LinuxJournal encourages users to start downloading and testing the unstable Linux kernel 2.5.x as release is near (around July), so more intensive beta testing is required by end users. Here is a quick guide on how to compile a generic Linux kernel.
Time for Users to Start Testing Linux Kernel 2.5
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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dont look very promising. as i think that linuxjournal is not for newbie users. i had the same problems with 2.5.x kernels that i tried, everytime i got a kernel panic or something vital, like keyboard etc. did not work.
i think that compiling a kernel yourself is one of the best advantages of linux for professionals, but when it comes to semi professionals and novice users, setting up a tv-capture card or webcam can be a true pain in the arse. i think everytime i purchased new hardware i had to compile my kernel 8 times till it really worked. the most horrifying experience i had to date is trying to get a wacom usb-tablet to work, it took nearly a week cause i had to figure out the different possibilities of kernel drivers/xfree drivers.
Actually, compiling Linux isn’t really that hard.
You just have to keep your eyes wide open when doing the ‘make gconfig’ because there are a _lot_ of options..
And these 2.5 kernels are really worth it, the feel is much much better (feels more polished).
The kernel _would_ compile with the drivers i need.. but noo it’s hosed ;o) – so much for trying…
I’ve got some Slacking to do before I can start playing some SimCity 4. Testing the 2.5 kernel should be fun, if I can get it to compile.
And I assume other distros do too. Obviously the difference in versions means you can’t use your old conf (can you?), but it’s a great guide if you want to make your own kernel. It can be a real pain to find the correct combination of modules to make everything work, given the sheer number of options. This simplifies things a lot.
Do the Nvidia Drivers get along with 2.5.
I don’t think so, I tried to install 3123 drivers with 2.5.65 and it said that devel kernels aren’t supported.
er got the name and the subject fields confused there. sorry
No, just use the “nv” driver for XFree instead of the official drivers from NVidia in order to test the 2.5.x kernel.
or use the patches from http://www.minion.de/nvidia.html which work just fine.
Matrox framebuffer support is borked in 2.5 kernels 🙁
I also had problems with compiling the 2.5.65 linux kernel. But when I merged with Alan Cox’s current patch, it compiled smoothly.
Happy testing!
I know that Safari has a bug report system, as does Mozilla(ofcourse) and IE. But could linux itself has bugzilla used to report of crashes, kernel panics, lockups, and general errors?
Well I haven’t had to many problems geting 2.5.65 up. The bigest problem I’ve had is trying to get the mod-utils thingy installed to load modules it doesn’t seem to like my system Mdk9.0. So I’ve built all the drivers I need directly into the kernel 1.5Mb kernel. Appart from that it works alright and seems more responsive.
http://bugzilla.kernel.org/
Not automatic, but useful none-the-less.
How’s the compatibility between 2.5.x and things compiled for the 2.4 kernels? Will anything break? When I upgraded from 2.4.19 to 2.4.20 for example, I had to recompile the iptables userland app. I’m suspecting there will be problems with ALSA as well since it’s in the kernel now. So, anyone got more info about what will need to be recompiled/replaced?
The NVIDIA driver runs perfectly with kernel 2.5.65
And no, most apps won’t break.
The only b0rked app I’ve seen while using 2.5.65 is gnome-system-monitor (the memory view says there’s only 0kb of allocated memory)
I’d expect other programs that use the items in /proc to be broken in some areas as well.
I just compiled 2.5.65 on my gentoo machine (with the nvidia drivers thanks gentoo ebuild developers). It works like a charm. It passes the wiggle test, even with compiles and other cpu intensive things going on.
Ive had earlier 2.5.x kerns running in Gentoo. Ive started to hear lots of good things about the stability of 2.5.65 right now so Im gonna rebuild my test box with it and start testing.
Ever since reading the articles about improved desktop responsiveness and the power of Gentoo (even though I’ve tried gentoo in the past), my mouth has been watering and I decided to give it another go. I recently got my laptop cd drive repaired, so I followed all the gentoo documentation and forums & installed a fresh gentoo system (completely removing xp) on my laptop using 2.5.65. Though the process was tedious, I’ve been able to get the essential hardware working (after a few days), and I’m really pleased with the system. Sound w/ ALSA was a bit of a pain, but I finally got it to work. Overall, Linux now feels like a much more useable system to me. I’m very impressed with 2.5.65. In fact, I’m writing this very message on Galeon (w/ gtk2) in Gnome 2. Compiling the kernel really isn’t that big of an ordeal compared w/ the rest of the gentoo installation. It provides a good step-by-step guide. I’ve read of people complaining about compiling a kernel being to difficult so they don’t test it, but if they took the time to use gentoo and follow its instruction manual (and the forums), they’d do just fine and end up with a kick@ss linux system.
Right now, I’m running 2.5.65, again without any initial hassle thanks to the awesome Gentoo devs. They included a 2.5 patch for the NVIDIA drivers by default! But 2.5.65 doesn’t feel totally complete yet. The responsiveness improvements are getting there, but they aren’t finished yet. Many configurations still don’t compile. There is still some weirdness with the new scheduler. The I/O scheduler still needs work, because during a compile, sometimes it can pull a WinXP (freezing for 10 seconds or so) if you try to start a program or something. Some devices are flaky, for example trying to do a CDDA rip causes the system to become very unstable. There’s glimmers of greatness in here, but its not there yet!
