompile I got like 3 MB/sec. Might be worth a look.

you are probably correct--I'm getting 2.47 MB/sec!

Thanks for the idea, I'll compare the .config files again.

<edit>

Yep! now I'm getting 28 MB/sec (I'm going to see if I can adjust hdparm a little to get better transfer rates)


Thanks