[gentoo-dev] kernel 2.4.10-r2: works without a problem -- depmod fixed

[gentoo-dev] kernel 2.4.10-r2: works without a problem -- depmod fixed

[Gold is Heavy]

Hi Gentoo Hackers,

This is a follow up re: depmod problems I've been having.

I emerged the newer 2.4.10-r2 ebuild package, and compiled the kernel.
After that, depmod problems became worse.  I did make menuconfig, and went
through every single option, and recompiled the kernel again.  I did this
many times: NO result.  I tried using my older .config file, also NO
result.

Then, I remembered Donny's suggestion to try "rm /usr/src/linux/.config"!
First of all, as soon as I did that, I noticed that my menus looked
*significantly* different!  Maybe I am crazy, but I really think even the
wording on some options changed.  I thought that it was a good sign.

And indeed, the kernel compiled with a few warnings here and there, and no
modules at all were compiled (just as I want).  So, I followed the doc,
make dep; make clean; make bzImage; make modules; make modules_install;
mv /boot/bzImage /boot/bzImage.old; cp /usr/src/linux/i386/boot/bzImage
/boot, and... still no go!  Then I wondered, wait a second.  No modules
were compiled, and I thought modules_install most likely doesn't erase
anything.  So, I checked /lib/modules, and indeed, it was full of junk.  So
I gently erased everything there ;).  Then make modules_install again, to
see if it wants to install anything... nothing.

Ok, no more depmod problems :)

Lesson learned:

1. *Never* use .config file that comes with the kernel sources.  Always
delete it and start from scratch, to guarantee that only relevant and
compatible options are used.

2. Prior to 'make modules_install' it's a good idea to delete any old
modules there, preferrably ALL modules.  That means if I have any custom
made modules, I should NOT keep them in /lib/modules!  I should keep them
in something like, /lib/site/modules or /local/lib/modules or something
like t hat, and there should be a script to automatically symlink
everything from the custom modules dir to /lib/modules.

So my revised kernel compile procedure would look something like this:

1. Delete /usr/src/linux/.config (or otherwise make absolutely sure that
it's safe to use)

2. make menuconfig; make dep; make clean; make modules

3. rm -rf /lib/modules/2.4.10

4. make modules_install

5. Run a script to symlink any custom made modules to the /lib/modules dir.

I will probably recompile the kernel later with some modules, just to
verify that everything is working properly.  When, and if, I do that, I
will post a follow up.

Related question:
I noticed that there are kernel-headers and kernel-source ebuild packages.
So, when upgrading to a newer kernel, is it necessary to also install
kernel-headers package, or is kernel-source alone sufficient?

--Leo

Re: [gentoo-dev] kernel 2.4.10-r2: works without a problem -- depmod fixed

[Daniel Robbins]

On Tue, Oct 09, 2001 at 04:08:29PM +0000, Gold is Heavy wrote:

> Related question:
> I noticed that there are kernel-headers and kernel-source ebuild packages.
> So, when upgrading to a newer kernel, is it necessary to also install
> kernel-headers package, or is kernel-source alone sufficient?

linux-sources is sufficient and linux-headers should normally only be upgraded
when you upgrade your glibc or you specifically need new linux-headers for
certain things to compile.

-- 
Daniel Robbins					<drobbins@gentoo.org>
Chief Architect/President			http://www.gentoo.org 
Gentoo Technologies, Inc.