[gentoo-user] Re: A pared down kernel config

[reader@newsguy.com]

Alan McKinnon <alan.mckinnon@gmail.com> writes:

> On Saturday 05 January 2008, reader@newsguy.com wrote:
>> > to de-junk a default config - even if you don't know what you do,
>> > is in realm of half an hour to an hour. If you read everything.
>>
>> Do you have a de-junked .config that I can diff against the
>> default.. it would be a way to see what kinds of things get dropped.
>
> Drivers for stuff you don't need and you will likely never use. Like ham 
> radio stuff, v4linux (first version), I20, on a notebook all the 
> enterprise-grade connect-a-machine-to-storage-stuff like iSCSI and 
> Infiniband, all of ISA and MCA and the pre-pci bus drivers, old disk 
> types like mfm and on modern boards usually even IDE as well. 

Thanks... but you hit on something there that can throw you.  
  scsi stuff.  

I've never used a scsi hard drive in my life but not that long ago
linux users needed scsi support for many of the cdrom drives.  I doubt
that is still the case but it might be.  But my point is that even
when you think you know something isn't needed it might be in some
context you haven't thought of.

People in this thread speak of 2 and 3 boots and editing in between in
the same message where `5 minutes' is mentioned.  That doesn't wash.
You're way past that time frame.  But still not in the guiness book
realm I guess... hehe.

> Removing all these unused drivers is the single largest improvement in 
> reducing kernel size. The general rule with drivers is that if you are 
> familiar with YOUR hardware and you've never heard of something in the 
> config then you don't have it and don't need it :-)

Just to know more on this... Is there really any reason to worry about
kernel size... I mean in most cases with a standard desktop install?

I noticed a massive difference in drivers and modules installed
between a machine running kde and X and a hand roled kernel I
configured on nox system with just basic install.  In fact that is
what led to my post here.  But the actual kernel wasn't all that
different in size.


[...]

> Like I said in an earlier mail, 

Do you mean on this thread?  If so I must have some trouble with my
newsreader threading or something... I don't see it here.

> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .it's not an easy process. It's only easy 
> if you know most of it already - like Volker. I'd guess he has long 
> since forgotten what it took to learn everything he knows, so of 
> course "It's obvious!"...

Here here.  
 ... And thanks for the basic advice and comments.

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