2.6 kernel on Slackware

[JohnT]

This has worked for me without a hitch, the several times I have upgraded the 2.6 kernel. I'm using Slack-current, but it should be good with any recent version of Slack and the 2.4 kernel when upgrading to the 2.6.

<Revised with tools section>


GO HERE (http://www.geocities.com/jtarin47/)

[tmcG]

I used this guide on the weekend to upgrade my Slack 9.1 box from 2.4.22 to 2.6.4 and it went through seamlessly and without a single error!
It is so easy to follow these instuctions!

Thank you JohnT, this is the easiest kernel compilation guide I have seen and made the process a breeze for someone who has never compiled a kernel before. I HIGHLY recommended this to anyone comtemplating updating to the 2.6.X kernel.

I am receiving a few errors on boot with the new kernel but I suspect this was caused by my choice of compiling options into the kernel that I didn't need or something similar. It does not inhibit the PC from booting though and I will look at them this week to see where I went wrong. This is a problem with what I chose to compile, not these instructions.

Thank again, this guide is great!:)

[JohnT]

Your more than welcome...thanks for the feedback...anything I can add to make it even easier to comprehend? Always room for improvment.

[bs_texas]

Man... I must be getting oldtimers disease.
I thought this JohnT thread for the 2.6 kernel upgrade had a lot of posts in it. Is there another one? :head_scratching_smilie:

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by bs_2003
Man... I must be getting oldtimers disease.
I thought this JohnT thread for the 2.6 kernel upgrade had a lot of posts in it. Is there another one? :head_scratching_smilie:

I was wondering the same. Did a search for 'JohnT' in this forum and couldn't find another on 2.6/Slackware that was started by JT. :confused:

[JohnT]

I removed it , it was getting to far afield of the subject, eventhough I tried to bring it back on track several times.:p

[bs_texas]

Ah...
That's understandable.
Happens to many threads.
(Although I didn't know you were blessed with magical powers.)

I'm gonna try to use your guide to update my laptop. After swaret --update'ing and --upgrade'ing, I'm swaret --install'ing as we speak.

edit: That is, I'm swareting to get up to speed with things like module-init-tools, etc., and then I can proceed.

Thanks...

[bs_texas]

Is this thread in the twilight zone again?

Minor typo:
In the third 'How to find version:' table
ppd --version should be
pppd --version

In the second table:
reiserfsck -V 2>&1 | grep reiserfsprogs
returned nothing, but
swaret --search reiserfsprogs shows that reiserfsprogs 3.6.14-i486-1 is installed.

[moving right along...]

[bs_texas]

Also, looks like I'll have 3 images in lilo.conf:

/boot/vmlinuz
/boot/vmlinuz.old
/boot/vmlinuz.orig

Then you have:
cp /boot/vmlinuz /boot/vmlinux.orig

I suppose you meant vmlinuz.orig there and not vmlinux.

Thanks...

[JohnT]

Thanks for the heads up on the typos. Done.:D
Initially you only have one vmlinuz, then you copy it as a backup to your original. When your new one is copied to /boot the original is then moved to old. You don't have to copy your original if you don't want to. I do it in case something goes goes wrong in the moving and copying process. Then it's redundant. it's your choice.

[nerrollus]

Page not found?


Does anyone still have the walk-through for this? I tried doing the 2.6.7 upgrade last night without success. LILO would load, then it would just goto a black screen and sit. (This is on Slackware 9.1)

[j79zlr]

make sure you enable framebuffer support in the kernel, this is common.

Device Drivers --> Graphics Support

Support for frame buffer devices
VESA VGA graphics support


Device Drivers --> Graphics Support --> Console Display Driver Support

--- VGA text console
Video mode selection support
< > MDA text console (dual-headed) (EXPERIMENTAL)
<*> Framebuffer Console support
[ ] Select compiled-in fonts

[nerrollus]

Hmmm.. I don't think I did that. I kept screwing around with it until I had everything messed up, so I'm rebuilding now. I'll post how that works out.

Thanks =)

[nerrollus]

Bah ... Checked those boxes while making the kernel this time and it did the same thing again .. =(

[j79zlr]

are you using lilo?

[JohnT]

Originally posted by nerrollus
Page not found?


