Re: [gentoo-user] Using oldconfig and kernel revisions ( was : Cannot boot 2.6.21-gentoo-r4)

[Stroller <stroller@stellar.eclipse.co.uk>]

On 17 Jul 2007, at 21:11, Billy Wayne McCann wrote:
>
>> It is sometimes possible to save time by re-using the  
>> configuration file
>> from your old kernel when configuring the new one. Note that this is
>> generally unsafe -- too many changes between every kernel release for
>> this to be a reliable upgrade path.
>>
>> The only situation where this is appropriate is when upgrading  
>> from one
>> Gentoo kernel revision to another. For example, the changes made  
>> between
>> gentoo-sources-2.6.9-r1 and gentoo-sources-2.6.9-r2 will be very  
>> small,
>> so it is usually OK to use the following method. However, it is not
>> appropriate to use it in the example used throughout this document:
>> upgrading from 2.6.8 to 2.6.9.

Whilst I'll admit to having been caught out when upgrading from  
2.6.19 to 2.6.20, I can't imagine that many people go through the  
entire list of options in `make menuconfig` every time they upgrade  
the kernel.

I tend to run `emerge sync once a week or once a month, and I ignore  
trivial kernel version bumps (-r2 to -r3 &c), so the only time I  
upgrade is in exactly the circumstances described.

For a long time I copied the old .config file over verbatim and it's  
only recently I even realised to use `make oldconfig`. This apparent  
change in the way the options are laid out between the 2.6.19 and  
2.6.20 config files is the first time it's failed on me in over 3  
years, so I don't see the need to be overly paranoid about it.

Stroller.
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