Right after reading this article I tried compiling the 2.5.65 kernel.Compile went perfectly , modules built perfectly. The only problem is that the kernel doesn’t get beyond the “Uncompressing Linux” stage. Anybody experience the same problem? I really am desperate to get alsa working , as it doesn’t work with my curent kernel.
How easy is it to compile your own kernel under redhat 8.x? Is there anything special I would have to do to make it work? I’m just curious if things like kuduz need anything in the kernel to run properly. Thanks.
I’ve compile and tried 2.5.65 on my Fujitsu P2110 notebook. The problem with ALI chipset that occured on unpatched 2.4.20 kernel seem resolved. But I think I still got wrong configuration on mouse and soundcard which required further adjustment. Due to this, I still cannot test it to run under GUI.
I would suggest anybody that have the successful compilation to published their config file so that the other especially newbie can use it for compilation.
“How easy is it to compile your own kernel under redhat 8.x? Is there anything special I would have to do to make it work? I’m just curious if things like kuduz need anything in the kernel to run properly. Thanks.”
its easy to compile vanilla kernels in redhat 8. i compiled 2.4.20 in order to get ntfs support. im not sure about 2.5.65 in redhat 8 though. id love to hear of any success story.
I had this exact same problem. The kernel *is* getting past “uncompressing Linux,” it’s just that the terminal isn’t working. The initial message is from LILO, and soon as the kernel gets control, output to the screen stops. If you have any services running, you’ll see that you can remotely log in after a few minutes. The fix is easy. In the kernel config, under the “Character Devices” menu, make sure that the “Virtual Terminal” and “Support for console on virtual terminal” options are enabled. Also under “Input Devices” make sure the top level “Input devices” option is enabled, as well as “i8042 PC keyboard controller” “Keyboards” “AT keyboard support” and “XT keyboard support.” For some reason, these options either aren’t enabled by default, or aren’t making the transition from a 2.4 kernel config (if you loaded your old config).
I had this exact same problem. The kernel *is* getting past “uncompressing Linux,” it’s just that the terminal isn’t working
you need to compile in framebuffer support for either vesa or your specific graphics card has to be in the kernel not as a module. (Nvidia rivia driver for Nvidia cards).
Compiling on RedHat is as easy as it is on any other Linux system.
make mrproper
make gconfig
make bzImage && make modules
su <password>
make modules_install
make install
Now you’ll have a freshly installed 2.5 kernel on your RH system.
The scripts will automatically modify your /boot/grub/grub.conf, adding a new entry for this kernel.
“Some devices are flaky, for example trying to do a CDDA rip causes the system to become very unstable. There’s glimmers of greatness in here, but its not there yet!”
YOu shoould report these problems. Audio ripping
now does DMA (burning a cd now ALSO does DMA). All that
should be much better.
> make gconfig
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This is for gtk user
make xconfig will show a kde interface.
Ciao,
Paolo
Yep, make gconfig will build you a nice looking Gtk2 configurator
I’ve get this error when doing ‘make modules’:
———————–
In file included from drivers/atm/ambassador.c:31:
include/linux/atmdev.h: In function `atm_may_send’:
include/linux/atmdev.h:437: warning: comparison between signed and unsigned
drivers/atm/ambassador.c:301:21: pasting “.” and “start” does not give a valid p
reprocessing token
drivers/atm/ambassador.c:305:23: pasting “.” and “regions” does not give a valid
preprocessing token
drivers/atm/ambassador.c:310:20: pasting “.” and “data” does not give a valid pr
eprocessing token
—————————
Does someone know how to fix this?
Nice to see how everybody is maneuvering about the crucial part – the *configuring* of the kernel…
That’s my #1 gripe with Linux. Having the kernel out “in the open” makes it impossible to have easy driver installations.
Windows gives me a setup.exe and there I go. If the driver sucks, my system crashes, too bad, so I wait for the next driver update.
Linux gives me a driver.tar.gz, which I fiddle with for a couple of hours (including three kernel recompiles). Now, if I boot my system with my WLAN card inserted, I get a black screen and have to run e2fsck from the rescue disk afterwards. There’s no sense in waiting for the next driver update, since the driver is most likely perfectly well, it’s just me not knowing how to get around the numerous pitfalls of kernel land.
Dudes, if you want to get anywhere, make the kernel a black box for the average nOOb. Some might be happy with having a 2.4.20 with latency patch and just the right set of drivers compiled in.
The rest of the world just wants Linux.
“Dudes, if you want to get anywhere, make the kernel a black box for the average nOOb. Some might be happy with having a 2.4.20 with latency patch and just the right set of drivers compiled in.
The rest of the world just wants Linux.”
There’s a word for that. It’s called a distributor.
I have had several problems with kernel modules refusing to compile. It seems as though whoever is responsible for these forgot to test them, due to the nature of the errors — missing variables in structs, for instance. Maybe it’s something on my end though; I’m a kernel compilation virgin. Regardless, I’ve found that the problems are present in modules for features that I doubt average PC users would have, so it’s just a matter of trying to find all the esoteric modules and leaving them out.
use the new kernel but it won’t work if I try to use the ATI radeon drivers as modules. It fails every time on the make modules_install, but not if they’re compiled into the kernel directly, which for some reason makes my X acceleration not work