Does anyone still have the walk-through for this? I tried doing the 2.6.7 upgrade last night without success. LILO would load, then it would just goto a black screen and sit. (This is on Slackware 9.1) I have a tendency to try and update things...a little, so the page had been renamed...sorry...GO HERE (http://www.geocities.com/jtarin47/)

Sometimes geocities prevents linking...try cut n paste to the address bar.....
http://www.geocities.com/jtarin47/

[nerrollus]

Yeah, what happened was I was using the make xconfig and I wasn't paying attention. I had just clicked the box once and it put a dot instead of a check mark. I went back in and clicked it again to get the check mark, recomplited, did the lilo command, and it worked like a champ. ;)

[MacTown06]

your latest site post is not working for me. Yahoo not found...

please post it again it was a really good guide.

[JohnT]

GO HERE (http://www.geocities.com/jtarin47/)

[keywi]

Hey, tried upgrading my kernel, boots to lilo, i pick "Linux" it starts to load then screen goes blank. I read where I should have

make sure you enable framebuffer support in the kernel, this is common.

Device Drivers --> Graphics Support

Support for frame buffer devices
VESA VGA graphics support


Device Drivers --> Graphics Support --> Console Display Driver Support

--- VGA text console
Video mode selection support
< > MDA text console (dual-headed) (EXPERIMENTAL)
<*> Framebuffer Console support
[ ] Select compiled-in fonts

I tried booting to the boot disk and I get a kernel panic : no init found.

What do i do now? Should i be booting to a boot disk to try to fix this?

Slackware /current
boot disk Slackware 9.1

Thx,

William

[JohnT]

Where did you get your kernel download you upgraded with?

(see kernel link in my sig)

[keywi]

From the Slackware 10.0 cd2 disk

[JohnT]

Originally posted by keywi
From the Slackware 10.0 cd2 disk Read the guides I have posted links for, there is an old guide also linked on that page. Link is at the top. Make sure Lilo is configured to boot the correct "named" kernel image. You might have to use a boot disk or the cd to boot Linux. If you still have your old kernel boot to it, from the boot prompt. There is enough information on those two sites, that I shouldn't have to re-write it here.

[keywi]

I tried to edit /mnt/hd/etc/lilo.conf, booted from the rescue disk, using vi. and when i reboot it doesn't reflect the changes.

Can I start all over and upgrade the kernel from the rescue disk?

[JohnT]

Can I start all over and upgrade the kernel from the rescue disk? Do you mean to say, "Can I re-install and use the 2.6 kernel from the installation disk"? Theoritically you can install a kernel located anywhere, as long as the install program can find it. I say theoritically because I have never actually done it , but the install program is set up to do so.

[bodo]

Hi,

thanks a lot for the guide, I will try it as soon as possible :-)
But the Link you've posted is bad, I've found the guide on
http://www.geocities.com/jtarin47/linux/Slackware/kernel_2.htm :-)

Bye :-)

[JohnT]

Sorry about that..I have been doing some work onsite and the newer guide is temporarly unavailable. That one should be sufficient.

[hard candy]

You may want to add this until the kernel version 2.6.9 comes out (hopefully it will fixed by then) if some one wants to use k3b or dvdrwtools:
From the K3b site:
Do not use Kernel 2.6.8

A patch that was introduced into the kernel shortly before the 2.6.8 release makes K3b and also the dvd+rw-tools unusable on Linux (unless run as root but that is not recommended). The very important GET CONFIGURATION MMC command is rejected by the kernel for reasons I cannot see and writing commands like MODE SELECT also fail (K3b cannot detect CD writers without it) even when the device is opened O_RDWR. Until this issue has been solved I strongly recommend to stick to kernel version 2.6.7.

Update: The kernel guys are currently fixing the problem so the next kernel release should work again. :)

Update 2: The problem is NOT fixed in 2.6.8.1

Update 3: Be aware that kernel 2.6.8 also contains the memory leak which makes it impossible to write audio cds, even as root."

It may save someone some grief.

[XiaoKJ]

I remember it worked in 2.6.8.1-3 in the case of Yoper, but I'm not really sure.

I think its not that K3b or cdrecord not working at all on them, or not burning, or burning glitches, but just a problem of permissions. Thats at least what I perceive from the other sources.