Configuring A New Kernel
by Brent Fox
Last Modified: Wednesday, 19-May-2004 11:54:47 EDT
|
Introduction
|
If you have read the Things To Consider Before Recompiling Your Kernel guide and
have decided to do it, you've come to the right place. Compiling the kernel is a rather complex task, but this guide
attempts to explain it in a straightforward manner. Before you can compile the kernel, you must create a configuration file
that lets the compiler know what parts you wish to include in the kernel.
|
|
Check To See If The Kernel Source Code Is Installed
|
If the kernel source is already not already installed on your machine, you will need to go to the
Finding and Installing Kernel Source Code guide. To
find out if the Linux kernel source code is installed, take the following steps:
- Issue the command:
ls /usr/src/linux
If you see something similar to ls: /usr/src/linux: No such file or directory, chances
are that the Linux kernel sources are not installed. Follow the
Finding and Installing Kernel Source Code guide and then come back to this guide. Otherwise, you should be
set up and ready to compile the kernel.
|
|
Configuring the Kernel
|
You must be root to configure a new kernel.
cd /usr/src/linux
make xconfig
When you run make xconfig, this is the window that you will see. This is the main menu for reconfiguring the kernel.
Also, different versions of the kernel have different configuration options. Therefore, your options for reconfiguring the kernel will
be slightly different.
The Linux kernel can be configured in many different ways. An explanation of all the available options to recompiling the
kernel is far beyond the scope of this guide. But, we've included some screenshots to give you an idea of what's available.
This screenshot is the menu concerning processor options. For every button on the main menu, there is a corresponding menu of options.
Anytime you find yourself wondering what an option does, you can always click the Help button to the right.
For example, this screenshot is the help screen for the Processor family option. You can learn a great deal about what the kernel
can do by going through all the help menus.
For another example, here is the menu for the Filesystems button. There are all sorts of choices as to which
filesystems you want your kernel to support.
When you've finished configuring your kernel, I recommend clicking the Store Configuration to File button from the
main menu. Should you ever recompile your kernel again, you can avoid having to totally reconfigure the entire kernel. Instead, you can click the
Load Configuration from File button, enter the name of your old config file, and then only make the changes that are necessary.
Now, you're done with configuring the kernel. Go to the Compiling a New Kernel guide to finish
the process.
|
|
What's Related
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All Rights Reserved Linux Headquarters © 2000-2007
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds
All logos are registered trademarks of their respective owners
Last modified: Wednesday, May 19, 2004
|
|
|
