araneae: I don't know anything about init ramdisks, but here's how you boot from your new kernel:

In lilo.conf, you should find a section vaguely like this:

You might have lots more stuff since you have 2 distros, or maybe you don't have Windows. Whatever.

This is what I would do to start using a new 2.6.8 kernel, which you have already built and everything:

Then add something like this to your lilo.conf. This could be the second entry or the last entry; whatever, as long as it is not the first.

I like using normal vga and runlevel 3 for my old kernel, because I basically use it as a failsafe.

Then:

Now you should be using your new kernel.

I just installed a fresh copy of slack10, and then right away i upgraded my kernel after the reboot.
And now everything just worked, and the weird part about is that, i DID NOT have to do the following:

make install
or change the system.map link or whatever

all i did was:
make clean
make menuconfig
make bzImage
make modules
make modules_install
cp System.map /boot/System.map-2.6.81
cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/bzImage-2.6.81
then added an entry to lilo similar to the one already there and then rebooted.

so i guess the make install and changing the system map isnt required?

Ok i compiled 2.6.8.1 kernel but the config in /boot didn't change.

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 928172 Sep 28 22:33 System.map
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 609166 Sep 2 2003 System.map-ide-2.4.22
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 915909 Sep 28 17:24 System.old
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 512 May 24 09:55 boot.0303
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 17 May 24 09:18 config -> config-ide-2.4.22
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 38645 Sep 2 2003 config-ide-2.4.22
-rw------- 1 root root 56832 Sep 28 22:33 map
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1990668 Sep 28 22:33 vmlinuz
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1226706 Sep 2 2003 vmlinuz-ide-2.4.22
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root root 24 Sep 28 22:38 vmlinuz.old -> /boot/vmlinuz-ide-2.4.22


If you notice, the vmlinuz, map, and System.map all show a Sep 28 date, which means they were just created. But the config link was not updated nor is there a new config there.

Is config supposed to be updated ? Which step creates it and moves it ?

I edited the Makefile, did a make menuconofig, make, su -c "make modules_install" , and make install

I can boot and everything appears to be working...Just wondering about the config

You have to move the config file there manually, if you want it there - it's not necessary. I find it useful to put it there though, so that I don't forget where I put it - it might come in handy in future (re)compiles

so the config is the same thing as .config in /usr/src/linux ? Is that what you are saying ?

On a clean install (where no kernel compiles have been done yet), /boot/config and /usr/src/linux/.config are probably the same, if the latter even exists. However, if you've configured your own kernel, then /usr/src/linux/.config is the new kernel's config file.

If you wanna check that they are the same, use the diff command:
If you get no output, then the files are the same. If they're not the same, you'll notice it Maybe cmp is better if you just want to check whether they are identical or not - at least it gives shorter output

Ok, i've been recompiling my kernel for the last 3 hours. Its driving me nuts. I installed Slackware 10 from scratch the very first time. After the install, i downloaded teh 2.6.8.1 kernel and configured it to what i wanted and then installed it. After installing it i realized that i had accidentally installed all of the software on the slack cds. ugh! lol. So i started over. This time, i went throught the expert setup and chose only the programs i wanted. (basically nothing because i like to compile my own software) Anyways, after installing i downloaded the 2.6.8.1 kernel again and configured it and installed it. However, this time it wont boot. It always stops and gives me some random errors like:
ACPI blablah
Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference

I'm in the proccess of trying to track down what the problem is, but its takeing loads of time. My question is, is there anything specific that i need to specify in the config? So far the only thing speicific that I see that needs to be set is the RieserFS optoin in the File Systems area. (my drives are all formated using this fs) Other than that, theres no other optoins that i see that are specific to Slack.

Thanks for any advice!!!!

-Matt

Well, i finally watched the system compile the kernel. As it was compiling the bzImage, i noticed that when it compiled the reiserfs, the compiler gave some errors. It scrolled by too quickly for me to read. Does anyone know anything about this? Thanks!

-Matt

Hey guys i'm having a problem too...when i type "make install" it gives me this error

root@Nic's:/usr/src/linux# make install
make[1]: `arch/i386/kernel/asm-offsets.s' is up to date.
CHK include/asm-i386/asm_offsets.h
CHK include/linux/compile.h
Kernel: arch/i386/boot/bzImage is ready
sh /usr/src/linux-2.6.8.1/arch/i386/boot/install.sh 2.6.8.1 arch/i386/boot/bzImage System.map ""
Added Windows *
Added Slack.old
Fatal: open /boot/vmlinuz: No such file or directory
make[1]: *** [install] Error 1
make: *** [install] Error 2

any idea how to fix this??

Thanks for this, and for the older sticky post on compiling the kernel. I've always assumed I would never want or need to do that, but I found out Slackware as-delivered wouldn't support my twin-mouse (thinkpad eraserhead + usb cordless optical) setup. Your guide, along with this page from the Lockergnome archives (http://channels.lockergnome.com/linu...20011127.phtml) has got me just where I wanted to be. Now I'm an official kernel compiler. My wife will be so impressed! (ha) ("Great! Now will you wash those pots and pans that have been sitting in the sink since supper?)

The Slide,

Did you uncomment the line in the Makefile? The one that reads:
"export INSTALL_PATH=/boot"

It seems like your system is looking for the kernel and not finding it where lilo is telling it to look.

-geomatt

just an fyi for all...

the export INSTALL_PATH=/boot line for the 2.6.9 Makefile is line 514......

if yer in pico just hit ctrl+W and type in "INSTALL_PATH" and hit enter...it'll find it... just a heads up for people new, like myself who had to scratch their head for a moment... lol

After compiling from 2.4.26 to 2.6.9 I have found that none of my modules load in 2.6.9.
If I lsmod all that displays is the headings, but no modules. When I reboot to my old 2.4.26 kernel all the modules work fine, is there some config file that I need to modify/rename or perhaps a step in the kernel compiling that I missed?
Please note I didnt use this guide to compile, I used the one found here.
Thanks in advance for any insight!

i'm hardly a pro but i believe the tutorial you used is out of date. it takes uneeded steps....try starting over with this one. except don't bother with "make install" at the end. copy the image and system map manually.

alright I will give it a shot when I get home and post the results
thanks for the reply